Aurora Golfer Will Compete Against World’s Best at Western Junior in Sugar Grove
The world’s best junior golfers will converge in Sugar Grove less than a month from now, and among them will be one from Kane County.
Boyajian
Aurora native Scott Boyajian will be among those competing at Rich Harvest Farms when the acclaimed Sugar Grove track hosts the Western Junior for the second time in the long history of the event.
While the soon-to-be high school graduate has already competed at a high level, playing in various American Junior Golf Association and Illinois Junior Fold Association events, stepping to the first tee at the Western Junior will represent the pinnacle of his career to this point.
The annual championship features an international field of 156 top junior players, all vying to win the country’s oldest national junior golf championship.
First held by the Western Golf Association in 1914, the Western Junior has served as a proving ground for many future PGA TOUR stars, including past champions Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar also have competed in the Western Junior.
The event was not played for several years during World War I and World War II.
The Western Junior has been played in more than 15 states and at several prestigious Chicago area golf clubs. The event was played last year at Evanston Golf Club in Skokie and was won by Jeff Doty of Carmel, Indiana.
Return to Rich Harvest Farms
Rich Harvest Farms first hosted the Western Junior in 2003, when Brady Schnell posted a 72-hole total of 2-over-par 290 to claim the title. That remains the record for highest winning score since the Western Junior switched from a match play format to a 72-hole stroke play event in 1999.
“We’re excited to bring the Western Junior to such a distinguished venue as Rich Harvest Farms,” said Vince Pellegrino, Western Golf Association senior vice president of tournaments. “The layout of this course should again prove to be a true challenge for our entire field of exceptional junior players.”
Among those expected to be in this year’s field are: Vanderbilt verbal commit and 2018 U.S. Amateur match play qualifier Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst, North Carolina; Rolex Junior All-American Alexander Yang of Carlsbad, California; and Arizona State verbal commit Jeewon Park of South Korea.
Designed by owner and Western Golf Association Director Jerry Rich, Rich Harvest Farms was rated fifth “Best New Private Course” by Golf Digest in 1999. In designing the course, Rich drew upon his background as an avid golfer who has played many of the world’s finest courses.
“I am thrilled to once again host the best junior golfers in the world,” Rich said. “It’s all about growing the game and elevating junior golf tournaments to the level of professional ones. With the way junior golfers play today, you’d think you’re watching members of the PGA TOUR!”
Rich Harvest Farms also hosted the WGA’s 2015 Western Amateur, won by Dawson Armstrong in one of the most dramatic finishes in the championship’s storied history. On the 20th hole, Armstrong closed out the final match against reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Aaron Wise by holing a 20-yard bunker shot for eagle.
“Mr. Rich has been a loyal supporter of our championships and of the Evans Scholars program,” Pellegrino noted. “We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to return to Rich Harvest Farms for another Western Golf Association championship.”
As a reminder, admission and parking to the Western Junior are both free.
For more information, visit www.thewesternjunior.com.
2019 Western Junior Field
With less than 30 days before the start of the Western Junior, the field of 156 players is slowly being solidified. While the following list is subject to change before the big day, it seems we can look forward to more players from Illinois participating.
- Simms Abney, Madison, MS
- Gray Albright, Ocala, FL
- Cole Anderson, Camden, ME
- Terrin Anderson, Montgomery, TX
- Nicholas Arcement, Thibodaux, LA
- Luke Armbrust, Wheaton, IL
- Gavin Aurilia, Phoenix, AZ
- Johnny Bai, (China) Lake Mary, FL
- Lou Baker, Timonium, MD
- Jake Beber-Frankel, Santa Monica, CA
- Rajvir Bedi, San Jose, CA
- Thomas Bockholt, Austin, TX
- Trey Bosco, Austin, TX
- Scott Boyajian, Aurora, IL
- Cade Breitenstine, Akron, OH
- Ben Brogdon, Little Rock, AR
- Jay Brooks, Boca Raton, FL
- John Marshall Butler, Louisville, KY
- Matt Camel, Greenwich, CT
- Stephen Campbell Jr., Richmond, TX
- Will Chambless, Culloden , GA
- Jackson Chandler, Dublin, OH
- Aaron Chen, Fremont, CA
- Kuangyu Chen, Shenzhen, China
- Evan Chien, Irvine, CA
- Kelly Chinn, Great Falls, VA
- Phillip Choi, Corinth, TX
- Luke Clanton, Miami Lakes, FL
- Tucker Clark, Paradise Valley, AZ
- Austin Coggin, Vestavia Hills, AL
- Sam Davidson, Asheboro, NC
- Will Davis, Jacksonville, FL
- Luke DeHaven, Bargersville, IN
- Sean-Karl Dobson, Austin, TX
- Hal Dove, Dothan, AL
- Drew Doyle, Louisville, KY
- John Driscoll III, Lake Mary, FL
- George Duangmanee, Fairfax, VA
- John DuBois, Windermere, FL
- Garrett Engle, Harrisburg, PA
- Danny Fisher, Lake Forest, IL
- Maxwell Ford, Peachtree Corners, GA
- David Ford, Peachtree Corners, GA
- Christopher Fosdick, Middlefield, CT
- Peter Fountain, Raleigh, NC
- Nathan Franks, Roebuck, SC
- Henry Frizzell, Frisco, TX
- Connor Gaunt, Cabot, AR
- Connor Glynn, Waconia, MN
- Andrew Goodman, Norman, OK
- Ty Griggs, Manteca, CA
- Carson Griggs, Sand Springs, OK
- Matthew Griggs, Carrollton, TX
- Jonathan Griz, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Crosby Guercio, Frisco, TX
- Abhay Gupta, Concord, NC
- Frankie Harris, Boca Raton, FL
- Ryan Hart, Naples, FL
- JT Herman, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Billy Howenstein, Boulder, CO
- Piercen Hunt, (Canada) Hartland, WI
- James Imai, Brookline, MA
- Tyler Isenhart, Geneva, IL
- Palmer Jackson, Murrysville, PA
- Ben James, Milford, CT
- Sam Jean, Greenwood, IN
- Bo Jin, Beijing, China
- Ian Johnston, Swisher, IA
- Ryggs Johnston, Libby, MT
- Tyler Jones, Westerville, OH
- Andrew Jung, (S. Korea) San Diego, CA
- Scotty Kennon, Bandon, OR
- Luke Kluver, Norfolk, NE
- Allan Kournikova, Palm Beach, FL
- Aidan Kramer, Oviedo, FL
- Campbell Kremer, Lousiville, KY
- Jackson Lake, Clovis, CA
- Reynolds Lambert, Birmingham, AL
- Gaven Lane, Argyle, TX
- Jonah Leach, Windermere, FL
- Andrew Lewis, Carmel, IN
- Carter Loflin, Duluth, GA
- Xuan Luo, Nanchang, China
- Andy Mao, Johns Creek, GA
- Xavier Marcoux, (Canada) Concord, MA
- Alek Mauro, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- William McDonald, Oklahoma City, IL
- Will McGriff, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
- Caden McMackin, Laguna Beach, CA
- Drew Miller, Arlington, TN
- Narayan Mohan, Charlotte, NC
- Maxwell Moldovan, Uniontown, OH
- Yuki Moriyama, (Japan) Las Vegas, NV
- Thomas Morrison, Pinehurst, NC
- Evan Myers, Northbrook, IL
- Hazen Newman, Las Vegas, NV
- Drue Nicholas, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
- James Nieporte, Boca Raton, FL
- Jay Nimmo, Benton, KY
- Gavin Noble, Ringgold, GA
- Mason Nome, Houston, TX
- Dawson Ovard, Frisco, TX
- Spencer Oxendine, Fayetteville, NC
- Costas Panay, Redmond, WA
- Jeewon Park, (S. Korea) Lake Mary, FL
- Cooper Parks, Campbellsville , KY
- Deven Patel, Johns Creek , GA
- Carter Pendley, Dalton, GA
- Bo Peng, (China) Lake Mary, FL
- Nathan Petronzio, Bee Cave, TX
- Zach Place, Roselle, IL
- Austyn Reily, Pottsboro, TX
- Drew Reinke, Meridian, ID
- Rafe Reynolds, Greenville, SC
- Jackson Rivera, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
- Brett Roberts, Coral Springs, FL
- James Roller, Jenks, OK
- Drew Salyers, Howard, OH
- Luke Sample, New York, NY
- Calen Sanderson, Newtown, PA
- Papon Sawatyanon, Bangkok, Thailand
- Cole Sherwood, Austin, TX
- Caleb Shetler, Saratoga, CA
- Takafumi Shimoji, (Japan) Suwanee, GA
- Stewart Slayden, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
- Manning Sloop, Rock Hill, SC
- Benjamin Smith, Blain, PA
- Ben Soicher, Mill Valley, CA
- Sam Sommerhauser, Rocklin, CA
- Matthew Spaulding, Spring, TX
- Ross Steelman, Columbia, MO
- Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins, CO
- Baron Szeto, Moraga, CA
- Adam Thorp, Canberra, Australia
- Sam Tidd, Meridian, ID
- Trent Tipton, Orient, OH
- Daniel Tiscareno, Seattle, WA
- Cohen Trolio, West Point, MS
- Yu-Ta Tsai, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- James Tureskis, Naples, FL
- Brendan Valdes, Orlando, FL
- Jackson Van Paris, Pinehurst , NC
- Evan Vo, Austin, TX
- William Wann, Birmingham, AL
- Luc Warnock, McGregor, Ontario, Canada
- Wells Williams, West Point, MS
- Evan Woosley-Reed, Shelbyville, TN
- Drew Wrightson, Zionsville, IN
- Edward Wu, Temple City, CA
- Ray Xiong, (China) Rancho Santa Fe, CA
- Andi Xu, (China) San Diego, CA
- Alexander Yang, Carlsbad, CA
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Christopher Zhang, Blacksburg, VA
- Jimmy Zheng, Auckland, New Zealand
