British Columbia Golf Announces GJAC Team For 2017 In Las Vegas
The 2017 BC Girls Junior Americas Cup Team Clockwise From Top Left (With Non-Playing Team Captain Pat Thompson In The Centre): Kathrine Chan, Tiegan Taylor, Tiffany Kong And Cecile Kwon - All Images Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf
The 2017 Girls Junior Americas Cup takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada July 30th – August 3rd. This prestigious event is being hosted this year by the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association & Reflection Bay Golf Club.
The GJAC was established in 1978 under the leadership of Joan Teats from the state of Washington. The first tournament was held at Tumwater Valley Golf Course in Olympia, Washington.
Eleven teams participated including Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Idaho, Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, San Diego, Southern California, Southern Nevada and Washington.
The second year teams from Colorado, Mexico, Montana and Utah joined the event. In 1985 Hawaii joined this prestigious competition along with New Mexico/Sun Country in 1990. Wyoming completed the 18 team event in 1991.
Each team consists of the top four girls from each state/province/country. The tournament is a 54-hole competition with teams counting three scores and throwing out the team’s highest score.
Being chosen to represent your state/country to play in the Girls Junior America’s Cup is one of the highest honors in girls’ junior golf.
The 2017 BC Girls Junior Americas Cup Team:
- Tiegan Taylor
- Kathrine Chan
- Tiffany Kong
- Cecile Kwon
Non-Playing Captain: Pat Thompson.
Non-Playing Captain Thompson exemplifies the element of volunteerism within the game of golf as evidenced by her involvement at the regional, provincial and national levels for many years.
Thompson is a past winner of the Sport BC Presidents Award, given annually to volunteers from Sport BC member organizations who, "Represent the spirit of volunteerism, and whose dedication, energy, and commitment contribute to development of their sport or organization." She has also been a Govenor on the Golf Canada Board, on the the executive committee for British Columbia Golf and was instrumental in the transition of the merger between the BC Ladies Golf Associaton and the BCGA.
image courtesy SportBC
Team BC Non-Playing Captain Pat Thompson (R) Receives The Presidents Award From BC Golf Executive Member Helen Steeves In 2016
"I have been fortunate to have been the non-playing captain for 7 previous GJAC tournaments and see great benefits to us as an Association, and to the players, as GJAC attracts excellent competition and players are highly recruited by U.S. Coaches at this event," said Thompson after the team was announced.
"This year we are fortunate to have Tiffany Kong, Cecile Kwon, Kathrine Chan and Tiegan Taylor, who are top calibre players and will definitely be in contention to win this tournament. These girls are foregoing the Canadian Junior Girls Championship to participate in this top quality event. This is an amazing experience, to meet and play golf as a team, and we are excited to be playing at the beautiful and challenging Reflection Bay Golf Course on Lake Las Vegas," she said.
2017 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SUNDAY, JULY 30th
2:00-5:00 PM Team Registration at Reflection Bay Golf Club Skill challenges and games for contestants
5:00-7:00 PM Meet & Greet BBQ at Reflection Bay Golf Club with host families, pin and gift exchange
7:00 PM Captain’s Meeting at Reflection Bay Golf Club
MONDAY, JULY 31ST
7:00 AM Practice Round: Shotgun Start Team photos Lunch at Reflection Bay Golf Club
4:15 PM Group Photo at Reflection Bay Golf Club
5:00 PM Opening Ceremony with Dinner Reception and Guest Speaker
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1ST
7:30 AM Round 1 of Competition Lunch to follow
5:00 PM Captain’s Social
5:00 PM Social for Contestants
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2ND
7:30 AM Round 2 of Competition Lunch to follow Free evening with host families
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3RD
7:30 AM Final Round of Competition Lunch to follow Awards & Closing Ceremony
The GJAC provides First, Second and Third Place medals for all winning Team Members and Captains. In the event of a tie for 1st – 3rd place, ties will not be broken and duplicate medals are awarded.
Additionally if there is a tie for 1st place, the second place medal will not be awarded. If there is a tie for 2nd place, the third place medal will not be awarded.
Ties for 4th to 18th place will be broken by counting all four scores of the final round to determine team finish.
Format
• The Team Competition format for the GJAC Championship shall be 54 holes of stroke play
• Team members will compete in a separate threesome (or foursome)
• The three lowest scores from each Team will be added together each day, with the highest score being discarded
• The lowest three day totaled score will determine the winner
• There is no individual competition
Eligibility Requirements
• Each Team must have four girls in order to compete
• Players are eligible to participate in the 2017 GJAC if they are 14 years of age and have not yet reached their 19th birthday by the final day of competition and have not attended an institution of higher education
• Team members must be active members of the Association they represent
• Team members may belong to more than one Association but must be permanent residents of the State and/or Country they represent (permanent defined as where the junior lives full time, attends school or is a member of a Club that belongs to the State Association
Upcoming Tournament Hosts
2017 Southern Nevada
2018 Colorado
2019 Southern California
2020 Idaho
2021 Montana
2022 British Columbia
2023 Mexico
2024 Oregon
2025 Arizona
2026 Alberta, Canada
Past Tournament Hosts
1978 Tumwater Valley GC, Olympia, WA
1979 Tumwater Valley GC, Olympia, WA
1980 Elkhorn CC, Stockton, CA
1981 Babe Zaharias GC, Industry, CA
1982 Eisenhower GC, Colorado Springs, CO
1983 Las Vegas & Showboat CC, Las Vegas, NV
1984 Crane Creek CC, Boise, ID
1985 Larchmont GC, Missoula, MT
1986 Shaughnessy G & CC, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
1987 Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico
1988 Moon Valley CC, Phoenix, AZ
1989 Illahee Hills CC, Salem, OR
1990 Glendale G & CC, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
1991 Odgen G & CC, Odgen, UT
1992 Escondido CC, Escondido, CA
1993 Hidden Valley CC, Reno, NV
1994 Waikoloa Beach GC, Waikola, HI
1996 Mill Creek CC, Mill Creek, WA
1997 Olive Glen GC, Cody, WY
1998 Sunnyside CC, Fresno, CA
1999 Stallion Mountain CC, Las Vegas, NV
2000 Eisenhower GC, Colorado Springs, CO
2001 Mesa Verde CC, Costa Mesa, CA
2002 Crane Creek CC, Boise, ID
2003 White Fish Lake GC, White Fish, MT
2004 Royal Colwood GC, Victoria, B.C. Canada
2005 Guadalajara CC, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
2006 Oro Valley CC, Oro Valley, AZ
2007 Waverley CC, Portland, OR
2008 Willow Park CC, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2009 Logan G & CC, Logan, UT
2010 Morgan Run Club & Resort, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
2011 Genoa Lakes GC, Genoa, NV
2012 Wailea Golf Club, Maui, HI
2013 UNM Championship GC, Albuquerque, NM
2014 Walla Walla CC, Walla Walla, WA
2015 Cheyenne CC, Cheyenne, WY
2016 Del Rio CC, Modesto, CA
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