This year was a monumental year for the HJGT. In 2018, we held over 250+ events in 20+ states across the country. We have revolutionized our tour with new partnerships with the Junior Golf Hub and ShotStat. To close out the 2018 season, we held our National Championships in Orlando, FL. Our National Championship events were a huge success with over 700+ players from over 30 different countries coming to compete at our 8 different events over the weekend.
Throughout the 2018 season, players had the ability to earn points by placing in the top ten of any of our events. At the end of the year, the top point earner in each division would have the chance to meet their division ambassador. The National Championship signaled the end of the 2018 points race, here are the winners from each division:
Matthew Soucinek – Congratulations to Matthew Soucinek, 17, from Lake City, Florida who has won the Player of the year competition for the Tiger Woods Boys 16-18 Division. Matthew has won the meet and greet with Tiger Woods. This season Matthew had a point total of 12,900 after playing in 14 tournaments! Matthew always brought a competitive game to the course with a scoring average of 73.6 and took home victory in 50% of the tournaments he played this season and never placing below top 10. Â Matthew’s best tournament was the Major Championship at Callaway Gardens shooting 144. Congrats Matt!
Alex Song – Alex Song, 15, of Windemere, FL finished 2018 with the top spot in the Will Smith Boys 14-15 Division player of the year competition with a point total of 13,950. Alex will have the opportunity to have a meet and greet with his division ambassador, Will Smith! Alex participated and played well in 13 events this season. He placed first at three tournaments, including the 54 Hole Junior Open at Shingle Creek. Â Congratulations on being the 2018 Will Smith Division Player of the Year, Alex. We look forward to seeing you on tour with us again next year!
Luke Powell – Luke Powell, 13, of Laguna Niguel, CA finished the year in the top spot in the Ernie Els Boys 11-13 Division player of the year competition with a point total of 17,000. Luke will have the opportunity to have a meet and greet with his division ambassador, Ernie Els! Luke played in 9 of our events this year. He won an impressive 7 tournaments and was seated no lower than third place all year. Luke’s best score of the season a 69, which he was able to shoot at the Major Championship at TPC Harding Park. Â We look forward to watching this talented young golfer play next year on tour with us!
Carson Higginbotham – Carson Higginbotham, 9, of Clarksburg, WV finished the year in first-place in the Bryson Dechambeau Boys U10 Division player of the year competition with a point total of 20,000. Carson will have the opportunity to have a meet and greet with his division ambassador, Bryson Dechambeau! Â He was a first place winner at a whopping 10 tournaments and placed top five at the Tournament of Champions. His lowest score was a 73 during the first round at the Pittsburgh Junior Open. Â Congratulations Carson we look forward to seeing you next season!
Susana Olivares – Susana Olivares, 17, of Guadalajara, Mexico finished the year at #1 in the Justin Timberlake Girls 14-18 Division player of the year competition with a point total of 15,100. Susana will have the opportunity to have a meet and greet with her division ambassador, Justin Timberlake! Susana played in 10 of our events this year and had four first place finishes. Â Her lowest score of the year was at the Tournament of Champions where she shot rounds of 67-69 to catapult her into first place for the Justin Timberlake Division. Congratulations Susana on being Player of the Year for your division!
Gianna Clemente – Gianna Clemente, 10, of Warren, OH finished the year with the top spot in the Justin Rose Girls U13 Division player of the year competition with a point total of 19,400. Gianna will have the opportunity to have a meet and greet with her division ambassador, Justin Rose! She played well during all of her 14 events this year and received first place victory is 13 of those tournaments played. Congrats Gianna, we look forward to seeing you next season!
In 2019, the HJGT will have a new point system. To find out how it will work, CLICK HERE
Another way for players to meet their division ambassador is by winning the Summer World Championship. These are the winners from each division at the Summer World Championship in 2018: Morgan Tournemire – Tiger Woods Division, Brian Park – Will Smith Division, Chapman Barnett – Ernie Els Division, Mi Yiduo – Bryson Dechambeau Division, Celeste Valinho – Justin Timberlake Division, and Ariana Carvalho – Justin Rose Division.
