Palm Beach County to Host Junior Golf Championship

Since its unique inception in 2001, the Bill Dickey Invitational Junior Golf Championship (BDI) has provided an unmatched opportunity for the nation’s top minority golfers.

The result has been, well, a major statement.

Bill Dickey Invitational alums such as Mariah Stackhouse, Cheyenne Woods and Sadena Parks (LPGA Tour) and Harold Varner,III (PGA Tour) have made headlines throughout the golf world. Seventeen years later, the BDI’s annual appearance on the junior golf scene allows young junior minority players to showcase both their academic success and golf talents, setting them up for amateur, collegiate and pro careers.

Esmeralda H. Knowles, Executive Director, Inner City Youth Golfers, Inc. welcomes the 19th  William ‘Bill’ Dickey Invitational Junior Golf Tournament to Palm Beach County. “She wishes that all enjoy their stay, keep it on the short grass, enjoy all of our county amenities and play their way into the African American Collegiate & Youth Golfers Hall of Fame.”

This year’s Bill Dickey Invitational will be held June 25-27 in West Palm Beach, Fla., at the prestigious Club at Ibis, the only facility in the world with three Jack Nicklaus family golf courses.

Tournament rounds will be held June 26 and June 27, beginning at 8:00 each morning. In advance of official tournament competition, the Junior-AM Corporate event commences Monday, June 25, providing these young golf standouts a valuable connection with prominent business men and women who share their love for the sport and serve as enthusiastic mentors.

A field of 44 players (22 boys and 22 girls) will compete for this year’s BDI title, representing 17 states.

Returning to contend for the Boys Championship (Gross Division) is Troy Taylor of Westerville, Ohio, who finished third last year with rounds of 71-75. The No. 1-ranked junior player in Ohio, Troy will compete for the Michigan State men’s team in the fall.

Back to contend for the Girls Championship (Gross Division) is defending champion Christyn Carr of Johns Creek, Ga., who took the title last year by two shots with rounds of 73-72–145. The 2017 Georgia 6-A State Individual Champion from Northview High School, Christyn will attend North Carolina AT&T in the fall.

Also contending will be Camryn Carreon of San Antonio, Tex., who was fifth last year with rounds of 74-79 and has won the San Antonio Girls Junior Girls Championship.

Newcomers for 2018 include Serena Shah of Carrolton, Tex., a four-time Dallas Junior Golf Champion and winner of both the 2018 Taylor Made Junior Open and 2018 Kathy Whitworth Invitational; and Ayanna Habeel of Conyers, Ga., who competed for Atlanta’s Woodward Academy and finished as the 2018 Georgia 4-A Girls runner-up.

Also among the new entries competing are Everett Whiten Jr., of Chesapeake, Va., Ian Davis of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., and Kristopher Stiles of Palmdale, Calif.

Champions of the Boys and Girls Divisions of the BDI also will receive exemptions into the PGA Junior Boys and Girls Championships later this summer and nomination for eligibility into the African American Collegiate & Youth Golfers Hall of Fame.

Limited spots remain in the Monday Junior-Am Corporate event on June 25, as well as sponsorship opportunities ranging from $500 to $15,000.

The tournament honors the organization’s founder, Bill Dickey, who passed away in 2012. He began the Bill Dickey Sponsorship Association (formerly the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association) in the mid -1970’s. Since then, the BDSA has provided more than $3.65 million in scholarships for over 1,120 minority students nationwide, allowing deserving candidates to further their education and career goals while enjoying the game they love.