Daniel Island to host U.S. Junior Amateur Championships July 24-29
Tue, 06/20/2023 - 5:19pm
admin

Local enthusiasts will get a peek into the future of golf July 24-29 when Daniel Island welcomes 264 of the world’s top young golfers, who will compete in the 75th annual U.S. Junior Amateur Championships.
The Daniel Island Club’s two challenging courses, Beresford Creek and Ralston Creek, will provide the backdrop for a 36-hole layout that will test golfers’ skills and nerves.
“The commitment to Daniel Island is a testament to the enthusiasm of the club and the challenge that its two courses will provide to competitors in both stroke play and match play,” USGA managing director Mark Hill said in a press release.
The tournament is open to male amateur golfers who will not have reached their 19th birthday before July 29 and have a Handicap Index of 4.4 or below. Qualifiers began May 25 and will conclude later this month at nearly 60 courses in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Daniel Island was one of the qualifying venues with four qualifying spots and two alternate spots at stake. Alex Long of Lakewood Ranch, Fla. won medalist honors with a round of three-under-par 69. Colin Salema of Matthews, N.C, Rowan Sullivan of Charleston and Davis
Neal of North Augusta were the other qualifiers.
William Jennings of Greenville will be the first alternate and Garret Fader of Hilton Head will be the second alternate.
And what a group of golfers it will be, if the tournament’s past and tradition are any indication.
The list of Junior Amateur alumni is a list of who’s who in the golf world since the first event was held in 1948 at the University of Michigan when Dean Lind of Illinois defeated future U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi of San Francisco.
Venturi turned out to be the first big name attached to the tourney. Since then, players such as Jordan Spieth, David Duval, Gary Koch, Hunter Mahan, Johnny Miller, Mason Rudolph and Kevin Tway were among the champions crowned.
And, of course, arguably the biggest name in golf is connected to the tourney: Tiger Woods. He won three straight Junior titles from 1992-94 and went on to win 14 Majors.
In a video posted on the USGA page, Woods talked about winning the three consecutive Junior Opens.
“When I look back on those days, I’d have to say winning three U.S. Juniors is more difficult than winning three U.S. Amateurs,” Woods said. “And the reason why I say that is that there’s an age limit. The U.S. Amateur? I mean you can stay an amateur the rest of your life and
have plenty of goes at it. But the Juniors, you have one run at it, to win it at 15, 16, 17. You have one chance only.”
The golfers will be tested by two of the top courses in the Lowcountry, Beresford Creek and Ralston Creek, designed by Tom Fazio and Rees Jones, respectively.
It won’t be the first time the Daniel Island Club opened its doors for a big event, and it most definitely won’t be the last. In its brief history, the Daniel Island Club has hosted five USGA qualifiers, including three U.S. Open local qualifiers, in addition to hosting several college
events while being a stop on the old Nationwide Tour. The 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball will be played at the Daniel Island Club as well.
- Compiled by Phil Bowman