NEWS
41st Junior PGA Championship Highlight Show comes to Golf Channel on Sept. 14
Golf Channel will air the 41st Junior PGA Championship Highlight Show beginning Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET. The program features profiles of several participants as well as special moments from one of the country’s premier junior events.
The 41st Junior PGA Championship presented by Under Armour and Genesis Networks, was contested Aug. 9-12, at historic Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island.
Californians Norman Xiong of Canyon Lake, and Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, captured the respective Boys’ and Girls’ Division titles, and will compete on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team, which faces Europe, Sept. 26-27, at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota.
The 41st Junior PGA Championship’s 156-player field (78 boys, 78 girls) represented the finest young golfers across the country, featuring contestants from 40 states, 41 PGA Sections, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
Special profiles in the Junior PGA Championship Highlight Show include:
· Kenlie Barrett of The Woodlands, Texas, who began with PGA Junior League Golf and Coach Aurora Kirchner-McClain, the teamwork that catapulted her into a berth in the Junior PGA Championship.
· Finn Boynton of Milford, Connecticut, who balanced success on the course and his mother’s health crisis, ultimately became a local leader in charitable fundraising and a skilled boat detailer to help fund a golf career.
· Karah Sanford of Escondido, California, diagnosed with scoliosis at age 10, developed her strength and her game to where two years later she competed in the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National Golf Club.
· Norman Xiong of Canyon Lake, California, who was born on the island of Guam, began playing golf at age 6. His mother, an aspiring Olympic hopeful in sharpshooting in her native China, encouraged her son to focus on his targets in golf.
Begun in 1976, the Junior PGA Championship has annually served as a stepping stone for competitors that will soon begin collegiate or Tour professional careers. Past participants include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth in the boys’ division, and Inbee Park, Michelle Wie and Alexis (Lexi) Thompson in the girls’ division.
Beginning in 2017, the Junior PGA Championship presented by Under Armour and Genesis Networks will feature an expanded field to 144 players in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions. The Country Club of St. Albans (Missouri, near St. Louis) will host the Girls Junior PGA Championship, July 18-21, and the Boys’ competition, July 31– Aug. 3.