INTERNATIONAL NEWS
JUSTIN THOMAS JUNIOR
CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
TWO AJGA AWARDS
FOX SPORTS BECOMES
TITLE SPONSOR OF AJGA
JUNIOR-AM SERIES
T
he Justin Thomas Junior Championship,
hosted by Harmony Landing Country
Club in Goshen, Kentucky, was named
the AJGA’s 2019 Open Tournament of the
Year and honored with the AJGA’s Junior-Am
Fundraising Award.
“I am so excited that all the hard work that has
been put into my event is being highlighted,”
Justin Thomas said. “A huge thank you to my
dad, the tournament committee, and everybody
involved in making the event what it is. I always
enjoy coming back to my hometown and I’m
excited to continue impacting young people
through my event and through my foundation.”
Each year, the AJGA presents awards to the
tournaments with the best individual hospitality,
Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament, charitable
giving and volunteer base. Awards are also
given to the events with engaged media and
social media participation. Finally, the AJGA
recognizes contributions from some of the year’s
most outstanding people (golf professional,
superintendent and general manager), as well
as events (most improved, new, Preview Series,
AJGA Junior All-Star Series, Invitational and
Open Tournaments of the Year). Most awards
will be presented on-site at 2020 tournaments.
Each year the tournament committee looks for
how they can improve the event and set it apart
from other junior events, not just on the AJGA
schedule but throughout the country.
F
OX Sports joins the AJGA to support
the AJGA Junior-Am Fundraising
tournament series and 2020 FOX
Sports Championship. FOX Sports has
major broadcasting contracts with NFL,
MLB, NASCAR, soccer, college football
and basketball, WWE and USGA events.
The AJGA Junior-Am Fundraising series
is similar in format to a Pro-Am, designed
to help local junior golf programs and the
AJGA Foundation. The events offer an
opportunity for members of the community
to play a round of golf with the nation’s
top-ranked juniors at AJGA venues. FOX
Sports will have 25 Junior-Am teams to
use throughout the AJGA schedule.
As the title sponsor of the FOX Sports
Championship presented by Stuart Francis,
Princeton Varsity Golf ‘74, the event
brings a national junior golf event back to
Princeton, New Jersey, for the fi rst time
since 2018. Springdale Country Club plays
host to the 54-hole stroke play event, July
27-30.
Since acquiring broadcasting rights to
USGA events, FOX Sports has helped
progress several new technologies during
its production including drone fl yovers,
live shot tracers and green contour displays.
FOX Sports’ Sunday fi nal round coverage
of the 119th U.S. Open peaked with more
than 10-million viewers on FOX.
Italy’s Benedetta Moresco Prevails at the 12th ANNIKA
Invitational USA presented by Rolex
Italy’s Benedetta Moresco
Prevails at the 12th ANNIKA
Invitational USA presented
by Rolex
T
he 12th annual ANNIKA Invitational
USA presented by Rolex wrapped
up Monday crowning Benedetta
Moresco of Caldogno, Vicenza, Italy, a fi rst
time AJGA champion. Moresco shot a three-
day tournament total of 4-under-par 212,
becoming the fi rst Italian champion of the
ANNIKA Invitational USA.
The University of Alabama verbal commit
carded fi ve birdies in the fi nal round for a
1-under-par 71. She added to her impressive
fi rst and second rounds of 1-under-par 71 and
2-under-par 70 in pursuit of her 4-under-par
212 tournament total.
As the 2020 ANNIKA Invitational USA
champion, Moresco receives an exemption
into the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic,
held in Winter Haven, Florida this March,
through the AJGA’s partnership with the
Symetra Tour. Moresco is the fi rst of three
Symetra Tour exemption winners in 2020.
Reigning Rolex Junior Player of the Year,
Zhang, fi nished the weekend with rounds
of 74-70-73 for her 1-over-par 217. The
Stanford University verbal commit is coming
off an impressive 2019 AJGA invitational
run, fi nishing within the top-3 at each of her
four starts. Zhang is currently No. 1 in the
Rolex AJGA Rankings.
G2 ACADEMY + COLLEGE SPORTS AMERICA ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
T
he G2 Academy is pleased to
announce the launch of a strategic
partnership with College Sports
America, a college placement service
that helps student athletes’ dreams come
true through a sports scholarship at an
American university.
Through this strategic partnership, G2 and
College Sports America will be able to
introduce junior golfers around the world
to their extensive network and services.
The partnership will help athletes reach
their academic goals and further their
dreams of playing collegiate golf.
“We are extremely excited about another
great partnership like this one and we
cannot state enough how important it is to
start preparing your college career early.
This partnership will allow our golfers to
take advantage of this great opportunity
to practice and prepare themselves over
here in the US before embarking on their
college journey”, says Patrick Hanauer,
CSA Co-Founder.
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