Junior PLAYERS returns to TPC Sawgrass

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To view a presentation given at the 2008 Junior PLAYERS, click here (.pdf).

For the second consecutive year, the PGA TOUR and American Junior Golf Association will combine efforts to stage The Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., August 28 - 31, 2008.

The 54-hole event will bring the top 60 12-18-year-old boys in the Polo Golf Rankings along with 18 of the leading players from around the world to TPC Sawgrass. With THE PLAYERS Stadium Course as the event's backdrop, participants will be tested at the same venue as the PGA TOUR's PLAYERS Championship.

The event begins Thursday afternoon on August 28, when a select group of 24 juniors will be paired with amateur partners in a charity Junior-Am event. The 54-hole competition will be played Friday through Sunday with tee times running from 8 - 9:48 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Spectators are welcome to attend and admission is free of charge.

The Junior PLAYERS has been designed to closely mirror the PGA TOUR's own premier event, THE PLAYERS Championship. Participants will receive above-par treatment as they are provided with professional caddies, access to the TOUR locker room,world-renowned TPC Sawgrass hospitality, as well as an incredible venue.

The 7,215-yard course has proven to challenge even the best golfers, making The Junior PLAYERS Championship a coveted title. Last year, the event showcased talent from around the world, including players from 19 states and 15 foreign countries.

It was Morgan Hoffmann of Saddlebrook, N.J., who took home the title in the event's inaugural year, ending with a tournament total of 7-under-par 209. He finished three strokes better than second-place finisher Josh Jones of The Colony, Texas. Hoffmann is currently ranked No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings and has four AJGA wins to his credit, including a win this season at the 2008 Houston Boys Invitational at Redstone presented by HP and Administaff. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play collegiate golf for Oklahoma State in the fall.

Invitations to the event have been extended and the tournament field will be unveiled the first week of August.