Last year, a Coloradan finally broke through to win a title at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior when Hailey Schalk of Erie earned the girls championship.
Schalk will be back to defend her title this coming week as the event is held for the fourth time, with Walnut Creek Golf Preserve hosting for the second straight year.
And among those hoping for a Colorado breakthrough on the boys side will be Davis Bryant of Aurora, who earned the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year honors for 2017 as Schalk landed the Girls POY award.
But it certainly won’t be easy if Bryant is to become the first Colorado resident to win the Irwin tournament. You see, he’s in Portland, Ore., on Monday, playing 36 holes in a U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying tournament, then will have to hurry home for Tuesday’s first round at Walnut Creek.
Irwin tournament actitivities began Sunday with a qualifying tournament that finalized the field. Things will continue with a Junior-Am and practice rounds on Monday, then the 54-hole tournament will run Tuesday through Thursday for both boys and girls.
A total of 71 boys and 24 girls are scheduled to tee it up beginning on Tuesday.
Among the boys in the field, in addition to the Colorado State University-bound Bryant, are defending champion Artem Yalovenko from Russia and Windermere, Fla.; former boys Colorado state high school champions Bryant and Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs; University of Denver signee Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch; Oklahoma State commitment Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins; U.S. Junior Amateur qualifiers TJ Shehee of Mead and Bryant; and Walker Franklin of Broomfield.
For the girls, among those signed up are state high school champions Schalk, Emma Bryant of Aurora (Davis’ younger sister), Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora and Lauren Lehigh of Loveland; Sofia Choi of Littleton; who recently won an AJGA title in Massachusetts; and 2017 AJGA Hale Irwin Junior runner-up and U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village.
All told, four countries (the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Taiwan) will be represented, along with 17 states.
Irwin, a Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate, has lent his name to the tournament. He’s won 20 times on the PGA Tour — including three U.S. Opens — and a record 45 times on PGA Tour Champions. Irwin, who turned 73 on Sunday, claimed an NCAA individual title in 1967 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
For more information about the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.
