Impressive field set for 42nd Boys Junior PGA Championship at St. Albans

ST. ALBANS, MO. – The 42nd Boys Junior PGA Championship kicks off next Monday, July 31, at The Country Club of St. Albans Lewis and Clark Course, with an impressive field of 144 of the top junior players age 18 and under from around the country. 

One of golf’s major championships for juniors, the Boys Junior PGA Championship is where the best in the world get their start including: 2017 Open Champion Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Justin Leonard, David Toms and Scott Verplank.

Begun in 1976, at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, the Championship has been a popular stop on the national junior circuit for many of today’s PGA touring professionals. This year’s Championship will be conducted Monday, July 31-Thursday, Aug. 3.

RELATED: Full coverage of the 42nd Boys Junior PGA Championship at St. Albans

The 2016 Boys Junior PGA Champion Norman Xiong, of Canyon Lake, California, now plays for the University of Oregon. Xiong received the national 2017 Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award and was part of the Ducks team that finished second in the NCAA Championship. He also was a key member of the victorious 2016 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team.

Among the players to watch in the 2017 Boys Junior PGA Championship:

Patrick Welch , Providence, Rhode Island – The 2016 Boys Junior PGA Championship runner-up, Welch, 17, led the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team with a 3-0 record. The cross-handed player is a three-time Rhode Island Junior Champion, 2015 Rhode Island Amateur medalist and 2015 New England Junior Champion. A 2014 Drive, Chip & Putt Champion for the Boys 15-16 age group, Welch is a University of Oklahoma commit.

Eugene Hong, Orlando, Fla. – Hong, 17, the USA Today All-USA Boys Golfer of the Year, sank the winning putt for the 2016 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team. He won the 2016 AJGA Haas Family Invitational and is a two-time, First-team AJGA Junior All-America. Hong advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2015 and 2016. He is a University of Florida commit.

4 Missourians in the Field - Jack Parker, 18, of Columbia; Carson Postal, 17, of St. Louis; Zach Shirley, 16, of High Ridge; and Colin Stolze, 17, of Kirkwood. Parker, a University of Missouri commit, leads the pack with three individual high school state titles. 

Twins Pierceson and Parker Coody, Plano, Texas – The 17-year old Texas twins are the grandsons of 1971 Masters Champion Charles Coody. Parker won the 2017 6A Texas State High School Championship. The brothers are both 2018 University of Texas commits.

William Mouw, Chino, California – Mouw, 17, tied the 72-hole scoring record while winning the 2017 Western Junior by eight strokes. He was the 2015 Junior World Champion. Mouw is committed to Pepperdine.

Trent Phillips, Inman, South Carolina — Phillips, 17, won the 2017 Dustin Johnson Boys World Junior Championship. A USA Today All-USA Boys Golf second team selection, Phillips also was named the 2016 South Carolina Junior Golf Association Player of the Year. Phillips is a University of Georgia commit.

Jacob Bridgeman, Inman, S.C. – Bridgeman, 17, is the 2016 and 2017 South Carolina high school state champion. He won the 2016 Carolina Junior Championship and the 2016 Beth Daniel Junior Azalea. He finished third at the 2016 Big 1 National Championship. Bridgeman is committed to Clemson University.

Frankie Capan, North Oaks, Minn. – Capan, 17, is the 2016 Minnesota Golf Association Player of the Year. He won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with Shuai Ming Wong. Capan was also Medalist and team champion at the 2017 Toyota Junior World Cup. Capan is committed to the University of Alabama.

The Boys Junior PGA Championship doubled the size of the field this year and is conducting its Championship at The Country Club of St. Albans 10 days after the conclusion of the 42nd Girls Junior PGA Championship—which was won by Rose Zhang, 14, of Irvine, California in record-tying fashion, with a 72-hole total of 268.

Full field list: 

Simms Abney - Madison, Mississippi
Cole Anderson - Camden, Maine
Chaz Aurilia - Phoenix, Arizona
Carson Bacha - York, Pennsylvania
Hayden Banz - Salt Lake City, Utah
Michael Barnard - Gallatin, Tennessee
Brock Barnhart - Robins, Iowa
Carson Barry - Eagle, Idaho
Jake Beber-Frankel - Miami, Florida
Ryan Bender - Overland Park, Kansas
Akshay Bhatia - Wake Forest, North Carolina
Fred Biondi - Port St. Lucie, Florida
Lucas Borrero - Cypress, Texas
Jacob Bridgeman - Inman, South Carolina
Cullan Brown - Eddyville, Kentucky
Eric Brown - Lake Charles, Louisiana
Davis Bryant - Aurora, Colorado
Joe Bultman - Shawnee, Kansas
Beck Burnette - Blairsville, Georgia
Prescott Butler - Old Westbury, New York
Lucas Carper - San Jose, California
Cody Carroll - Jacksonville, Florida
Nicolas Cassidy - Johns Creek, Georgia
Sam Choi - Anaheim, California
Luke Clanton - Miami Lakes, Florida
Canon Claycomb - Bowling Green, Kentucky
Pierceson Coody - Plano, Texas
Parker Coody - Plano, Texas
Gavin Cronkhite - Lakeville, Minnesota
Reid Davenport - Austin, Texas
Mitchell Davis - Valparaiso, Indiana
Alejandro De Zavala - Chandler, Arizona
Miles DeMuesy - Clinton, Ohio
Jackson Drake - Lubbock, Texas
Jonathan Elkins - South Deerfield, Massachusetts
Amadeo Figus - Port St. Lucie, Florida
Austin Fox - Delmar, New York
Ben Fuller - Birmingham, Alabama
Jack Funderburg - Westerville, Ohio
Noah Gillard - Greenwood, Indiana
Connor Glynn - Waconia, Minnesota
Mark Goetz - Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Connor Golembeski - Redmond, Washington
Holden Grigg - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Crosby Guercio - Frisco, Texas
Aman Gupta - Concord, North Carolina
Lukas Heckmann - Middleton, Wisconsin
Joe Highsmith - Lakewood, Washington
Eugene Hong - Orlando, Florida
Turner Hosch - Dallas, Texas
Brady Howell - Lexington, Kentucky
Piercen Hunt - Hartland, Wisconsin

Sam Jean - Greenwood, Illinois
Evan Kawai - Honolulu, Hawaii
Ken Keller - Youngstown, Ohio
Luke Kluver - Norfolk, Nebraska
Bennett Knapek - Hartland, Wisconsin
Trevor Kosch - Humphrey, Nebraska

Jake Kuwitzky - McKinney, Texas
Alex Kyriacou - Suffern, New York
Jaron Leasure - Virginia Beach, Virginia
Ryan Lee - Norwood, New Jersey
Won Jun Lee - Wesley Chapel, Florida

Mason Lenhart - Prospect, Kentucky
Bryce Lewis - Hendersonville, Tennessee
Andrew Lewis - Carmel, Indiana
Darren Lin - Chino Hills, California 
Tyler Lipscomb - Carrollton, Georgia
Ethan Mangum - Ellenwood, Georgia
Sergi Mata - Palo Alto, California
Logan McAllister - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Marshall Meisel - Chevy Chase, Maryland
Clay Merchent - Noblesville, Indiana
Philip Minnehan - Rochester, New York
William Moll - Houston, Texas
William Mouw - Chino, California
Joseph Muschong - Lexington, Kentucky
Sean Niles - Northville, Michigan
Louis Olsakovsky - Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania
William O'Neill - Morristown, New Jersey
Dawson Ovard - Frisco, Texas
Forrest Park - Irving, Texas
Jack Parker - Columbia, Missouri
Joe Parrini - York, Pennsylvania
Trent Phillips - Inman, South Carolina
James Piot - Canton, Michigan
Dylan Plis - Camillus, New York
Patrick Poate - Niceville, Florida
Benjamin Pochet - Royersford, Pennsylvania
Cole Ponich - Farmington, Utah
Carson Postal - St. Louis, Missouri
Quinn Riley - Raliegh, North Carolina
Scott Roden - Dallas, Texas
David Rogers - Needham, Massachusetts
James Roller - Jenks, Oklahoma
Austin Rupp - Suffield, Connecticut
Juan-Carlos Sapien - El Paso, Texas
Clay Seeber - Newport Beach, California
Ethan Shepherd - Greenwood, Indiana
Zach Shirley - High Ridge, Missouri
Gavin Simon - Rochester, New York
Cameron Sisk - El Cajon, California
Jeremy Sisson - Skaneateles, New York
Evan Sitts - Oneonta, New York
Slater Sivage - Albuquerque, New Mexico
J.R. Small - Bozeman, Montana
Jansen Smith - San Angelo, Texas
Erik Souchak - Sarasota, Florida
Brian Stark - Kingsburg, California
Dillon Stewart - Fort Collins, Colorado
Colin Stolze - Kirkwood, Missouri
Bryan Teoh - Jupiter, Florida
Brian Terlesky - Youngstown, Ohio
Will Thompson - Naples, Florida
Logan Thompson - Lincoln, Maine
Jet Tickle - Bristol, Tennessee
Sam Tidd - Meridian, Idaho
Trent Tipton - Orient, Ohio
Spencer Tucker - Oskaloosa, Iowa
Connor Van Weelden - Ames, Iowa
Caleb Van Arragon - Blaine, Minnesota
Kyle Vance - Audobon, Pennsylvania
Khavish Varadan - Wesley Chapel, Florida
Alexander Vogelsong - Palm City, Florida
Lane Wallace - Yukon, Oklahoma
Patrick Welch - Providence, Rhode Island
Chase White - San Antonio, Texas
Trey Winstead - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Adam Xiao - Manhasset, New York
Pono Yanagi - Hilo, Hawaii
Alexander Yang - Carlsbad, California
Andy Yang - Sugar Land, Texas
Isaac Yelder - Goodyear, Arizona
Sampson Zheng - Kissimmee, Florida

For more information, please visit JuniorPGAChampionship.com.