Hosting the stars of tomorrow has been par for the course in the Junior Players Championship.
The 18th edition of the American Junior Golf Association invitational at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass may well prove to be pretty special in a few years’ time.
Junior Players first- and second-round tee times
There’s no way in knowing for certain until history unfolds. But consider the talent coming to the Stadium Course, beginning with the first round of the 54-hole event on Friday:
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Seven of the eight members of the inaugural USGA Junior National team are entered, led by defending champion Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach and Canadian Amateur champion Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island. Also on the team is Ponte Vedra Beach resident Phillip Dunham, who finished second to Russell last year (Mawhinney tied for sixth).
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All 11 members who have been named to the Junior Presidents Cup team, including Russell, Mawhinney and Jackson Byrd of St. Simons Island, Ga.
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Thirteen of the top 20 players and seven of the top 10 on the AJGA Rolex Rankings, led by No. 1 Russell, No. 2 Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala., No. 4 Penson Badgett of Pilot Mt., N.C., and No. 5 Blades Brown of Nashville. A dozen of those players have verbally committed to either SEC or ACC schools.
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Six of the players who reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Junior Amateur in July, led by winner Trevor Gutschewski of Omaha, Neb., who has verbally committed to play for the Florida Gators.
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Eight of the 13 players who finished among the top 10 and ties at the Western Junior.
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Florida Junior champion Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie.
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Two players, Russell and Brown have played in PGA Tour events this year on sponsor exemptions. Russell has a spot in the Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November and Mawhinney is in the 2025 RBC Canadian Open for his Canadian Amateur victory.
“It’s incredible,” said tournament director Jim McCarthy of the field of 77 players who represent 11 countries and 19 states. “This is everything we set out to do 18 years ago when [former TPC National director Billy Dettlaff] started this tournament, with the AJGA, the TPC Sawgrass and the AJGA providing their tremendous support.”
2010 Junior Players field set the standard
McCarthy speculated that the 2024 Junior Players field may one day rival the 2010 tournament, which included 10 PGA Tour winners, led by major champions Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark.
Just to prove golf’s unpredictability, Michael Johnson made a 20-foot bogey putt at No. 18 to beat Spieth and Emiliano Grillo by one shot. Johnson has never risen above Korn Ferry Tour status while Spieth has won three majors and Grillo the Korn Ferry Tour Championship and two PGA Tour titles.
Also playing in the 2010 Junior Players were Tour winners Will Zalatoris, Emiliano Grillo, Daniel Berger, Grayson Murray, Michael Kim, Adam Svensson, Nico Echavarria and Taylor Moore. Others in that field were PGA Tour veterans Patrick Rodgers, Beau Hossler, Robby Shelton, Lee McCoy, Denny McCarthy and Kramer Hickok.
The 2008 Junior Players wasn’t bad either: Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Keith Mitchell, Byeong Hun An, Smylie Kaufman, Tyler McCumber and Talor Gooch. The 2013 Junior Players field had Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Davis Riley, Ben Griffin and Doug Ghim.
“The Class of 2010 is still the best group of juniors we’ve had,” McCarthy said. “But I can’t wait to see what that the field this year accomplishes.”
Junior Players has produced 31 Tour winners
There have been 31 PGA Tour winners and seven major champions who have competed in the Junior Players. They have combined for 109 Tour victories, 14 majors and three Players Championships.
Past FedEx Cup champions who have been in Junior Players fields are Cantlay, Thomas, Spieth and Viktor Hovland.
The first tee times on Friday and Saturday will be 8:10 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Dunham will tee off No. At 8:30 a.m., followed by Russell at 9 a.m., Mawhinney at 9:30 a.m., Byrd at 9:50 a.m., and Gutschewski at 10:10 a.m.
Ambrose Kinnare of St. Augustine will tee off No. 10 at 8:50 a.m.
Admission and parking are free.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Junior Players Championship field is loaded with stars at TPC Sawgrass
