The 11th Gary Gilchrist Golf
Academy Junior All-Star Team includes 20 players from 11 states, the American
Junior Golf Association announced Tuesday.
Specifically designed for boys and girls ages 12-15,
Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series events present opportunities
for younger players to develop their skills and earn entry into AJGA Open
tournaments. The team was selected based on the Polo Golf Rankings, and a
player had to have competed in at least one Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior
All-Star event in 2012 in order to be eligible. The team of 10 boys and 10
girls will be honored Friday, Oct. 5, at the Junior All-Star Invitational in
Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Philip
Barbaree of Shreveport, La., is the only player returning from the 2011
Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Team. Barbaree, 14, posted three
AJGA top-10 finishes in 2012, including a T2 showing at his hometown event, the
David Toms Foundation Shreveport Junior.
Also on the boys’ team is Andy Zhang of Reunion, Fla., who became the youngest player to ever
participate in the U.S. Open when he qualified as a 14-year-old this year.
Zhang’s AJGA season included a pair of top-10 finishes, the best being a T7
showing at the Junior All-Star at Fieldstone.
Jacob Solomon
of Dublin, Calif., earned his spot on the team after winning three consecutive
AJGA tournaments, including a pair of Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior
All-Star events. Solomon, 15, began his winning streak in June at the Junior
All-Star at Gainey Ranch, and his most recent win came in August at the
Stockton Convention and Visitors Bureau Junior All-Star.
The seven other boys on the Gary Gilchrist Golf
Academy Junior All-Star Team are: Nick
Carlson (Hamilton, Mich.), James
Clark, III (Columbus, Ga.), Sean
Crocker (Westlake Village, Calif.), Benjamin
Griffin (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Cole
Madey (West Linn, Ore.), Daniel
Martinez (Austin, Texas),and Braden Thornberry (Olive Branch,
Miss.).
Karen Arimoto
and Mai Dechathipat, both students
at Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., lead the 10 girls
on the team. Ranked No. 19 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Arimoto’s 2012 season
included victories at the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior All-Star at Château
Élan and Junior All-Star at Fieldstone. Dechathipat has moved to No. 55 in the
Polo Golf Rankings behind the strength of runner-up finishes at the TaylorMade-adidas
Golf Junior All-Star at Château Élan and Junior All-Star at Fieldstone.
Jordan Daniel
of Newnan, Ga., and Kathleen Scavo
of Benicia, Calif., also notched victories at Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy
Junior-All Star events this season. Daniel’s win at the Evitt Foundation RTC
Junior All-Star was one of her four AJGA top 10s, while Scavo won the Stockton
Convention and Visitors Bureau Junior All-Star.
The six other girls on the Gary Gilchrist Golf
Academy Junior All-Star Team are: Abbey
Carlson (Lake Mary, Fla.), Rachel
Dai (Milton, Ga.), Michaela Owen
(Suwanee, Ga.), Grace Park (San
Jose, Calif.), Nikolette Schroeder
(Avon Lake, Ohio), and Lauren Stephenson
(Lexington, S.C.).
Former members of the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy
Junior All-Star Team include college and professional standouts, such as Rickie
Fowler (2004), Peter Uihlein (2004), Bud Cauley (2005), Brianna Do (2004),
Vicky Hurst (2005) and Cheyenne Woods (2005).
Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy
Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy, a full-time signature
golf instruction program located in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., began as an
Official Partner of the AJGA in 2009. The partnership features an endowment of
an Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant and naming rights to the Gary
Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series for juniors ages 12-15. Montverde
Academy, a coeducational independent college preparatory boarding and day
school, is the academic arm of Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy and has supported
the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series since 2009.
2012 Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Team
Boys Division
Philip Barbaree (Shreveport,
La.)
Nick Carlson (Hamilton, Mich.)
James Clark, III (Columbus,
Ga.)
Sean Crocker (Westlake Village,
Calif.)
Benjamin Griffin (Chapel Hill,
N.C.)
Cole Madey (West Linn, Ore.)
Daniel Martinez (Austin,
Texas)
Jacob Solomon (Dublin, Calif.)
Braden Thornberry (Olive
Branch, Miss.)
Andy Zhang (Reunion, Fla.)
Girls Division
Karen Arimoto (Howey-in-the-Hills,
Fla.)
Abbey Carlson (Lake Mary,
Fla.)
Rachel Dai (Milton, Ga.)
Jordan Daniel (Newnan, Ga.)
Mai Dechathipat
(Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.)
Michaela Owen (Suwanee, Ga.)
Grace Park (San Jose, Calif.)
Kathleen Scavo (Benicia,
Calif.)
Nikolette Schroeder (Avon
Lake, Ohio)
Lauren Stephenson (Lexington,
S.C.)