By AJGA Staff, June 10, 2024
Blessings Golf Club welcomes the AJGA for the seventh time to showcase the Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational. The 54-hole stroke play event will showcase 56 of the best junior golfers, ages 12-15. Unique to this event, the juniors will compete in a girls versus boys challenge throughout the tournament rounds in which the juniors compete in twosomes. The invitational will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas from June 10-12.
About the Field
- Five Rolex Junior All-Americans
- 27 past champions
- Six countries represented
- 17 states represented
About host Stacy Lewis
- Lewis began hosting the event in 2015.
- As a collegiate golfer, Lewis gained several awards and notoriety. Lewis was a four-time college All-American at Arkansas and winner of the 2007 NCAA Division I Championship.
- On the LPGA Tour, Lewis has competed as a member of four Solheim Cup teams and won 13 times including two majors.
- Lewis was recently named the US team’s 2024, Solheim Cup Captain.
About the Course
Blessings Golf Club was designed in 2004 by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and was redesigned by Kyle Phillips in 2017. Blessings Golf Club is home to the University of Arkansas men’s and women’s golf teams. The course stretches over 7,900 yards and features a 9,000-square-foot indoor short-game facility.
AJGA Champion Highlights
Of the 27 players who’ve won an AJGA event, a few highlights:
- Aphrodite Deng of Short Hills, New Jersey is ranked No. 6 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. She was the runner-up of the 2023, Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational. Deng has seven top-five AJGA career finishes with three wins under her belt.
- Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, California is ranked No. 19 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. She won the 2022, KPMG Stacy Lewis All-Star Invitational. Zhao has four total AJGA career wins and 13 top-five finishes.
- Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is ranked No. 73 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. He has one AJGA career win and five top-ten finishes. He was named to the 2023, Junior All-Star team.
- Rory Asselta of Ramsey, New Jersey is ranked No. 119 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. Asselta has two AJGA career wins and three top-10 finishes.
Tournament History
The Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational has occurred annually since 2015. In this year’s event, former Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational champion, Alice Ziyi Zhao is competing in the tournament field. The Stacy Lewis All-Star Invitational was originally hosted at Fayetteville Club before returning to Blessings Golf Club in 2017.
About 2024 Player Field
In the 2024 Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational field, 11 juniors are currently ranked inside the top-100 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings:
No. 6 Aphrodite Deng of Short Hills, New Jersey
No. 19 Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, California
No. 34 Sofia Cherif Essakali of Orlando, Florida
No. 41 Lily Peng of San Ramon, California
No. 43 Eliana Saga of Stevenson Ranch, California
No. 50 Samantha Chiou of Orinda, California
No. 55 Ruihan Kendria Wang of Bellevue, Washington
No. 64 Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Washington
No. 67 Clara Ding of White Rock, British Columbia
No. 73 Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
No. 87 Ava Zhang of Lake Mary, Florida
Social
Follow along on social with #StacyLewisInv or check us out on X , Instagram and Facebook .