Who Are The Former Winners Of The Junior Players Championship?

There are several prestigious junior amateur trophies in the golf world, with one of those being The Junior Players Championship.

Taking place at TPC Sawgrass, home to the PGA Tour's flagship event - The Players Championship - it brings together the best players under the age of 19 together for three rounds at the Stadium Course.

Established in 2007, The Junior Players Championship is run and organized by the American Junior Golf Association, which has had many prominent players feature in its events, including Tiger Woods, Nelly Korda and current World No.1 Scottie Scheffler.

Throughout the short history of The Junior Players Championship, many notable names have claimed the trophy and gone on to forge successful careers in the professional ranks.

Along with the winners, several big names on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf League have also teed it up in the competition, with various degrees of success.

Former Winners Of The Junior Players Championship

The inaugural event was won by Morgan Hoffmann who went on to become the World No.1 amateur in 2009. Playing in the 2010 US Open, he turned professional that year and, in 2012, earned his PGA Tour card for the 2013 season.

He was predicted to win multiple times on the circuit but, in December 2017, he was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Undergoing treatment, he returned in April 2022 and competed on the PGA Tour for the first time in three years.

Following on from Hoffmann, Walker Cup players Evan Beck and Bobby Wyatt added their names to the trophy, with Sam Horsfield and Kevin Yu among the notable players to win the tournament.

Horsfield, a three-time DP World Tour winner, and Yu, a PGA Tour winner, both claimed the title in 2014 and 2015, going on to forge successful careers.

In terms of Horsfield, he is now a member of the LIV Golf League and plies his trade with Majesticks GC. Yu, meanwhile, won his first PGA Tour event in 2024, defeating Beau Hossler in a playoff to win the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Other notable winners include Jayden Schaper, who is a member of the DP World Tour and two-time winner of the Sunshine Tour's Rookie of the Year in his home country of South Africa.

Claiming the title in 2019, he was followed by David Ford in 2020, who is a member of the PGA Tour after claiming his card via the PGA Tour University Rankings.

Record-wise, Jeffrey Guan holds the record for the lowest score in the event, firing a 16-under total. The Australian has since competed on several Tours but, in 2024, suffered a freak accident losing sight in his left eye during a tournament.

Playing an event in Sydney, Australia, the 21-year-old was struck by an errant tee shot from his playing partner that left him blind in one eye. Amazingly, the young Australian made his competitive return 12 months later.

A year after Guan's win, Miles Russell then set the record for the youngest winner of the event in 2023, winning the title at just 14 years of age.

In fact, six months after his victory at TPC Sawgrass, he became the youngest player to ever make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event, carding a 68 and 66 to make the weekend at the LECOM Suncoast Classic.

Notable Names To Play In The Junior Players Championship

• Brooks Koepka
• Scottie Scheffler
• Justin Thomas
• Jordan Spieth
• Collin Morikawa
• Ludvig Aberg
• Peter Uihlein
• Viktor Hovland
• Joaquin Niemann
• Patrick Cantlay
• Wyndham Clark
• Victor Dubuisson
• Byeong-Hun An
• Daniel Berger
• Dylan Frittelli
• Talor Gooch
• Sam Burns
• Cameron Young
• Emiliano Grillo
• Keith Mitchell
• Will Zalatoris
• Cameron Champ
• Grayson Murray
• Matt Wolff
• Michael Kim
• Akshay Bhatia
• Patrick Rodgers
• Paul Dunne
• Beau Hossler
• Nicolas Echavarria
• Oliver Schniederjans
• Denny McCarthy
• Max Greyserman
• Brandon Stone
• Davis Riley
• Garrick Higgo
• Christo Lamprecht
• Luke Clanton
• Nick Dunlap
• Caleb Surratt