AJGA Returns to The Woodlands with Easter Event at the Resort’s Panther Trail Course
Year
in and year out, a handful of golf courses resonate as stalwarts
on the American Junior Golf Association’s schedule.
This year marks the return of one of those courses as the
AJGA adds The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center to
its schedule for the annual Easter Weekend event in Texas.
No.
18 – Panther Trail Course |
“TaylorMade-adidas is synonymous with The Woodlands,”
says AJGA Vice President of Operations Bobby Powell.
After a four-year absence, the AJGA will return to The Woodlands
April 9-11 for one of its three Easter Weekend events. The
facility served as the site of the AJGA’s first Easter
event from 1985 until 1999, before a redesign of the course
forced the AJGA to find a new home for one of its longest-running
events.
"We kept in touch with them while the renovations were
under way because we always wanted to go back to The Woodlands,”
Powell says. “Once the schedule and renovations fell
into place, it was a no-brainer. It’s such a mutually
beneficial relationship.”
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The
tournament’s resume reads like a who’s who of
golf with past Girls Division champions such as Cristie Kerr,
Grace Park, Emilee Klein, Kellee Booth and Candie Kung. Before
moving on to bigger accomplishments in their careers, Tiger
Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, David Duval and Bob May
all competed at The Woodlands.
The AJGA last held its Easter event at The Woodlands in 1999
before the resort undertook a massive renovation of what was
then called the North Course. Following a longer-than-expected
overhaul of the course, scheduling conflicts prevented the
AJGA from returning to its destination of choice in the Lone
Star State. The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center played
host to the Shell Houston Open for 17 years and utilized the
Panther Trail Course as one of its Pro-Am courses, thus extending
the AJGA’s absence.
During
the final AJGA event there before the redesign, Candie Kung
and Leigh Anne Hardin produced one of the wilder finishes
in tournament history when they battled through six sudden-death
playoff holes. The duo entered the event ranked first and
second in national junior rankings—and proceeded to
prove the labels were well deserved. The juniors each scrambled
to make pars on the first five playoff holes before Kung drained
a 10-foot birdie putt to secure the title—her second
straight Easter Weekend win at The Woodlands.
Will the first year back at the renowned facility yield similar
excitement?
With a dramatic finishing hole awaiting would-be champions,
anything is possible. An island green lies at the end of the
18th hole, a 429-yard, par-4 framed by greenside and fairway
bunkers.
“That’s going to be a fun finishing hole,”
Powell says. “Even if you hit a good drive, you still
have 180 yards to an island green. I hope it’s a tight
finish because it will be exciting to watch.”
The new Panther Trail boasts small undulating greens, large
greenside and fairway bunkers, gently rolling fairways and
tall Carolina Pine trees lining every hole. Unique to Panther
Trail are vast areas of native vegetation.
“You won’t find anything in this area like Panther
Trail with all the native grasses and wildflowers,”
says Dean Choate of The Woodlands Resort & Conference
Center.
TaylorMade-adidas’ involvement will again be paramount
to the success of the event. Participants will receive adidas
golf shoes, compliments of the tournament sponsor, and the
TaylorMade van will be on site with the manufacturer’s
latest equipment.
For more information, please contact Joe
Mazzeo in the AJGA Communications Department at (770)
868-4200, ext. 789.