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Junior PGA Championship History: Legendary Players, Greatest Matches & Rising Golf Stars
By TJ Krilowicz
Published on
The Junior PGA Championships have always been a vital part of showcasing the future faces of golf since the tournament's inception in 1976. And this year’s edition at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana, should be no different.
With participants like Asterisk Talley (No. 2 ranked girls player nationally by the American Junior Golf Association) and Luke Colton (No. 3 ranked boys player nationally by the American Junior Golf Association), the list of junior players is stacked from top to bottom. And with past names like Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson and Lexi Thompson participating, the Junior PGA Championships are where the best in the world get their start.
There have been plenty of memorable Junior PGA Championships so it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the best ones throughout the 49 years of the Championship being played.
1976: Walt Disney World Golf Resort, Orlando, FL
The inaugural Junior PGA Championship saw an exciting finish where Larry Field edged Ricky Smallridge by one stroke after being down three heading into the final day for the boys title while Nancy Rubin slipped past Michelle Jordan by a stroke as well.
The inaugural Championship displayed the intense competitiveness that will be seen throughout the years.
1990: PGA National Golf Course, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
The 15th Junior PGA Championship was packed with interesting stories.
On the boys side, a young golfer named Tiger Woods became the youngest person at the time to play in the Junior PGA Championship at the age of 14. In typical Woods fashion, he finished high in the leaderboards, ending in second place only behind Chris Couch.
On the girls side, golfer Vicki Goetze won her third Junior PGA Championship (1987 & 1989) becoming the first and only golfer to win the tournament three times. There are only six players ever between the girls and boys tournaments to win the tournament twice.
2007: Westfield Group Country Club, Westfield Center, OH
Lexi Thompson showcased her star potential by winning her first Junior PGA Championship, beating Kimberly Kim by one stroke. She was the only player in the girls field to shoot under par this year.
What makes this win so notable for Thompson became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PGA Championship at 12 years old.
2008: TPC River’s Bend, Maineville, OH
On the boys side this year, Jordan Spieth (Three-time major winner) made an incredible run on the final day, coming back from five strokes down to challenge Anthony Paolucci in an exciting playoff.
Paolucci eventually won the playoff, winning the boys' side. Jordan Spieth would go on to finish second again the following year.
2009: TPC River’s Bend, Maineville, OH
After winning in 2007 at 12, Lexi Thompson followed it up two years later with an ever better performance. This time, Thompson finished 16 under par, beating out the competition by 12 strokes. Thompson’s rout only trails the 1977 performance of Debbie Hall, who won by 13 strokes.
2017: The Country Club of St Albans, St Albans, MO
The 42nd rendition saw dominance on the boys side like no other performance before. A 15-year old Akshay Bhatia set numerous records on his way to winning the tournament.
He finished 22 under par, breaking Pat Perez’s record (1993) by five strokes. Bhatia also shot a record-breaking 61 in the second round, and was the first player to break 200 through 54 holes.
Bhatia went on to win the tournament again in 2018, becoming the first boys golfer ever to win the Junior PGA Championship twice.
2023: Hot Springs Country Club, Hot Springs, AR
No. 1 ranked boys player by the AJGA, Miles Russell had an amazing tournament shooting 4 under or better every round to win by seven strokes.
Since then, Miles Russell has become the youngest player to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024 as a senior in high school.
Time will tell what history will be broken in Indiana this week, or what players will show their potential. The faces of tomorrow will be on the course with the first day starting Tuesday, July 29th and ending Friday, August 1st.
