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Wyndham Championship to Offer Exemption to FootJoy Invitational Winner

BRASELTON, Ga. – In an effort to increase exposure to the next generation of PGA TOUR players, the Wyndham Championship is offering an exemption to the winner of the American Junior Golf Association’s 2009 FootJoy Invitational.

The Wyndham Championship is the first tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule to offer an exemption to an AJGA player for winning an AJGA Invitational. This year, the FootJoy Invitational will be held June 8-12, and the Wyndham Championship will be held Aug. 17-23. Both events will be played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

“The FootJoy Invitational is an important event for the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship in that we are introduced to the top young talent in the world at an early stage,” said Mark Brazil, tournament director for the Wyndham Championship and tournament chairman for the FootJoy Invitational.

“In an effort to enhance the relationship between the FootJoy Invitational and the Wyndham Championship, the next logical step is to invite the champion of the FootJoy Invitational to play in the Wyndham,” Brazil said.

Last year, Cameron Peck of Olympia, Wash., won the FootJoy Invitational with a 66-71-68-66–271 tournament total and was extended the first invitation to participate against the pros.

“It was truly an amazing experience playing with the pros. I think it is every junior golfer’s dream to play on the PGA TOUR,” Peck said. “Playing in this tournament helped identify some weaknesses I need to work on and improve before trying to take my game to a higher level.”

Now in its eighth year, five of seven past champions of the FootJoy Invitational have gone on to win Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors in the same year, including Peck who ended the 2008 season with three additional victories.

The FootJoy Invitational is one of 85 events the AJGA will conduct in 2009, and one of 13 invitation-only tournaments.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA, the largest Association of its kind, has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.

Titleist , the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA , which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

For more information, please contact Sara Wagoner (swagoner@ajga.org ) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1786