Nov. 3, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- - Jace Long, a freshman on the Mizzou men's golf team, has been named a second-team Rolex Junior All-American by the American Junior Golf Association.
Long played in three tournaments for the Tigers this fall, collecting his best finish with a 31st place showing at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate. Long's best scores of the fall season came at the Austin Peay Intercollegiate, when he carded rounds of 75, 76 and 70. The two-under-par final round was his best 18-hole score of the fall and his 54-hole total of 221 was his best of the season.
In 2008, Long captured his fifth AJGA crown at the John Deere Classic Junior Open in Long Grove, Iowa, with a 54-hole total of 9-under-par 207. In addition, Long finished second at the Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship in Springfield, Mo., and tied for seventh at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in Newburgh, Ind. This successful junior golf career helped Long land a scholarship with the University of Missouri, where he is currently enrolled as a freshman.
Introduced by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize those players who have established themselves as the world's premier junior golfers. This year's selections distinguished themselves through their outstanding play in 80 national events, 64 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The Rolex Junior All-America Teams were determined exclusively through the Polo Golf Rankings (as of Oct. 14).
The teams are comprised of 96 junior golfers, ages 13-18, from 26 states and four foreign countries. These standouts will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet Nov. 23 at The Grande Ballroom at Ginn Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla.
Former Rolex Junior All-Americans comprise the top players on both the PGA and LPGA Tours. Of the PGA TOUR's current top-10 money leaders, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Stewart Cink and Justin Leonard were all Rolex Junior All-Americans. On the LPGA Tour, Paula Creamer, In-Bee Park and Cristie Kerr were named Rolex Junior All-Americans as junior golfers before working their way to the top of the pay-for-play ranks. Other notable professional AJGA alumni who help make up the list of past Rolex Junior All-Americans include Jim Furyk, Ryuji Imada, Ben Curtis, Trevor Immelman, Angela Park, In-Kyung Kim and Jane Park.
Rolex, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983, became an AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. The distinguished timepiece maker is the proprietor of the Rolex Junior Players of the Year, Rolex Junior All-America Teams and the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet. Rolex also sponsors the Rolex Tournament of Champions and Rolex Girls Junior Championship, two of the AJGA's most competitive major championships. As a Premier Partner, Rolex is the Founding Partner to the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program and an Official Partner of the biennial PING Junior Solheim Cup.