Normally, state and regional golf associations have plenty of time to prepare for hosting the boys Junior America’s Cup matches — many years, in fact.
The CGA had about 4 1/2 months.
Colorado wasn’t scheduled to host its next boys JAC until 2016, but due to safety concerns the 2011 tournament was moved from Mazatlan, Mexico to Evergreen. Hiwan Golf Club — which has been home to a U.S. Junior Amateur, a U.S. Girls’ Junior and 28 Colorado Opens — quickly stepped forward to host the prestigious event.
This summer’s tournament, which features some of the best junior golfers from the western U.S., western Canada and Mexico, will be held Wednesday through Friday (July 27-29), with practice rounds and the opening ceremonies scheduled for Tuesday.
It will be just the third time the boys JAC has been held in Colorado; in 1982, it was contested at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy, and in 1999 it came to Perry Park Country Club in Larkspur.
“As a state golf association, this was something we wanted to take on,” said Dustin Jensen, director of youth programs for the CGA, and the tournament director for the JAC this year. “And we haven’t missed a beat” in organizing the event on short notice. “I think it will be a first-class tournament.”
This year’s 68-player Junior America’s Cup will feature 11 golfers ranked in the top 200 internationally by Junior Golf Scoreboard, including two in the top 100: Alex Chiarella from Pukalani, Hawaii and Jake Knapp of Costa Mesa, Calif.
Seventeen state or regional golf associations will field a team of four players — all 17 and under — and both team and individual competitions will be held. The Junior America’s Cup has been conducted annually since 1973, though its origins date back to 1959.
“It’s exciting to bring in the top players from three different countries,” Jensen said. “You look at the list of past players in the event and it’s like a who’s who of golf.”
Indeed, among those who have competed in the JAC over the years are Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Corey Pavin and players with Colorado connections such as Steve Jones and Mark Wiebe. More recently, the fields have included such names as Ryan Moore, Anthony Kim and Patrick Cantlay, who won the individual JAC competition in 2008 and recently shot 60 in a PGA Tour event as an amateur.
With such talent on display, many college golf coaches scout at the Junior America’s Cup. And with the tournament featuring a team format not unlike that of college events, the coaches like to see how prospective players perform in that format. The top three scores from each golf association each day count toward the team total.
Not surprisingly, teams and individuals from California have often been the ones to beat in the JAC. But though Southern California has won the team title two of the last three years, there has been a wider variety of champions since the early 1990s.
Colorado will be represented at Hiwan by Cameron Harrell of Colorado Springs, a second-time participant who recently finished 28th in the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships; Jimmy Makloski of Pueblo, who played in the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur; Cole Nygren of Longmont, winner of the recent AJGA Aspen Junior Golf Classic; and Benjamin Moore of Cherry Hills Village, who placed third in this month’s CGA Junior Stroke Play Championship.
Jensen normally serves as captain for the CGA team, but with him being tournament director, Bob Austin will take over the captaincy this year. Austin is the boys golf coach at Kent Denver High School, winner of five consecutive state high school titles, and he’s a member of the CGA Junior Committee. His wife, Christie Austin, is a member of the USGA Executive Committee.
The CGA has sent teams to the Junior America’s Cup since 1975. The Colorado contingent, which finished eighth last year, has never won the team title.
With its mountainous terrain and high altitude, Hiwan should give the JAC competitors a good taste of what Colorado golf is all about.
“The goal is to bring (the players) in and show them what Colorado is truly like,” Jensen said. “It’s a tremendous facility and has a great history. It’s a dream place to hold a tournament.”
The players, by the way, will reside near the premises, all staying with host families.
If past tournaments are any indication, the greens at Hiwan will put competitors to the test. They’re expected to run between 11 1/2 and 12 in the Stimpmeter.
“As tournament director, it’s a little scary to pick hole locations,” Jensen said. “On the greens — that’s the part of the course where the tournament will be won or lost.”
Spectators are invited to attend the tournament — as well as the opening and closing ceremonies — free of charge. The opening ceremonies are set for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, with the closing festivities scheduled for just after the conclusion of play on Friday. Championship rounds begin from 7 to 8:30 a.m. each day.
After the opening ceremonies, a players’ dinner is planned where the guest speaker will be Colorado-based U.S. Paralympic Ski Team member Ralph Green, who had his left leg amputated as a teenager after being shot in some random street violence in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Because Colorado is switching places with Mexico in the boys JAC hosting rotation, the tournament won’t be scheduled to return to the state until 2028. For tournament pairings and other information, CLICK HERE.
