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Round One Starting Times will be available on Friday, August 2nd
Video courtesy of DiNardi Visual Productions
Tournament Facts:
About the Tournament: The Northern Junior Championship presented by the Golf Performance Academy 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 will be contested over two days at the Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, 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 offered at the highest level of junior and amateur events around the world.
Eligibility: The Northern Junior is open to amateur Boys and Girls who have not reached their 19th birthday before August 7th, 2024.
Format: All players will play 18-holes of stroke play on Tuesday, August 6th and Wednesday, August 7th at The Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, Connecticut. Tee times will run from 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. both days, and the low 36-hole competitor in the Boys and Girls Championship will be declared the respective Champion. There will be an awards ceremony and trophy presentation following the conclusion of play on Wednesday at approximately 6:00 p.m.
About the Course: Widely regarded as one of the top private clubs in New England, The Hartford Golf Club was founded in 1896 and features 27-holes that represent a combination of Donald Ross and Devereux Emmet design. The 22nd Northern Junior will mark the first time the championship has been held at The Hartford Golf Club, which will add to the club’s extensive history of hosting state and national championships. Most notably, the club has previously hosted a pair of USGA championships – the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, won by Lexi Thompson, and the 1996 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, won by John Miller. The club has also hosted ten Connecticut Amateur Championships, four Connecticut Open Championships and three New England Amateur Championships. The red course will be used for the championship proper and will play to a par of 35-36–71.
Who’s Here: The field of 114 players consists of 75 Boys Competitors and 39 Girls Competitors. The average age of the field is 16.3 years of age.
States Represented: 27 states and countries are being represented. They are: British Columbia California, China, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hong Kong, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ontario, Rhode Island, Taiwan, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington. Connecticut has the most players of any state, with a total of 27 players seeking to capture the Northern Junior title in their home state.
Breakdown by Graduation Year: Of the 114 competitors, below is the breakdown by high school graduation year:
2024 – 27 Players
2025 – 38 Players
2026 – 31 Players
2027 – 15 Players
2028 – 3 Players
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), Southern Junior (Charleston, SC), Northern Amateur (Chesterton, IN), Hudson Junior (Hudson, OH) and Hope Valley Junior Invitational (Durham, NC). The Girls Champion will receive invites to the Women’s Western Junior (Aurora, IL) and Hope Valley Junior Invitational (Durham, NC). Top finishers in the Boys and Girls Championship will also receive AJGA performance stars.
Player Storylines:
Sophia Li of New York, New York is the highest ranked competitor in the Girls Championship (#49). Li recently captured the 2024 New York State Girls’ Junior Championship along with a runner-up finish earlier this year at the AJGA Greenwood Junior Championship and successfully qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
Matthew Lin of Orinda, Calif. enters the championship as the highest ranked competitor in the Boys Championship (#123). Lin, who is committed to play collegiate golf at nearby Yale University, recently captured the AJGA Super Lychee Junior Championship and was named the 2022 recipient of the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award.
In addition to those players who gained entry by virtue of previous accomplishments, a total of 20 boys and 6 girls gained entry into the championship through one of two qualifying sites:
At Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, Dao Zhou (Shanghai, China) was the medalist for the Boys Championship with a round of 67, and Allison Bauer (Greenwich, Conn.) and Juyeon Paek (Cheshire, Conn.) were the co-medalists for the Girls Championship with rounds of 72.
At Triggs Memorial GC, Noah Lim (Gallatin, Tenn.), Aiden Donath (Natick, Mass.) and Carter Sica (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) all shared medalist honors for the Boys Championship with rounds of 69, and Emily Renoff (Glen Ridge, N.J.) was the medalist for the Girls Championship with a round of 72.
When the 2024 Northern Junior concludes, a new pair of names will be etched in the championship trophy, as neither Alex Elia (2023 Boys Champion) and Rebecca Wang (2023 Girls Champion) are able to defend their titles. Both Arabella Lopez (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Elliott Spaulding (Freeport, Me.) finished runner-up in last year’s Northern Junior and are returning with hopes of claiming the title. Lopez recently won the International Junior Masters, while Spaulding recently captured the Maine Amateur Championship and Providence Open.
There are two pairs of siblings competing in the 2024 Northern Junior Championship – Jaxon and Jordan Brown (Lakewood, Fla.) and Addison Claire and Gerad Matthew Lee (Cupertino, Calif.).
Cheng-En Wu of Hsinchu, Taiwan has the longest commute of any player in the field – an estimated 12,436 miles to his hometown. Wu has had a pair of runner-up finishes thus far in 2024 at the AJGA CT Pan Junior and the Future Challenge Junior, along with a 10th place finish at the AJGA Fresno/Clovis CVB Junior Championship.
Luke Stennett (Portland, Conn.) continues to pile up victories in 2024, having recently won both the Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship and the Borck Junior. Stennett also won the New England Junior Amateur Invitational last August, a title he will look to defend the week following the Northern Junior.
Austin Perkins of West Hartford, Conn. made headlines earlier this summer when he captured the 122nd Connecticut Amateur Championship at Torrington Country Club. At age 16, he became the youngest champion in tournament history and earned an invitation to the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club. He also recently captured the 2024 AJGA FM Global Championship.
Will Lord of Suffield, Conn. recently captured the U.S. Challenge Cup Boys Championship at Agawam Hunt in East Providence, Rhode Island with rounds of 63-70—133, good enough for a one stroke victory. Not to be outdone, Isabella Salerno of Rye, N.Y. shot a final round 71 to capture the U.S. Challenge Cup Girls Championship.
Yvette O’Brien (Greenwich, Conn.) is the highest ranked girl in Connecticut and hopes to add the Northern Junior Championship to her growing list of trophies. Most recently, she captured her second Connecticut Girls’ Junior Championship in three years, and also recently won the First Tee Miami Doral Junior Classic and the Jim McClean Junior Golf Championship.
Zorah Williams (Mystic, Conn.) and Luke Kowalchik (Woodbridge, Conn.) earned their place in the field by winning the 2023 Ryan Lee Memorial Junior Open. The tournament, which is part of the Connecticut PGA Junior Tour, is held in memory of Ryan Lee, two-time Northern Junior Champion.
There are two past recipients of the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award, which honors one male and one female junior golfer each year who demonstrate outstanding leadership and community service. Matthew Lin (Orinda, Calif.) won the award in 2022 for his work supporting All Stars Helping Kids by using social media to increase awareness for underprivileged children in San Francisco. Lucy Wang (Concord, Mass.) won the award in 2023 for her work with the AJGA Leadership Links program, where she has helped raise money for the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Liberty National ACE Grant.
Addison Claire Lee (Cupertino, Calif.) enters the Northern Junior as one of the top-ranked girls in the field and is coming off a recent victory at the AJGA Renewal by Anderson Junior Open. Lee shot a final round 67 to capture the title by three strokes.
Both Carys Fennessy (Dover, N.H.) and Aofie Devaney (Waterbury, Conn.) have already shown they are ready to compete at the next level. Fennessy won the 2023 New Hampshire Women’s Amateur Championship by a staggering 15 strokes, while Devaney won the 2023 Hartford Women’s Open Championship, an event that includes both amateurs and professionals.
Gabriella DeGasperis (Jupiter, Fla.) is . DeGasperis was part of “The Challengers” series created by Charles Schwab that celebrates unique individuals in the world of golf. Aside from being one of the top ranked juniors in the country, DeGasperis, also known as Gabby Golf Girl, is a social media content creator.
Caden Piselli of Milford, Conn. recently captured the 2024 Connecticut PGA Junior Championship, shooting rounds of 68-68—136 at Tumble Brook Country Club to win by five strokes over Robby Rosati (Stratford, Conn.) and Austin Perkins (West Hartford, Conn.), both of whom are also in the Northern Junior field.
Carter Gaede (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) enters the Northern Junior with plenty of momentum, having recently captured the AJGA SERI PAK Desert Junior. Gaede shot a final round 65 to charge up the leaderboard. Along with the victory, Gaede finished runner-up in the AJGA Coca-Cola Junior and successfully qualified for the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Angelo Martinez (Albuquerque, N.M) shot rounds of f70-66-71–207 (-9) to capture the New Mexico-West Texas Junior Amateur Championship.
Liam Maloney (Chester, N.Y.) and Jordan Levitt (Bedford, N.Y.) are both coming off a recent victory at the Metropolitan Junior PGA Championship, Their victory earned them a place the Junior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club.
Championship Schedule
Monday, August 5
9:00 a.m. – 2:50 p.m. – Practice Round Starting Times
Beginning at 5:30 p.m. – Players Welcome Reception, Dinner, Long Drive Contest and Ryan Lee Scholarship Presentation
Tuesday, August 6
First Round of Stroke Play
7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Starting Times (All play will be in threesomes)
Wednesday, August 7
Second Round of Stroke Play
7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Starting Times (Players will be paired by score, with leaders going off last. All play will be in threesomes.)
6:00 p.m. – Awards Ceremony and Trophy Presentation
Social Media: In addition to full championship coverage on our website at NorthernJunior.com, players and spectators can join the conversation using the hashtag #NorthernJunior.
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