The cancellation of this spring’s Sage Valley Junior Invitational because of the COVID-19 pandemic was doubly depressing for top juniors around the world. This would have been the year that a girls field competed at Sage Valley Golf Club, a private gem just minutes from Augusta, Georgia, for the first time.
In the wake of the cancellation, however, tournament organizers have announced that the 2022 event will be played March 17-19.
“While we were disappointed to cancel the 2021 Junior Invitational, we’re looking forward to an incredibly strong return in 2022 and a high-caliber event featuring the world’s top junior players,” said Pete Davis, chairman of the SVJI Sports Foundation. “The addition of a girl’s competition has been a long-term goal, and we’re thrilled to see it materialize next year. We will return better than ever.”
The Sage Valley Junior Invitational has been played since 2011, and has become one of the most coveted starts in junior golf.
Past participants have included some of the top names in golf: Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Scottie Scheffler, Matthew Wolff and more. The event benefits local charities, with more than $1 million donated to The First Tee Chapters of Aiken, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia, since 2015.
By the 2022 version of the Sage Valley event, defending champion Jackson Van Paris will be a freshman at Vanderbilt and won’t have the chance to defend his title.