25-07-2025
PGA Tour's Billy Horschel to sponsor AJGA tournament near Atlanta, replacing First Coast event
of Ponte Vedra Beach will sponsor an American Junior Golf Association tournament near Atlanta, after being associated with an event on the First Coast from 2017-2023.
Horschel, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, will sponsor the AJGA Atlanta Classic through his Family Foundation Aug. 22-24 at the Planterra Club in Peachtree City, Ga. The tournament will be played at the Planterra Club for the third year in a row and in Fayette County, Ga., for the sixth year.
The Billy Horschel Championship, presented by Zurich, was played from 2017-2023, three times at Eagle Harbor (2017, 2018 and 2023) and at the TPC Sawgrass Dye's Valley (2021) and The Palencia Club (2022).
In a news release, the AJGA said, "Horschel's tournament, which is relocating from the Jacksonville area, brings a fresh chapter for both Horschel and the AJGA in Georgia."
Tournament chairman Jeff Holt indicated that Horschel being a member of the TGL Champion Atlanta Drive was a good fit for the tournament. Zurich will also continue to be a presenting sponsor.
'Coming off his TGL SoFi Championship with Atlanta Drive, we are excited to welcome Billy Horschel as the host of the Atlanta Classic and Zurich as the new presenting sponsor,' Holt said in a statement.
The move leaves the Junior Players Championship on Labor Day weekend at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course as the only AJGA Tournament on the First Coast. Between 2018-2021, the area also had Horschel's event in October, the Annika Invitational, sponsored by World Golf Hall of Fame member Annika Sorenstam, in February. The Sorenstam tournament moved to Orlando in 2022.
Beckham Cummings, Elize Nograbat win Jacksonville Junior
Beckham Cummings of Fleming Island and Elize Nograbat of St. Johns won their divisions in the Greater Jacksonville Junior Championship July 15-16 at Eagle Harbor.
Cummings shot 70 in the first round and birdied Nos. 10, 14 and 15 in the second round to open up as much as a four-shot lead. He finished at 2-under 142 and defeated D.J. Waller of St. Augustine (71 in the second round) by two shots.
Barton Abstein of St. Johns and Keaton Fannin of Ponte Vedra Beach tied for third at 2-over 146. Both shot 71 in the second round, with Abstein shooting 1-under on the back and Fannin making a late run with birdies at Nos. 11, 14, 15 and 17.
Nograbat had rounds of 70-71 to finish at 3-under 141, one shot clear of Sophia Moody (71-71) of Fleming Island. Addy Vogt of Jacksonville (74-73—147) finished third.
Aidan Tall of Land 'O Lakes shot 4-over 148 to win the Futures Tour division by four shots over Cameron Swindle of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Miles Russell, Tyler Mawhinney in U.S. Junior Boys
of Jacksonville Beach and of Fleming Island will lead First Coast hopes in the U.S. Junior Amateur July 21-26 at the Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.
Russell, Mawhinney and Jackson Byrd of St. Simons Island, Ga., are exempt into the field. of Ponte Vedra Beach, Lucas Gimenez of Jacksonville and of St. Johns got into the field through qualifiers.
Also playing are Charlie Woods, the son of 15-time major champion and two-time Players champion ; and Cam Kuchar, the son of Players champion .
Stroke play, with one round at Trinity Forest and one at the Brook Hollow Golf Club, will be July 22-22. The top 64 players will advance to match play.
Here are the tee times for area players, with the first round time and course listed first and the second round time and course second (times are EDT):
Phillip Dunham: Trinity Forest No. 1, 8:15 a.m.; Brook Hollow No. 10, 1:35 p.m.
Brady Dougan: Trinity Forest No. 10, 8:42 a.m.; Brook Hollow No. 1, 1:52 p.m.
Jackson Byrd: Trinity Forest No. 10, 8:53 a.m.; Brook Hollow No. 1, 2:03 p.m.
Tyler Mawhinney: Trinity Forest No. 1, 9:43 a.m.; Brooks Hollow No. 10, 3:03 p.m.
Miles Russell: Trinity Forest No. 10, 2:52 p.m.; Brook Hollow No. 1, 9:32 a.m.
Lucas Gimenez: Brook Hollow No. 1, 2:58 p.m.; Trinity Forest No. 10, 9:48 a.m.
Charlie Woods will tee off at Brook Hollow hole in the first round at 3:03 p.m. and Trinity Forest in the second round at 9:43 a.m. Cam Kuchar starts at Trinity Forest in the first round at 3:09 p.m. and plays Brook Hollow in the second round at 9:59 p.m.
Plantation to host state match play
The Plantation at Ponte Vedra Beach will be the venue for the Florida State Golf Association Match Play, July 31-Aug. 3.
The field of 64 will be divided into 16 four-player pools over the first two days. The 16 pool winners will advance to match play Aug. 2-3.
Twelve area players are entered. Exempt players are of Atlantic Beach, Lance LaCombe and Graham Nichols of Jacksonville and Andrew Morris of St. Augustine. Eight more came out of a qualifier on July 7 at The Palencia Club, with of Jacksonville the medalist with a bogey-free 66, making birdies on four of his first six holes on the back nine.
Also qualifying at Palencia were Ethan Tak of St. Augustine (tying for second with a 69, with a 32 on the back nine); Keaton Fannin of Ponte Vedra Beach, Manuel Girona of Jacksonville and Alex Taylor of Atlantic Beach (tying for fourth with 2-under 70); and Kaden James and Ambrose Kinnare of St. Augustine and Dylan Mason of Ponte Vedra (tying for eighth at 1-under 71).
First Coast Amateur championships set
The women's and men's amateur championships for the First Coast will be contested over seven days from July 20-26.
The First Coast Women's Amateur, presented by Brooks Rehabilitation, will be July 20-22 at the Sawgrass Country Club, with a field of 79 players competing in championship, senior and super-senior divisions.
The 64th Jacksonville Amateur Championship, presented by Synovus, will be July 24-26 at the Timuquana Country Club. A field of 96 players will play the historic Donald Ross course for the first time in the history of the championship.
First Coast teams go low in state Four-Ball
of Ponte Vedra and of St. Augustine tied for eighth and J.P. Pearce of Jacksonville and Joel Durance of Orlando tied for 10th July 11-13 in the FSGA Four-Ball Championship at the Bradenton Country Club but both teams went low in the final round. Robards and Harper shot 62 in the final round to finish 21-under 192 and Pearce and Durance posted the tournament's low round with a 60 to finish 20-under. Brothers Parker and Preston Severs of Lakewood Ranch won at 26-under 187. ... of Ponte Vedra and of St. Augustine shot 4-under 212 to tie for sixth in the FSGA Women's Stroke Player Championship at the Vanderbilt Country Club in Naples, 10 shots behind winner Pimpisa Sisutham of Orlando. Cox shot 68 in the final round with birdies on three of her last six holes. ... Avery Chen of Ponte Vedra tied for fifth in the Florida Junior Tour Futures Championship 9-10 girls division at the Lemon Bay Golf Club in Englewood, with a 167 for 36 holes.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Billy Horschel to sponsor AJGA tournament near Atlanta
