Las Vegas, Nevada (July 21, 2015)–Some of the top junior golfers from around the globe in several age divisions are in Las Vegas this week for the annual IJGA World Stars of Junior Golf tournament that is being played at TPC Las Vegas, Angel Park Golf Club, the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort and Badlands Golf Club. Players from such locales as Hawaii, United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Vietnam, Mexico, Canada, Singapore, Nevada and several other states and countries are in the field. –By Brian Hurlburt
According to the official website and tournament director Marty La Roche, the “World Stars of Junior Golf is the premier golf tournament in the world. Our mission is to provide junior boys and girls of all ages with the most competitive field and the ultimate tournament experience. This professionally operated event by PGA golf professionals, PGA apprentices and volunteers makes this a must play for all juniors. This Tournament is nationally ranked by NJGS, Golfweek, Scratch Player World Ranking, R & A, and recognized by AJGA with performance stars.”
Players in age groups from five to 18 are competing in the tournament which kicked off with a Par 3 tournament at Angel Park Golf Club. Unfortunately that event was stopped early due to lightning, but the hundreds of juniors are off and playing today in the first of the three rounds.
La Roche, the tournament director, is an accomplished PGA of America professional from Southern California. Among the accolades he has earned during his career are:
1998 Southern California PGA Metro Junior Golf Leader
1999 SCPGA Metro Junior Golf Leader
2000 SCPGA Metro Junior Golf Leader
2000 SCPGA Metro Teacher of the Year
2001 SCPGA Section Junior Golf Leader
2001 SCPGA Metro Golf Professional of the Year
La Roche has also been a Certified Special Olympics Golf Instructor and Director of golf Clinics for Orange County Special Olympics since 2001.
TPC Las Vegas and Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort are official course partners of GolfLasVegasNow.com and are both resort courses open to all Vegas golfers. TPC Las Vegas is known as the home of professional golf in Las Vegas (it formerly hosted events on both the PGA TOUR and Senior PGA TOUR) while the Paiute is the home of the only three Pete Dye signature golf courses in Southern Nevada.
The World Stars of Junior Golf is sponsored by IJGA, the International Junior Golf Academy in addition to several other key partners. The IJGA trains junior golfers for success in tournament golf and beyond. According to company information, it is the only academy in the world that combines training, academics, and competition. Other World Stars of Junior Golf sponsors include Dick’s Sporting Goods, JW Marriott Las Vegas, Golf Galaxy, Cirque Du Soleil, Bushnell, Maverick Helicopters, and Oakley. You can visit the official tournament website to learn more about the event and signing up for 2016.