The British Junior Golf Tour took a team of 14 players out to San Diego to compete in the 2017 IMG Academy Junior World Championships last week.
Over 1200 players from all over the world take part each year, making it the largest junior golf event in the world. This year, the tournament celebrated its 50th anniversary.
It is a truly fantastic experience for all junior golfers!
They learn so much from the travel and staying in a hotel, to the climate and different grass, not to mention an international field and playing on beautiful courses.
The various age groups play at different venues and courses across San Diego, with suitable yardages for each Division.
For example the 6 & Under players are at Colina Park, a stunning Par 3 course, measuring around 1300 yds for 18 holes, while the Boys 15-18 age group play the South Course at Torrey Pines, made famous by Tiger Woods who won the 2008 US Open here, measuring a daunting 7300 yds.
Played over 54 holes, or 72 for the oldest age group, the Junior World Championship is a great test of all aspects of a player’s game, requiring both mental and physical strength sustained over 3 or 4 days.
The team performed fantastically this year, with Jaxson Perry bringing home a 4th place trophy in the Boys 7-8 division. There were Top 10 finishes for Charlie Ward (10) and Adam Khan (6), while Sunny Wang finished just outside the Top 10. Mark Haghani and Tiger Adams both produced some fine golf at Torrey Pines, with their best rounds being 73 and 74, respectively although not quite good enough to make the cut after 54 holes.
We would thoroughly recommend the event to all junior golfers who want to test themselves at the highest level! We will be adding some of the players’ thoughts when they all arrive home, so that you can get a first hand account.
In the meantime, think what might be for next year… As a special ‘thank you’, all players who represented BJGT this year get an invite to play in the Grand Final Qualifier for the 2018 IMG Academy Junior World Championships, which will be held at Park Hill GC on Sunday, 8 October 2017.
