| AJGA
TO CONDUCT ITS FIRST-EVER EVENT IN MEXICO
2006
Tournament Schedule includes stop in Monterrey, Mexico,
May 26-28
As
the American Junior Golf Association kicks off its 28th
year of conducting the best junior golf tournaments
in the world, the Association will be visiting a new
part of the world for the first time. From May 26-28,
the AJGA will make its inaugural trip to Mexico for
the Nike Golf Junior Classic hosted by Zona Norte. The
54-hole event, one of 10 in the Nike Golf Junior All-Star
Series, will be contested at Club de Valle Alto A.C.
in Monterrey, Mexico.
Tournament
host Zona Norte is an association of five Mexican states
that stages about 12 junior golf events each year. Leopoldo
Lopez, president of Zona Norte and vice president of
the Mexican Junior Golf Association, was integral in
bringing the AJGA to Mexico. Lopez felt Mexican junior
golfers were at a disadvantage in trying to gain exposure
for college golf scholarships because of a lack of opportunities
to showcase their skills.
This
new event will draw the best 12-15-year-olds from across
North America. Seventy percent of the tournament field
will be filled by the AJGA’s Performance Based
Entry system. The remaining 30 percent will consist
of Mexican players awarded tournament spots based on
their playing performances at events in the six geographical
zones in Mexico and Mexican Junior Golf Association
tournaments. Those players awarded tournament spots
will be required to pay all AJGA membership and tournament
entry fees.
“Mr.
Lopez has been instrumental in the development of junior
golf in Mexico,” said AJGA V.P. and South Central
Regional Director Beth Reuter. “He really wants
the juniors to know that there is definitely a future
for them in golf.”
In
October of 2005, the Texas Junior Golf Tour hosted a
successful event in Monterrey. In addition to the tournament,
an educational seminar was conducted to help the junior
golfers learn how to gain entrance into AJGA tournaments.
The excitement generated by the seminar and the success
of the tournament paved the way for the AJGA to make
its first trip to Mexico this May.
The
event marks the first time the AJGA has traveled outside
the United States to conduct a tournament since 2003
when the BMO Financial Group Future Links Junior at
Caledon Woods was played just outside of Toronto.
The
host facility, Club de Valle Alto A.C., is a par-72
golf course that stretches out to nearly 6,800 yards.
In 2005, the AJGA had 25 members from Mexico, up from
20 in 2004.
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