Raising The Bar

Another great week on the AJGA circuit has passed and the level of competition is getting higher and higher. Five competitors from the JGTA took home Top-10 finishes across 3 events – the AJGA Junior at Palo Alto, the AJGA Dana Incorporated Junior Open, and the AJGA Junior at Chicopee presented by John D. Mineck Foundation.

Yulin Chen (2021) of Guangzhou, China captured her first top-5 AJGA finish at the AJGA Dana Incorporated Junior Open last week, firing 75-75-67. Chen was a steady competitor on the JGTA this year, finishing 10^th on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit and earning Junior All-Asia Team honors.

For the full tournament results from the #DanaIncJunior, click here.

This season marks just the third year of the tour and Thirty college commitments are just the beginning. If you look at the Junior Order of Merit over the last three seasons, younger competitors on the tour have dominated. With such strong recruiting classes coming out of Asia with the graduation years of 2021, 2022, and 2023, the tour projects significant jumps in college commitments coming from Asia, and ultimately, the JGTA.

If you had looked at the Girl’s Division leaderboard after round one you would have thought the AJGA Junior at Chicopee presented by John D. Mineck Foundation was a JGTA event. Irene Wang (2020) of Beijing, China has continued her summer of success with a T2 finish at the event, awarding her Fully Exempt AJGA PBE Status. She shot 72-73-72 for a tournament total of 4-over-par 217. Wang finished 11^th on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit this season and her best finish of the year was 4^th at the JGTA Bogor Junior Championship Hosted By Sentul Highlands Golf Club.

Following up the pack was Jiayang Lu (2020) of Chengdu, China, and Wenlu Su (2021) of Beijing, China, finishing T6 – their best finishes in AJGA events to date.

Also finishing in the top-10 was Mariel Isabella Tee (2020) of Pasig City, Philippines. This is Tee’s second top-10 finish of the season.

For the full tournament results from the #ChicopeeJr, click here.

Taking home the trophy at the highly coveted and longstanding U.S. Girls’ Junior was Lei (Angelina) Ye (2019) of (China) Bradenton, Florida. Ye is a decorated AJGA member with recognition of being a First-Team Rolex Junior All-American in 2018, and Second Team in 2017 and 2016. Her current Rolex AJGA Ranking is 6^th overall.

A total of 5 players from the JGTA competed in the 71st, U.S. Girls’ Junior, with the best finish of the pack coming from Virgnine Ding (2020) of Hong Kong, SAR.

For the full tournament results from the #USGirlsJunior, click here.

JGTA competitor Aksel Moe (2023) of Richville, Minnesota took home the Junior-Am title at the AJGA Dana Incorporated Junior Open alongside his amateur playing partners.