For the 14th consecutive year, Vaughn Taylor, an Augusta native and three-time PGA Tour champion, will host an American Junior Golf Association tournament here in the CSRA.
Running from June 9-13, elite-level junior golfers from across the United States and the world will tee it up at Bartram Trail Golf Club in Evans.
Since 2011, the competition has taken place somewhere in the Augusta area. Sites such as Mount Vintage Golf Club, Jones Creek Golf Club and Champions Retreat — the opening site of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur — have also held the event. This year will mark the second year the tournament takes place at Bartram Trail Golf Club.
On the Sunday before the tournament begins, 78 players will compete in an 18-hole qualifier. Of the 78, only nine will earn a spot in the main event. Monday June 10 will be the official practice round day as participants play in the Jim Burton Memorial Junior-AM, which begins at approximately 1 p.m.
The 54-hole stroke play competition kicks off Tuesday, June 11 at 8 a.m. and will conclude on Thursday, June 13 at 3 p.m., after the third and final round. This year’s tournament field includes 78 young men and women between ages 12 and 19. Several competitors, such as Walker Gantt and Sarah Martin, call Augusta home.
The AJGA welcomes all families, guests and spectators to the tournament free of charge. Refreshments and food items will be available for purchase in the clubhouse.
Before the tournament kicks off, Jason Page, Dan Troutman, and Taylor spoke at the pre-tournament press conference. Page, the owner of Bartram Trail, noted the pristine conditions of the golf course in hopes that tournaments like these will help prepare junior golfers to reach the apex of the sport one day.
Furthermore, he celebrated Taylor’s selfless work within the community, mentioning their supportive friendship over the past ten years. Troutman, the tournament chairman, thanked Bartram for their tireless effort as host.
In particular, he highlighted the incredible volunteers who help this AJGA event perform as well as it does. The AJGA presented the 2023 Vaughn Taylor Championship with the Volunteer Award, acknowledging Bartram’s community and its members for their incredible teamwork.
Moving forward, Taylor said he sees Bartram Trail playing an important role in helping these young men and women achieve their dreams, a path that Vaughn found himself on years ago. He spoke about the work Page has put into this event in the past, and he shared excitement for the tournament’s future going forward.
Taylor also waxed reminiscent about his growth in the game of golf during his junior and high school playing days in Hephzibah to his time competing at Augusta University.
“I just loved the memories of competing in these AJGA events,” Taylor said. “Any time I got to play in one, it was a dream come true.”
These days, with an incredibly successful PGA Tour career on his resumé, giving back to his community fills him with tremendous pride.
“I have to pinch myself sometimes to actually think I’m doing this,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”
