Keegan Bradley still hasn’t gotten things right on the 18th hole at the Byron Nelson Championship, even when finally going left. The bogeys on the closing hole at TPC Four Seasons haven’t cost him the lead yet.
Defending Champion Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand is back to defend her title in the girls division at the 37th Junior PGA Championship. The tournament is July 31 to Aug. 3 at Sycamore Hills.
The 72-hole championship will feature a 54-hole tournament cut to the low 30 boys and 30 girls, including ties. Each year the field includes past winner and, PGA Junior Series event champions, PGA Section winners, many of Polo Golf and Golfweek’s top-ranked players and selected national junior tournament winners.
Also in the girls field will be Jutanugarn’s sister, Moriya, who is ranked third in Golfweek’s Junior Rankings.
Eight of the top-10 players in the girls Golfweek Junior Rankings are scheduled to compete, including Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, Ga., Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., Casie Cathrea of Livermore, Calif., Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif. and Gabriella Then of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Cathrea, who is competing in her third Junior PGA Championship, finished tied for fifth place in 2011 and in eighth place in 2010. Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis., who finished third in the 2011 Junior PGA Championship and is ranked eighth in the Polo Golf Rankings, is also scheduled to compete for the Patty Berg Trophy.
The boys division will be led by Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., who has competed in the last two U.S. Open Championships, finishing in a tie for 29th in June. Hossler, who entered the final round of the 2012 U.S. Open tied for eighth place overall, finished in a tie for seventh in the 2011 Junior PGA Championship.
Joining Hossler at Sycamore Hills will be eight of the top-20 players in the Polo Golf Rankings, including Adam Wood of Zionsville, Parker Derby of Columbus, Ga., and Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill.. They are ranked eighth, ninth and 11th, respectively.
The field also includes the top-five players in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, who are members of the 2013 high school graduating class.
In addition to playing for a championship title, players will attempt to earn spots on the 2012 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team.
The champion and runner-up in the boys and girls divisions in 2012 earn an automatic spot on the 2012 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team.
Golf Channel will present a one-hour highlight show of the 37th Junior PGA Championship, with the first airing at 8 p.m. Sept. 17.
