Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Approaching the 30th year of the Sea Pines Junior Heritage on Hilton Head Island – the 2021 version of this elite junior golf event will showcase some of the nation’s top talent, making the field one of the most prestigious the tournament has seen. Ninety players will tee it up Saturday, February 6th at Sea Pines Resort’s Atlantic Dunes Course, a Davis Love, III design. Forecast shows reasonable temperatures – but what can be for certain is the level of competition that will take over the island this weekend.
Both the Boys’ and Girls’ divisions have shaped up to be one of the best in the Sea Pines Junior Heritage’s history, with top players from all over the country set to compete. Headliners in the Boys’ side of the competition include 2020 SCJGA Player of the Year Max Green (Hilton Head Island, SC). Green finished in a tie for third place at last year’s tournament along with Jerry Bruns (Beaufort, SC) and Caleb Surratt (Indian Trail, NC). All three competitors are looking to build on 2020’s great performances and make some more noise in this year’s event.
Other notables include 2020 SCGA Amateur Champion Jonathan Griz (Hilton Head Island, SC). Griz captured the title and made history in 2020, becoming the youngest at age 16 to win the Amateur Championship. Returning for a final run at the title, Optimist International Junior Champion and University of Arkansas commit John Daly II (Clearwater, FL) will look to slide into the winner’s circle and start his final junior golf season off with a bang. Another familiar to watch climb the leaderboard will be Palm Beach, Florida resident Allan Kournikova. Kournikova battled against one of the best fields at the 2020 Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational, placing himself in a play-off for the coveted champion’s title. He would ultimately finish runner-up to the No.1 ranked player, David Ford.
While there are plenty of highly-ranked and accomplished players competing on the Boys’ side, the Girls division has no shortage of depth themselves. Defending champion Natasha Kiel (New Hope, PA) will look to make it back-to-back titles, but she will have to contend with 2020 third-place finisher and local standout Savannah Hylton (Hilton Head Island, SC). Recently named the 2020 SCJGA Beth Daniel Player of the Year, Adrian Anderson (Murrells Inlet, SC) will also look to kick off her year in the winner’s circle.
Notables in the girls division include 2022 graduate and Tennessee resident Molly Hardwick, College of Charleston commit Mary Kathryn Talledo (Spartanburg, SC) and AJGA Coca-Cola Junior Champion Gianna Clemente (Warren, OH) who will also look to hoist the trophy come Sunday afternoon as competition finishes on the famed Harbour Town Golf Links in the scenic Sea Pines Resort.
The event is conducted by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association and The Sea Pines Resort. Vital partners of this championship include: Titleist, Foot Joy, the Heritage Classic Foundation and Coca-Cola. Make sure to follow results and highlights on all social media channels provided by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association and the direct Sea Pines Junior Heritage twitter page, @jrheritage.
