Format:
All players will play 18-holes of stroke play on Tuesday, August 2nd and
Wednesday, August 3rd at New Haven Country Club in Hamden, Conn. Tee times
will run from 7:00am – 1:00pm both days, and the low 36-hole competitor in the
Boys and Girls Championship will be declared the Champion. There will be an
awards ceremony and trophy presentation following the conclusion of play on Wednesday
at approximately 5:30pm.
About the Tournament: The
Northern Junior Championship is a nationally ranked junior golf tournament that
was created in order to provide the highest level of competition for top junior
players. The 36-hole stroke play event is contested over two days at New Haven
Country Club in Hamden, Connecticut and is open to amateur boys and girls under
the age of 19 who have not entered their first year of college. Our goal is to
provide the same first class championship experience and red-carpet treatment
that the best national events around the country offer.
Eligibility: The
Northern Junior is open to amateur Boys and Girls who have not reached their
19th birthday before August 3rd, 2016, and who have not fully enrolled in their
first year of college.
What's at Stake: In
addition to national exposure to college coaches across the country, both the
Boys and Girls Champion will receive numerous tournament invitations and
exemptions. The Boys Champion will receive invites to the International Junior Masters (Aurora, NY), Bobby Chapman Invitational (Spartanburg, SC), Joe Cheves Junior Invitational (Morganton, NC), Liberty National Junior Invitational
(Jersey City, N.J.) and North and South
Junior (Pinehurst, NC).
The Girls Champion will receive
invitations to the Joe Cheves Junior
Invitational (Morganton, NC), Liberty
National Junior Invitational (Jersey City, N.J.) and North and South Junior (Pinehurst, NC). The Boys Runner-Up will
also receive invite to the Bobby Chapman Invitational, Joe Cheves Junior
Invitational, and International Junior Masters, and the Girls Runner-Up will
receive an invite to the Joe Cheves Junior Invitational. Top finishers in the
Boys and Girls Championship will also receive AJGA performance stars.
Who’s Here:
The field of 123 players consists of 84 Boys Competitors and 39 Girls
Competitors. The average age of the field is 16.4 years of age.
States Represented: 24
states, provinces and countries are being represented. They are: British
Columbia, China, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Singapore, Sweden,
Virginia and Vermont. Connecticut has the most players of any state, with
a total of 41 players seeking to capture the Northern Junior title in their
home state.
Longest
Commute – Riya Ahuja from Singapore has the longest journey of any
competitor field – an estimated 9,487 miles as the crow flies from her home
country. Last month, she won the Golfweek Midwest Junior Invitational and
recently finished fourth in the prestigious Hudson Junior Invitational
Tournament.
Breakdown by Graduation Year:
Of the 123 competitors, below is the breakdown by High School Graduation Year:
2015 – 1 player
2016 – 24 players
2017 – 42 players
2018 – 21 players
2019 – 21 players
2020 – 9 players
2021 – 5 players
Defending
Champions: There has only been one player in Northern Junior
tournament history to successfully defend their title, and that feat won’t be
equaled this year. Neither Connor Daly (Bronxville, New York) nor Alissa Yang
(Norcross, Georgia) are able to return to New Haven Country Club to defend
their titles.
Benjamin James, 13, of Milford, Conn. is the youngest Boys competitor in
this year’s field. James, a 2021 high school graduate, won the US Challenge
Cup’s Spinal Technology Junior Classic this spring, finished runner-up in the
AJGA Junior All-Star event at Windham Mountain Resort, and successfully
qualified for the Connecticut Open Championship.
Tiya
Chowdary, 13, of Belle Mead, New Jersey is the youngest player in
the Girls Championship. A 2021 high school graduate, Chowdary recently won the
New Jersey PGA’s University Open with rounds of 71-75—146 and finished third in
the New Jersey PGA Junior Championship.
Seven of the top eight ranked boys
from Connecticut are competing in the 2016 Northern Junior Championship. They
are (in order of ranking):
–
Andrew Sciaretta – Wilton, Conn. (2016)
–
Adam Friedman – Westport, Conn. (2016)
–
Nathaniel Dong – Glastonbury, Conn. (2016)
–
Chandler Morris – Southbury, Conn. (2016)
–
Connor Looney – Ridgefield, Conn. (2017)
–
Tim Rotermund – Madison, Conn. (2017)
–
Ryan Levy – Trumbull, Conn. (2018)
Five of the top six ranked girls
from Connecticut are competing in the 2016 Northern Junior Championship. They
are (in order of ranking):
–
Sarah
Houle – Sandy Hook, Conn. (2018)