The Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards will be presented to four AJGA players. Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., Stratton Nolen of Austin, Texas, Robby Shelton of Wilmer, Ala., Tianlang Guan of Guangzhou, China, will be recognized at the HP Bryon Nelson Championship and Awards Dinner presented by American Airlines on Friday, May 17, at TPC Four Seasons.
The Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards recognize the achievements of junior golfers around the world who distinguish themselves with a high level of junior tournament play as well as excellence in academics, exceptional character and a commitment to community service. The award recipients participate in Championship week activities.
Viraat Badhwar of Australia is the fifth player who will be honored.
The awards began in 2008 and past recipients with AJGA connections include two-time HP Scholastic Junior All-American Brinson Paolini (2009) and Rolex Junior Players of the Year Cameron Peck (2009), Jordan Spieth (2010) and Cody Proveaux (2011).
Jim Liu
Liu is currently the No. 3 in the Polo Golf Rankings. He competed on the 2012 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team and won the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, surpassing Tiger Woods as the youngest winner ever at age 14. Lui has had six top-five AJGA finishes including a third-place finish at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf in 2012. A four-time Rolex Junior All-American, Liu has signed a National Letter of Intent with Stanford University.
Liu is currently the No. 3 in the Polo Golf Rankings. He competed on the 2012 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team and won the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, surpassing Tiger Woods as the youngest winner ever at age 14. Lui has had six top-five AJGA finishes including a third-place finish at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf in 2012. A four-time Rolex Junior All-American, Liu has signed a National Letter of Intent with Stanford University.
Stratton Nolen
Nolen has competed in 11 AJGA tournaments during his junior career highlighted by a win at the Stars of Texas Junior All-Star in 2010 and a T2 finish at the BilliardFactor.com Junior Championship in 2011. Nolen won the 2012 Texas Class 5A individual title and has signed a National Letter of Intent with Oklahoma State University.
Robby Shelton
Shelton is currently No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings. In 2012, he competed on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team and won the Future Masters, The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf and the Junior PGA Championship. He has competed in 10 AJGA tournaments and has three top-five appearances. Shelton has signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Alabama.
Tianlang Guan
Guan recently made history as the youngest player to ever compete at the Masters Tournament and was the youngest Low Amateur in the tournament’s history. He made his first AJGA appearance at the 2011 Emerson Junior Classic where he finished seventh. In 2012, he finished runner-up at the AJGA Junior Open at The Legends. He will compete as an amateur in the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship.