This weekend, the LPGA opens its season in paradise with the
Pure Silk-Bahamas
LPGA Classic in the Caribbean while the PGA TOUR goes west for the Farmer’s
Insurance Open.
AJGA ties are
strong in both locations. The Farmer’s Insurance Open is run by Peter Ripa, former Assistant Executive
Director who served in several roles during his 16 years working for the AJGA. Ripa carried
his experiences from the AJGA first to the Crowne Plaza Invitational at
Colonial, where he was Tournament Director from 2007-11. In July 2011, Ripa
began his post as the Farmers Insurance Open tournament director, and later
became executive director of the Century Club at the conclusion of the 2012
event.
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Another big
AJGA storyline at Torrey Pines includes the professional debut of 20-year-old
AJGA alumnus Michael Kim of Del Mar, Calif. Kim grew up just 10 minutes away
from the golf course and began his national junior golf path by medaling in his
first-ever event: the Preseason Junior at Walnut Creek. During his junior
career, Kim went on to earn Rolex Junior All-America honors and play on the
2010 Wyndham Cup West team.
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AJGA tournament host and alumna Stacy Lewis (KPMG Stacy
Lewis Junior Open, June 23-26) is back on Twitter and is engaging fans using a
#HeyStacy hashtag. @stacy_lewis tweeted Jan. 21 that she’ll be answering fan
questions submitted by Twitter using the hashtag.
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Looking back: It
was almost an AJGA reunion on Jan. 19 at the top of the leaderboard for the PGA
TOUR’s Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation.
Champion
Patrick Reed
of Baton Rouge, La., won wire-to-wire for his second career TOUR win (the first
was the 2013
Wyndham Championship) in 46 starts. He shot
three-straight rounds of 63 and closed with a 71 to beat AJGA alum
Ryan Palmer of Amarillo, Texas, by two
strokes.
A semifinalist at the 2008 U.S. Amateur, Reed competed at
Augusta State University where he became a two-time national champion. Palmer accepted a scholarship at University
of North Texas before transferring to Texas A&M after his freshman year. As
an Aggie, Palmer was selected to the All-Big 12 Team three times and won two collegiate
events.
Ten of the top 12 finishers at the Humana
Challenge were AJGA alumni, including Justin
Leonard, former AJGA National Chairman and tournament host.