BRASELTON, Ga. — Piercen Hunt, whose name has become familiar in junior golf circles in Wisconsin for nearly four years now, is extending his reach.
Hunt, a senior at Hartland Arrowhead, was named Monday as a first-time, second-team Rolex Junior All-American by the American Junior Golf Association. The honor puts the University of Illinois commit among the top 24 junior golfers from around the world, per the AJGA ranking.
Hunt’s golfing highlights from 2019 included:
- A No. 22 ranking in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
- His oral commitment to the University of Illinois.
- A tie for 10th place at the Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship presented by Callaway Golf and the AJGA Junior at Victoria Hills.
- His victory at the Western Junior Championship.
- Being named Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin player of the year for the third time.
- Starting the Wisconsin Cup, which helped raise $30,000 for Leadership Links, a joint effort of the AJGA and the United States Golf Association that helps junior golfers give back to the game.
Introduced by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize the world’s premier junior golfers. The 2019 Rolex Junior All-America Teams are comprised of 48 boys and 48 girls, ages 14 through 19, from 25 states and eight countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.
These young men and women distinguished themselves through outstanding play in 135 national junior golf events, 120 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The teams were determined exclusively through the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of Oct. 15.
Rolex Junior All-Americans have a long history of success. Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, and Inbee Park are among the many Rolex Junior All-Americans who have gone on to great achievements in college and in the professional ranks.
In 2019, AJGA alumni Henry Shimp and two-time Rolex Junior All-American Miranda Wang clinched the NCAA Division I team championships for Stanford and Duke, respectively. Meanwhile, 2015 first-team Rolex Junior All-American Matthew Wolff won the Division I men’s individual title at Oklahoma State and his first PGA TOUR event, joining Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods as the third player to do so. Wolff also earned the 2019 Jack Nicklaus and Fred Haskins Award titles.
On the PGA Tour, Woods — a two-time Rolex Junior Player of the Year — claimed a fifth Masters title and 15th major overall. On Monday in Japan, he also won his 82nd PGA Tour-sanctioned event, tying him with Sam Snead for the most career victories on the PGA Tour.
Koepka, a 2007 Rolex Junior All-American, defended his PGA Championship title wire-to-wire. Thompson, a three-time first team Rolex Junior All-American, sits in the top six of the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings and the LPGA’s Race to the CME Globe with two top-three major finishes and a 2019 victory.
The 2019 Rolex Junior All-America Teams will be honored Sunday, Nov. 24 during the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet, streamed live from PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. “The Greatest Night in Junior Golf” will also celebrate the achievements of the AJGA’s Scholastic Junior All-America Team and Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award recipient.
The Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet also serves as the official start of Rolex Tournament of Champions week, the first official AJGA event of the 2020 season.
