BRASELTON, Ga. The 35th annual Rolex Tournament of Champions, the longest-running event on the American Junior Golf Association schedule, will be staged on the Capital City Clubs Crabapple Course, the AJGA announced Tuesday. The event will bring 132 of the nations top junior golfers to the storied Atlanta club for 72 holes of stroke play, June 25-29, 2012.
The Crabapple Course opened to member play June 1, 2002 and has hosted such events as the 2003 WGC-American Express Championship. The 2012 Rolex Tournament of Champions will be the AJGAs second appearance at the Capital City Club, as the venue also hosted the 2005 Wyndham Cup. The 2012 Rolex Tournament of Champions will serve as a course preview for some participants, as the club is also slated to host the 2013 Mens NCAA Division I National Championship.
The AJGA is extremely excited to return to the Capital City Clubs Crabapple Course, said Jason Ross, AJGA vice president of tournament development. To have our longest-running event at a venue that is as steeped in tradition as the Capital City Club is a perfect fit and were honored to be playing there.
The Capital City Club will be added to an impressive list of clubs to host the Rolex Tournament of Champions, which includes Dalhousie Golf Club (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), Victoria National Golf Club (Newburgh, Ind.) and Long Cove Club (Hilton Head, S.C.).
Just as impressive as the list of host venues is the list of past champions. Phil Mickelson was a three-time winner of the Rolex Tournament of Champions (1986-88), followed by David Duval in 1989. Georgia native Charles Howell, III, also claimed a victory at the 1996 edition. In 2001, Webb Simpson added his name to the illustrious list of past champions.
In the Girls Division, Kellee Booth (1990, 93), Beth Bauer (1994-95), Inbee Park (2003) and Morgan Pressel (2004) have etched their names as champions in the tournaments history.
One of the oldest private clubs in the South, and the oldest in Atlanta, the Capital City Club has a rich history of amateur competition. Chartered in 1883, the Capital City Club has hosted many of the states top amateur events, including the first Georgia State Amateur Championship in 1916, which was won by 14-year-old Bobby Jones on the Brookhaven Course. In 1945, Byron Nelson won the Atlanta Open when the event was held at the club.
Rolex, which is in its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA
Premier Partner in 2004. Along with sponsoring the Rolex Tournament of
Champions, Rolex is also the title partner of the Rolex Girls Junior
Championship and the proprietor of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams. Rolex
also was the founding corporate partner of the Achieving Competitive Excellence
(ACE) Grant program, which provides financial assistance to young players in
need.
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 provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual
junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers
from 49 states and more than 40 countries.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force
behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex and Polo Ralph Lauren, the
Associations Premier Partners, are both committed to supporting the
Associations efforts.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf.
Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA
Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil
Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan
Pressel.