40 of the top juniors are in this weekend ANA Junior Inspiration
(AJGA Photo)
RANCHO MIRAGE, CA (March 24, 2017) -- Forty of
the most talented junior golfers from around the
world have secured a dream ticket and the chance
to compete in the opening LPGA major championship
of the season, the ANA Inspiration held at Mission
Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 27
– April 2, 2017.
The juniors have earned entry into the newly
upgraded and expanded ANA Junior Inspiration
tournament, an official American Junior Golf
Association (AJGA) Invitational. The 54-hole
tournament will run from March 23-26, 2017 and
will be hosted at the same country club venue as the
iconic LPGA major tournament. The juniors will be
paired with LPGA Legends during the final round on
the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. The 20 person
Legend field will be comprised of past ANA
Inspiration Champions and Major winners.
“As the title sponsor of the ANA Inspiration and
the Official Airline of the LPGA our vision and
ambition for expanding the ANA Junior Inspiration
came from a desire to create the most exciting
tournament in junior golf. For ANA, it is vital that
our sponsorship leaves a lasting legacy and not only
inspires the players of today but the future stars of
tomorrow,” said Mr. Hideki Kunugi, Senior Vice
President of the Americas, ANA. “As Japan’s largest
airline we are in the business of connecting people
so we developed an event that would connect young
players from around the world as they start their
inspirational journey in the game. From the strength
and depth of the diverse group of players who will
descend upon Rancho Mirage next month our vision
is becoming a reality.”
The ANA Junior Inspiration features top talent
from around the world as players qualified through
the “ANA Priority Mileage” point system based on
the AJGA Rankings, with 11 spots given to the top
qualifiers in ANA’s gateway cities. The 2017
tournament brings together arguably one of the
strongest fields in female junior golf as eight of the
top 10 girls in the AJGA Rankings will compete in the
tournament, including reigning AJGA Rolex Junior
Player of the Year and current No. 1 Paphangkorn
Tavatanakit. Twenty-four players in the ANA Junior
Inspiration field are current Rolex Junior All-
Americans, 27 have earned AJGA wins and 16 have
given written or verbal commitment to play college
golf.
“The AJGA is excited about the top-level talent
competing at the ANA Junior Inspiration,” said AJGA
Chief Business Officer Jason Etzen. “The event not
only allows our players to get an LPGA Tour
experience and chance to earn entry into a major,
but also sets them up for success for the rest of
their junior golf careers and beyond.”
This year, thanks to the support of ANA and a
partnership with the AJGA, the best young female
golfers representing 14 U.S. states, Canada, China,
Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand will
compete in this one-of-a-kind tournament (see
below for full field).
LPGA legend and three-time ANA Inspiration
champion Annika Sorenstam said, “If I was a junior
golfer competing now, this type of event and
opportunity would definitely inspire me. Mission Hills
Country Club is a very special place. I know what it’s
like to win there, but just getting a chance to sample
the tournament atmosphere will have powerful
impact on the careers of these young players. Many
of the qualifiers took part in my recent AJGA ANNIKA
Invitational tournament in Orlando and they’re
already excited at the prospect of competing.”
“ANA has done so much for the ANA Inspiration
in a short two and a half years. However, their
desire was not to rest on that, but also inspire that
next generation. The commitment to expand an
event like the ANA Junior Inspiration brings our
shared vision to life. To be able to honor our history
while impacting our youth is the perfect way to
formally kick off the ANA Inspiration each year. I’m
so proud of the collective team work in making this
happen,” said ANA Inspiration Tournament Director
Gabe Codding.
Qualifier Details (Bold indicates Gateway
City Qualifier)
Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif.
(2017)
Sophia Bae, Norwood, N.J. (2021)
Jaravee Boonchant, (Thailand) Bradenton, Fla.
(2017)
Kathrine Chan, (Canada) Richmond, British
Columbia (2018)
Ya Chun Chang , Taiwan, Taiwan (2018)
Anne Chen, (Australia) Sugar Land, Texas
(2020)
Hye-Jin Choi, Gimhae-si, South Korea (2018)
Jayna Choi, Collierville, Tenn. (2019)
Youngin Chun, Gainesville, Fla. (2018)
Sadie Englemann, Austin, Texas (2020)
Montgomery Ferreira, University Place,
Wash. (2021)
Isabella Fierro, Merida, Mexico (2019)
Megan Furtney, South Elgin, Ill. (2019)
Ashley Gilliam, Manchester, Tenn., (2019)
Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (2020)
Yu Sang Hou, Taipei City, Taiwan (2017)
Sabrina Iqbal, San Jose, Calif. (2018)
Auston Kim, St Augustine, Fla. (2018)
Xin (Cindy) Kou, (China) Windermere, Fla.
(2021)
Lucy Li, Redwood Shores, Calif. (2020)
Ashley Menne, Surprise, Ariz. (2020)
Emilia Migliaccio, Cary, N.C. (2017)
Michaela Morard, Huntsville, Ala. (2020)
Malia Nam, Kailua, Hawaii (2018)
Brianna Navarrosa, San Diego, Calif. (2020)
Yealimi Noh, Concord, Calif. (2019)
Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, Texas (2017)
Ana Carola Ramirez, Pachuca, Mexico
(2019)
Karah Sanford, Escondido, Calif. (2019)
Brooke Sansom, Pike Road, Ala. (2018)
Rino Sasaki, (Japan) Bradenton, Fla. (2017)
Aneka Seumanutafa, Emmitsburg, Md.
(2019)
Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ind. (2019)
Yujeong Son, (South Korea) Norman, Okla.
(2019)
Kornkamol Sukaree, (Thailand) Huntington
Beach, Calif. (2018)
Paphangkorn Tavatanakit, (Thailand) Van
Nuys, Calif. (2017)
Kailie Vongsaga, Diamond Bar, Calif. (2019)
Elizabeth Wang, San Marino, Calif. (2018)
Lei (Angelina) Ye, (China) Bradenton, Fla.
(2019)
Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. (2021)