HOUSTON (March 1, 2019) – The Texas Junior Golf Alliance recently announced a three-year extension by each of its four founding partners – Southern Texas PGA, Northern Texas PGA, Texas Golf Association and Houston Golf Association. The new agreement is now in effect and runs through December 2021.
Formed in 2012, the goal of the Alliance was to allow junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. Each of the three tier two organizations (STPGA, NTPGA, HGA) conduct events that serve as qualifiers into the statewide tier one events run by the Legends Junior Tour (LJT). This allows players to compete in local events, in which they can earn spots to play in statewide tournaments.
The Texas Golf Association runs and operates the LJT, which conducts elite-level, statewide junior events, such as the Byron Nelson Junior Championship, Texas Cup Invitational and Texas Girls Invitational.
“This extended agreement is extremely exciting for junior golfers as it strengthens the partnership between all four founding partners,” said Thomas Hutton, Executive Director for the Southern Texas PGA. “It gives more playing opportunities, both locally and statewide, and continues to show that junior golf in Texas is the best in the country.”
This new agreement comes with a few changes and additions. Starting in 2019, players who participate in tier two events have the ability to earn full status on the LJT by way of “the Battle Field Promotion” concept. This promotion takes places when a player wins two tier two events with the same organization in a calendar year.
“Our goal for the alliance is to provide a clear player pathway for the best playing junior golfers in Texas who desire to play in college and perhaps beyond without ever needing to leave the State,” said Mark Harrison Executive Director / CEO of the Northern Texas PGA. “With the addition of Battle Field Promotion, we are excited to provided kids who win twice in a calendar year on the STPGA Prestige Tour, the NTPGA All American Tour or the HGA Performance Series to jump straight to the Legends Junior Tour.
“The PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour both have similar Battle Field Promotions with their partner tours, the Web.com and Symetra Tours, so we are confident that it will be a great way to both incentivize and reward players.”
Another new component is the increase of Invitational tournaments conducted by the LJT. The Bluebonnet Championship, which is played annually in May, will transition from an Open event to an Invitational. In addition, a new Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational will be formed in the fall.
“With increased demand and players wanting to qualify and then play in a championship event, adding two more Invitationals was ideal for the Legends Junior Tour and the overall Alliance,” said Stacy Dennis, Executive Director of the Texas Golf Association. “This allows for more exemptions to be given out at STPGA, NTPGA and HGA events but still run the most highly competitive junior golf events in the state.”
This year alone between all four organizations, the Texas Junior Golf Alliance will conduct more than 75tournaments across the state. Each tour has past champions who have gone on to play at the highest levels in college and professionally. Supremely talented competitors such as Jordan Spieth, Cole Hammer and Hailee Cooper are all Texas Junior Golf Alliance alumni.
“The HGA is looking forward to seeing these changes and enhancements to the Texas Junior Golf Alliance,” said Steve Timms, CEO of the Houston Golf Association. “Junior golf remains an important element to our organization and these events provide incentive to improve your game and earn Legends Junior Tour exemptions.”
For a complete listing of each organization’s 2019 schedule, please visit the websites below.
