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    Junior Golf Since 1974

September 23, 2008 (ATLANTA) – Junior golfers and their families from around the Atlanta-area came together to celebrate and be honored at the annual Atlanta Junior Golf (AJG) awards banquet held at prestigious Druid Hills Golf Club. Kicking off the evening was guest speaker, 2006 USGA Mid-Amateur Champion, Dave Womack, who spoke before more than 150 attendees about his experiences with AJG, the benefits of amateur golf at any level and his time spent competing in the 2007 Masters.

Blaire Minter (Marietta) and Ross Thomson (Marietta) were both recognized for their outstanding seasons on the golf course, each player claimed the coveted Giddings’ Cup at the Grand Championship held in August and top honors at the banquet as Players of the Year in their respective divisions. Thomson also claimed the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association (MAADA) Award for accruing the highest point average at the end of the season, a perfect 120 points.

Keeping with the tradition of the evening, juniors were recognized for their success in the following categories: All-Atlanta Junior Golf Teams, comprised of the top-10 juniors in the Open and the top-five juniors in the Club divisions; All-Atlanta Junior Golf Academic Teams, recognizing high school boys and girls, who have excelled in the classroom during the previous school year with a 3.5 or higher grade point average; Overall Boys and Girls Grand Champions; and Players of the Year, boys and girls in the Open divisions, who completed the year on top.

The first ever Junior Golf Ambassador award was presented to former, long-time executive director, Merilee Giddings, for her outstanding support and dedication to the development of junior golf in Atlanta and around the country. Her lasting leadership is still noticeable in AJG today.

Additionally, The Larry Nelson Sportsmanship Award presented by the AT&T Classic, which identifies two individuals who demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship as voted on by summer staff members, was awarded to Rance Nix (Atlanta) and Martavious Adams (Ellenwood). The Most Improved Male and Female Awards were given to Open division players Noah Nettleton (McDonough) and Emily Kurey (Roswell), and the Aroha “Roh” Wezner Trophy, similar to the PGA Tour’s Vardon Scoring Trophy, was awarded to Buster Bruton for the associations lowest scoring average for the season.