Alexandria, LA. – September 29th, 2023
The Louisiana Junior Player of the year race will be coming to a close this weekend in the Tour Championship at Links on the Bayou in Alexandria. This is the Links on the Bayou’s first time hosting the Tour Championship since the Tour Championship’s existence in 2019. Once again, the Louisiana Junior Player of the Year race is coming down to the wire and will be decided at this years’ Tour Championship. Points that are awarded at the Tour Championship are worth twice as much as a regular LJGT event giving players an opportunity to make some big moves in the standings.
All three leaders in the Player of the Year standings are teeing it up this weekend in hopes of securing the season long award. Team Louisiana participant, Dax Reaux of Baton Rouge, leads the race in the Boys POY standings with 248.75 points. Kale Fontenot of Lafayette is impressively only 18.75 points behind Reaux after only playing in two events on the year. Fontenot has since moved on to the college ranks at Georgia Tech and is no longer eligible for the POY race, but his great play after two events should not go unnoticed. Drew Sliman of Lafayette is currently in third place sitting only 23.75 points behind Reaux. After Sliman, there is a slew of the Boys’ division golfers sitting within 100 points of the current leader giving themselves a shot at the coveted player of the year distinction. Drew Prieto (4th), Ben Blanco (5th), Preston Paulk (6th), David Marsh (7th) are just a few of the players in that group. It is safe to say this years’ Boys’ Louisiana Junior Player of the Year is anybody’s race and is up for grabs in the Tour Championship.
This years’ Girls’ Louisiana Junior Amateur Champion, Maci Williams of Brusly, leads with 550 points in the Girls’ POY race. Evelynn Artieta of Denham Springs sits just 50 points behind Williams, with Vivian Volion of Springfield just 110 points behind. Both Artieta and Volion sit within striking distance to make for an exciting finish in Alexandria.
Team Louisiana participant Parker Greene of Mandeville currently has a total of 520 points to lead the 11-13 Boys’ POY race. Greene holds a 160-point lead over Reed Winkler of Shreveport, and a 175 lead over Wayne Kabrich of Mandeville. With Greene having recently turned 14, he will not be able to compete in the 11-13 boys’ division for the Tour Championship, leaving the door open for Winkler and Kabrich. Greene will have to keep his fingers crossed and hope that the rest of the 11-13 boys field plays well, to maintain his top spot of the 11-13 POY race.
The finale for the Louisiana Junior Player of the Year races at Links on the Bayou should bring some drama and excitement to this year’s Tour Championship. What more could you ask for to cap off the 2023 Player of the Year races?
After the Tour Championship concludes this weekend, the LJGT is hosting two final events for the 2023 LJGT season. The LJGT at Querbes Park in Shreveport, LA and the Lake Charles Fall Classic being held at Mallard Golf Club (deadline to sign up Nov. 6th). The LJGT at Querbes Park is a team event with a 9 and 9 format, so do not forget to find a partner and get signed up. The deadline is October 17th. Click here for more details.
Registration for 2024 Louisiana Junior Golf Tour membership is set to open on November 1, 2023.
To view 2023 Louisiana Junior POY standings click here.
To view pairings and starting times for the Tour Championship click here.