About 100 top young golfers will compete for their futures in the sport when the American Junior Golf Association holds its Golf World Preseason Junior tournament March 27 through 29.
Of the 78 California golfers participating in the event at Vandenberg’s Marshalia Ranch Golf Course, three are from Santa Maria: Righetti High School junior Cody Morse will be playing in his first-ever AJGA tournament, while St. Joseph High School juniors Danielle Gillaspy and Chris Blystone take part in their first AJGA event of the year.
The 36-hole tournament, one of 85 scheduled by the AJGA for 2009, will be held at the course for the eighth year in a row. Past winners include Yueer Cindy Feng, who won five AJGA tournaments in 2008, and Patrick Grimes, winner of two AJGA events last year.
The AJGA, a nonprofit organization with about 5,000 youth members, holds the competitions to showcase junior golfers looking to secure college golf scholarships. More than 160 former AJGA juniors are current PGA and LPGA pros, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Cristie Kerr, and Pat Hurst. The AJGA preseason tournaments are designed for first-time members who haven’t qualified for an AJGA Open or Invitational event.
Golfers tee off on March 27 with a 12:30 p.m. practice round, followed by the first round on March 28 from 7:30 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. The final round of the tournament begins March 29 at 7:30 a.m. The tournament is free to attend.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2009.