Top Junior Players in the World Descending Upon Oakland Hills
Field of 264 Junior golfers includes Charlie Woods
By Tom Lang
Future PGA Tour players get their start at events like the U.S. Junior Amateur.
That means golf fans can come to Oakland Hills, July 22-27, and walk alongside the next great generation of talent as the club in West Bloomfield hosts the 76th annual tournament.
Michigan last hosted this international event at Egypt Valley near Grand Rapids in 2010. Players that year included Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Shauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Wyndam Clark.
Tiger Woods won three of them as a teenager; Speith, two.
Who will be next?
Could be Tiger’s own son, 15-year-old Charlie, who recently won a local qualifier in Florida.
“These kids hit it a long way. Their level of talent is incredible,” said Jeffrey Judge, Oakland Hills member, former club president and current U.S. Junior Amateur Championship Chairman. “A lot of these top players who are exempt are on a path, certainly to play college golf, and have aspirations to get to the pro tours. But being able to see this level of play, and walking down the fairways with them, is an experience you really can’t get anywhere else.”
The best part for golf fans – it’s all free.
Free parking at Bloomfield High School, free shuttle ride to Oakland Hills and free admission. Just show up.
A few other notables include Blades Brown, co-medalist at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills. The feat surpassed Bobby Jones as the youngest medalist (to qualify for match play) in U.S. Amateur history. In May, the 16-year-old shot 10-under par at the PGA Tour Myrtle Beach Classic and placed 26th.
Miles Russell received a sponsor’s exemption into the Rocket Mortgage Classic. This spring, at age 15, the 2023 AJGA Player of the Year became the youngest golfer ever to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Also qualifying was Michigander Ieuan Jones of Ann Arbor, who as a sophomore two years ago won the Division 1 state championship out of Skyline High. Another Michigan player, to be determined, is the eventual champion of the Michigan Jr. Amateur, to be played July 8-11 at Ferris State University.
The most telling speech at the recent Media Day for the tournament at Oakland Hills was made by Rob Doone, Director, Championships, USGA.
“I’m responsible for course set up, so my speech will be short,” was his opening line. “It’s going to be hard.”
A little later Doone added that the rough will be grown to at least 4 inches, and: “Here, we are getting a U.S. Open test. We don’t get many golf courses that allow us to do that. They’ll play at over 7,300 yards and set at par 70.”
Anyone in golf knows that Oakland Hills lost its beloved and historic clubhouse in February of 2022 to a fire that all but leveled to the ground the nearly 100-year-old all-wooden structure. Less than two months later, the USGA announced a slate of eight future tournaments to be hosted by the West Bloomfield club. The U.S. Junior Amateur is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first USGA tournament the metro Detroit club hosted, the 1924 U.S. Open.
“Hosting the U.S. Junior Amateur I think is something our members can come together and rally around,” Judge told me. “It’s true that it’s been a hard two and a half years since losing the clubhouse. We’re looking at the Junior championship coming here … as a way for everyone to come together, maybe get to know someone they haven’t gotten to know ... So, doing this as an opportunity for all of us to help heal a little bit.”
More information at: https://championships.usga.org/usjunioramateur.html
