July 21st, 2012 – Ellington, Connecticut
On Tuesday, July 24th, one hundred twenty of the top junior golfers will begin play at Ellington Ridge Country Club for the 11th Stan Trojanowski Northern Junior. However, the tournament is much more than two rounds of stroke play on one of New England's top private courses. For the competitors, it is a week filled with memorable experiences and amenties that aim to surpass the top amateur and professional events.
Competitors in the 2012 Northern Junior will be arriving on Monday, July 23rd, and will play their official practice rounds, a chance to study and prepare for the test that will follow. The Boys Championship will play at approximately 6,650 yards and the Girls Championship will play at 5,750 yards, both at a par of 36-36–7
2. The key will surely be to "keep the ball below the hole", as Ellington Ridge Country Club features some of the most severe and undulating green complexes in the Northeast.
Following their practice rounds, the competitors will be welcomed by the Tournament Committee at the Players Dinner on Monday night. While the Stan Trojanowski Northern Junior is a competition first and foremost, the Players Dinner gives players, parents and officials a chance to meet. A brief program follows the dinner, which includes a guest speaker and the presentation of the Ryan Lee Memorial Scholarship.
All players will play 18-holes of stroke play on Tuesday, July 24th and Wednesday, July 25th, with starting times running from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on both days. There will be an awards ceremony and trophy presentation following the conclusion of play on Wednesday at approximately 5:30 p.m. Live hole-by-hole scoring will be available online on our tournament website, NorthernJunior.com.
Both Nick Fairweather (Windham, New Hampshire) and Nathalie Filler (Bloomfield, Connecticut) will be returning to defend their respective titles. In the extensive history of the tournament, there has only been one player to successfully defend their title in consecutive years (Ryan Lee, 2007-2008 Champion). Last year, Andy Mai, 2010 Champion, made a valiant effort to defend his title, shooting a final round 67 (-5) to post a two round total of 139 (-5). He would go on to finish third, three strokes off the lead.
In addition to national exposure to college coaches across the country, both the Boys and Girls Champion will numerous tournament exemptions. The Boys Champion will receive invites to the International Junior Masters (Aurora, NY), Bobby Chapman Invitational (Spartenburg, SC) and Joe Cheves Junior (Morganton, NC). Additionally, the Boys Champion will receive 8 AJGA Performance Stars, and the Boys top 5 will receive 4 AJGA Performance Stars. The Girls Champion will earn 4 AJGA Performance Stars, and the Girls top 3 will receive 1 AJGA Performance Star. Additionally, the Boys Runner-Up, and Girls Champion and Runner-Up will receive invites to the Joe Cheves Junior (Morganton, NC).
In the final days leading up to the tournament, preparations for the tournament committee are in full swing. There are player gift bags and welcome packets to be prepared, yardage books to be assembled, leaderboards to be built and signs to be made, to name a few of the many tasks ahead. Each year, the goal of the committee is to leave each player with an experience or memory they will never forget. Every competitor in the event has played in countless tournaments, but there are a few event that they will always think back on and say "Wow!". For each and every competitor, one of those memories should be from the Stan Trojanowski Northern Junior.
Spectators are welcome and encouraged to come and watch the future in golf at Ellington Ridge. We hope to see you there for what promises to be the best Northern Junior yet!