IMG Academies, the world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and educational institution, has announced its sponsorship of an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) preseason series designed specifically for first-time AJGA members and those members who have not yet participated in or qualified for another AJGA event.

The IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series will include 10 events in 2012 and will offer 960 playing opportunities to aspiring junior golfers, ages 12-18. Participation for eligible juniors is limited to one IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series event per calendar year. Host facilities include: St. James Plantation (Southport, N.C.); Brookhaven Country Club (Dallas, Texas); Oak Valley Golf Club (Beaumont, Calif.); Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club (Palm Harbor, Fla.); Mira Vista Golf & Country Club (El Cerrito, Calif.); Basking Ridge Country Club (Basking Ridge, N.J.); Prairie Landing Golf Club (West Chicago, Ill.); Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Farmington, Pa.); and Chateau Élan (Braselton, Ga.). Top finishers in the Preseason Series events will earn exemptions into select IMG Junior Golf Tour events. The IMG Junior Golf Tour is in its second season operating events on championship courses throughout the Southeast.

“The AJGA is very excited to team up with the IMG Golf Academy,” said Jason Etzen, AJGA chief business officer. “The IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series will offer great playing opportunities to the AJGA’s first-time members.” 

“The IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy has long been dedicated to developing the complete player on and off the course,” echoed David Whelan, Director, IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy. “We consistently look for opportunities to support the development of talented juniors here on our campus and beyond. Sponsoring the IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series presents us with the unique opportunity to provide competitive playing opportunities to young players not only in our system, but throughout the country.”

The IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy, located in Bradenton, Fla., is one of the world’s leading development schools for the aspiring junior player. Student-athletes representing more than 40 nations call the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy home, while countless professionals return for off-season training and pre-season preparation. Over the years the Academy has helped students enroll in the nation’s top collegiate golf programs, while also producing amateur and professional champions, including current world No.1 female professional Yani Tseng, 2010 U.S. Women’s Open champion Paula Creamer, 2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein, two-time Rolex Junior Player of the Year Victoria Tanco and 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur champion Doris Chen. 

 

    

IMG Academies, a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, is the world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex dedicated to developing the TOTAL ATHLETE™.  For more than 30 years, IMG Academies has helped countless youth, adult, collegiate and professional athletes reach their full potential in sport and life, by providing expert coaching, tailored programs and world-class facilities within an energetic environment across a 400-acre campus.

 

Today the Bradenton, Fla.-based campus attracts more than 20,000 athletes from 100 countries annually. The Academies consists of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy, IMG Madden Football Academy, IMG Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Soccer academies – all supported by the IMG Pendleton School and IMG Performance Institute’s multi-faceted training disciplines. IMG Academies also conducts camps, clinics and events year-round, while providing support to teams and federations around the world. Find more info at www.imgacademies.com. 

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 approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 40 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex, 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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

           
For more information, please contact Katie Wilson (kwilson@ajga.org) in the AJGA Sponsorship Department at (678) 425-1743.