JUNIOR GOLF: Robert Trent Jones Jr. Tour merges with Southeastern Junior Golf Tour

Two of the major youth golf programs in the Southeast have combined forces to create one of the largest programs for up-and-coming golfers in the U.S., as the Robert Trent Jones Junior Golf Association joined the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour.

The new tour will be under the umbrella of the SJGT and will now have more than 1,500 junior members.

Based in Auburn, SJGT events will be held in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama. Some sites include: Sea Island GC, Fallen Oak GC, Hawks Ridge GC, Gaylord Springs GC and TPC Sawgrass. In 2010, 10 of these events will be held on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

“We are very excited about this new relationship,” said John Cannon, president of Sunbelt Golf. “This enables us to expose even more junior golfers from the entire southeastern U.S. to the world-class facilities on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and our current RTJ Golf Tour members will now be part of an even larger organization which is based in Alabama.

“The Southeastern Junior Golf Tour does an amazing job with their events and we are delighted with our new relationship with them. Not only will we continue to host some of the best junior golf events in the country, all members will be afforded the opportunity to play the Trail’s courses for as little as $10.”

Founded in 1994 by Todd Thompson, the SJGT is open to all females and males between the ages of 12 and 19. In 2010, SJGT will conduct over 40 events and have more than 1,500 members.

“We are excited about the new relationship with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail,” said Todd Thompson, SJGT executive director. “The SJGT measures a lot of its success by the number of our members that we see reach their goal of participating in a collegiate golf program. This relationship will only broaden the opportunity for more junior golfers to reach their goal.”

Many recent SJGT members are currently playing at Division I universities around the country.

The 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 golf rosters for Division I schools include former SJGT players from the following states: Alabama — 65 (46 boys and 19 girls), Tennessee — 55 (37 boys and 18 girls), Georgia — 42 (30 boys and 12 girls), Mississippi — 28 (14 boys and 14 girls), Florida – 8 (5 boys and 3 girls) and South Carolina — 11 (9 boys and 2 girls).