Noah Goodwin
(Golfweek Photo)
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL (November 21, 2016) --
The 2016 Polo Golf Junior Classic, the AJGA’s final
invitational of the season, begins Monday at PGA
National Resort and Spa.
The tournament, considered one of the most
prestigious in junior golf, kicks off with two days of
stroke-play qualifying before the top 32 boys and top 32
girls advance to match play, which runs Wednesday-
Friday.
Here are some pre-tournament players to watch:
Boys
Noah Goodwin: The Rolex Junior Player of
the Year would love to cap an amazing year with his
first AJGA invitational victory.
Davis Shore: Last week, he signed his
national
letter of intent with Alabama. But how far will the first-
team All-American “roll” this week at PGA National?
Eugene Hong: “Eugene The Machine” was
a
first-team All-American this year after winning his first
AJGA invitational this year (Haas Family Invitational).
Philip Barbaree: This is the LSU signee’s
last
junior event before he heads to college in Baton Rouge
this spring. Was the AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the
Year last year.
Won Jun Lee: One of the last big-name
2017
recruits to commit, Lee officially signed with South
Florida last week. He has a lot of talent and match-play
experience – he advanced deep into match play in two
straight U.S. Junior Amateurs.
Matthew Wolff: Oklahoma State signee
has
match-play experience in this event (he finished runner-
up to former high-school teammate Spencer Soosman
in 2014), as well as the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior.
Plus, he’ll play this week after handing over his role as
AJGA player representative to Cole Hammer on Sunday
night.
Robin Williams: No sure how good his
stand-up
is, but this Englishman has been a winning machine on
other junior-golf tours this year.
Ryan Gerard: The North Carolina signee is
the
defending champion, so he has proven himself on this
track before.
Girls
Alyaa Abdulghany: The USC signee
represented the U.S. in the Junior Ryder Cup and picked
up her first AJGA win this year, too, at the AJGA Junior
at Carlton Oaks.
Jaravee Boonchant: Won the ANNIKA
Invitational this year and signed with Duke in the fall.
Rachel Heck: It’s only a matter of time
before
this first-team All-American wins an AJGA invitational.
Frida Kinhult: Last name sound familiar?
Her
older brother Marcus plays on the European Tour. Frida
is a good player, too, and competed on this year’s
European Junior Ryder Cup team.
Emilia Migliaccio: The Wake Forest signee
was
also on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team this year and
she also posted six top 10s in AJGA events this year.
Alexa Pano: She won the AJGA’s
PDQ/Philadelphia Runner Junior in September at 12
years old. Yes, she is a member of the Class of 2022
(!!!).
Yujeong Son: She made the semifinals of
the
U.S. Girls Junior this year and on Sunday was honored
as a first-team All-American.
Paphangkorn Tavatanakit: Already the
winner
of two AJGA invitationals – and the Rolex Junior Player
of the Year award – this year, “Patty” is very capable of
adding a victory this week.
Editors Note: Story by Brentley Romine of
Golfweek
ABOUT THE Polo Junior Classic
Sixty-four top junior golfers will be invited to
compete
in a round-robin style
match play event. Based on the Rolex AJGA
Rankings,
an equal field of 32
boys (Polo Division) and 32 girls (Liberty Division)
will
be divided into eight
groupings of four players each to compete in three
guaranteed singles
matches. The top eight Polo Division boys and
Liberty
Division girls from each
group after pool play will advance to single-
elimination
matches.
View Complete Tournament Information