PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The PGA of America announced the 2007 Westfield Junior PGA Championship will be held July 11-14, 2007, at Westfield Group Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio, for the seventh consecutive year.
The date change back to July from August, when the Championship was played last year, reverts to the historic timeframe of the Championship.
The Westfield Junior PGA Championship had been played in mid-July since 2001 when the venue changed from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to Westfield Center, Ohio. Before 2001, the Championship was played in August, the week after the PGA Championship, and in 2006, it was held the week prior to the PGA Championship.
"We are proud to be partnering with Westfield Insurance for the seventh year and are excited about moving the Championship back to July, during the prime of the junior golf season," said Roger Warren, president of The PGA of America. "We are always looking to improve our majors, and the new date will allow more juniors to participate in this PGA of America major Championship, which will help solidify the prestige of the Championship."
The Junior PGA Championship originated in 1976 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., and is a PGA of America major Championship for boys and girls age 18 and younger, who have not yet started college. Past Junior PGA Championship competitors who have gone on to successful professional careers
include: Billy Andrade, Kathy Baker, Briny Baird, Brandie Burton, Stewart Cink, Vicki Goetz-Ackerman, Cristie Kerr, Justin Leonard, Billy Mayfair, Michelle McGann, Phil Mickelson, Sean O’Hair, Grace Park, Dottie Pepper, Aree Song, Scott Verplank, Willie Wood and Tiger Woods.
David Toms won the Junior PGA Championship in 1984, and in 2001 he became the first winner to also capture the PGA Championship; however, it was Kathy Baker-Guadagnino who was the first Champion (1978) to capture a professional major title when she was victorious at the 1985 U.S. Women’s Open.
More recently, Sean O’Hair, who won the Junior PGA Championship in 1998, became the first ever to achieve PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors in 2005.
"The PGA of America is dedicated to promoting the game of golf to everyone, and Westfield Insurance strongly believes in the positive impact this sport has on today’s junior golfers," said Bob Joyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Westfield Group. "Through our partnership, we make the Championship the experience of a lifetime for a group of young people who, through the excellence, integrity and etiquette they demonstrate, are role models for their generation."
Brittany Altomare, 15, of Shrewsbury, Mass., and Joe Monte, 17, of Chantilly, Va., captured the girls’ and boys’ division titles of the 31st Westfield Junior PGA Championship earlier this year.
The Golf Channel will present a one-hour highlight show from the 2006 Westfield Junior PGA Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006, at 6:00 p.m.
ET, with additional re-airs scheduled for Monday, Nov. 13 at 1:00 p.m. ET and Sunday, Nov. 26 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Sharing knowledge and building trust, Westfield Insurance is represented by a network of 1,200 leading independent insurance agencies. The company, founded in 1848, writes auto, home and business insurance in 17 states and surety business in 28 states. Through its support as host and title sponsor of the Westfield Junior PGA Championship, Westfield Insurance is helping grow golf’s future stars and the next generation of leaders.
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.
Contact:
Heidi Wegmueller
561/624-7672
hwegmuel@pgahq.com