AJGA’s 2010 Tournament of the Year returns to Mesa, Ariz.
BRASELTON, Ga. – The 13th annual Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club is set to tee off April 21-24, at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. This top-tier national junior golf competition staged by the American Junior Golf Association will allow Arizona’s top junior golfers, ages 12-18, the opportunity to showcase their skills against the nation’s best players.
The Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club, a 54-hole stroke play competition, has been a mainstay on the AJGA schedule since 1999 when Hunter Mahan, now a PGA TOUR professional and AJGA National Chairman, took home the trophy in the Boys Division. In total, 144 juniors will have the opportunity to compete during the Easter weekend event.
This year’s tournament field will be filled through the AJGA’s Performance Based Entry system. Numerous spots will be held for those participating in a TaylorMade-adidas Golf Qualifier taking place at Longbow Golf Club Wednesday, April 20.
Historically, the event garners one of the strongest fields in junior golf, as evidenced by its impressive list of past champions. In addition to Mahan, LPGA standout Paula Creamer was victorious in 2003 and 2004. Local players who have found themselves in the winner’s circle are Scottsdale-natives Amanda Blumenherst (2002), Drew Kittleson (2005) and Philip Francis (2006). In 2010, Anton Arboleda of La Canada, Calif., and Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., took home top honors.
The tournament practice round will be a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start on Thursday, April 21. First and second-round tee times will be off Nos. 1 and 10 tees from 7 – 8:39 a.m., Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23. After a 36-hole cut, the final round will go off Nos. 1 and 10 tees, Sunday, April 24, from 7 – 8:57 a.m. An awards ceremony will immediately follow final-round play. Spectators are welcome and admission is free of charge.
AJGA Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament
During the tournament week, some of the top juniors who will be participating in the Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club will also take part in the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament Thursday, April 21. The Junior-Am will be a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start at Longbow Golf Club.
An excellent opportunity to entertain clients, reward employees or enjoy a tournament round with some friends, the Junior-Am allows amateurs to play a competitive round of golf with future stars of the game. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Charles Howell III, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Grace Park are just a few of the thousands of talented players who participated in AJGA Junior-Ams when they were teenagers.
Supporting golf at the grassroots level, Junior-Ams allow the AJGA to make contributions to local junior golf charities and programs in hosting communities. In 2011, the proceeds of the Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club Junior-Am will benefit the AJGA Foundation, The First Tee and the Junior Golf Association of Arizona. To participate, contact Jay Larcheid at (480) 807-5400 or visit www.longbowgolf.com/agja
2010 Tournament of the Year
The Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club was named the AJGA’s Tournament of the Year in 2010 for showcasing the AJGA, its members, sponsors and host facility better than any other event on the Association’s schedule. In a tournament that provides top-notch competition over the traditional Easter weekend, committee members combined heavy media exposure, accommodating facilities and outstanding customer service to participants who traveled to Longbow Golf Club. For more information, please visit: http://issuu.com/ajga/docs/awards_season?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed
About Heather Farr
Heather Farr started playing golf at age eight, and once she started, no one could stop her. At age 13, Farr won her first of four Arizona Women’s Amateur titles. She then went on to garner wins at the second-annual Polo Golf Junior Classic in 1979 and the 1982 Rolex Tournament of Champions.
As a junior, she captured a total of 12 national junior tournament crowns and finished runner-up six times by age 17. To recognize Farr’s accomplishments on the course, she earned Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors in 1980 and 1982 and was named a Rolex Junior All-American five times.
As an amateur, she was the co-medalist at the 1981 Women’s Amateur and the low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open in 1983.
After her junior career, she continued to shine, becoming a two-time All-American and three-time All-Conference performer at Arizona State University.
Other prestigious honors listed on Farr’s resume include being a member of the 1984 Curtis Cup and World Amateur Teams. She also qualified for the LPGA Tour in October 1985 at the age of 20, becoming the youngest to do so at the time.
As a professional in 1988, Farr tied for third at the season-opening Mazda Classic and collected six top-10 finishes. In 1989, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24. Farr was practicing for a comeback on Tour in the fall of 1990 when she discovered a recurrence of cancer in the back of her skull and on her vertebrae.
Throughout her four-and-a-half-year battle with the disease, she endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant. Heather lost her battle on November 20, 1993.
About Longbow Golf Club
Longbow Golf Club is a nationally recognized daily fee golf course located in Mesa, Arizona within Longbow Business Park. Often described as the “Essence of Arizona Golf,” Longbow Golf Club serves up a desert golf experience that is firmly tied to the traditions of the game. Designed by Ken Kavanaugh, Longbow is consistently rated top notch by leading golf writers and publications, and was honored as one of the Top 100 Resort Courses in the Country, Golfweek Magazine 2009; Top 25 Courses in Arizona, Golf Magazine 2010; Top 25 Best Courses You Can Play in Arizona, Golfweek Magazine 2011; and has received numerous other awards and top rankings. Longbow Golf Club is professionally managed by OB Sports Golf Management, a diversified, golf-oriented company with a long history of success. Longbow Golf Club is another Daedalus Development. To learn more about Longbow Golf Club or to book a tee time, call 480.807.5400 or visit www.longbowgolf.com.
About the AJGA
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.
Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.
For more information, please contact Kristi Bradley (kbradley@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1786 or visit ajga.org.
Contact:
Kristi Bradley, AJGA
(678) 425-1786
