With the Junior Match Play set to start with Tuesday morning’s qualifier at Beechwood, we felt it would be a good time to answer some questions about the event and how it plays into the Tour standings.

how do the age groups work?

There are three age groups for match play qualifying: Boys 10-12, Boys 13-18, and the Girls division.

The number of players who make match play will be determined after we get a final number of participants in each age group. For the older boys division, the top 15 players will earn a spot in the Championship flight (last year’s winner is the one seed) and the next 16 earn spots in the B flight.

HOWEVER!! While you are playing for spots in match play, you are also competing against the players in your Junior Tour age groups.

While it won’t affect match play seedings, we will review results for players in their Tour group. Therefore, a player might finish 15th overall in match play qualifying but be the highest finisher of all boys aged 13 to 15 thus earning the coveted 15pt bonus.

do my matches count towards tour PTS?
No. After the qualifier, nothing that happens in matches effects your standings. So, yes, it is possible that you could beat a player who is ranked higher than you in the tour standings, but it will not move you ahead of that player once the results come out.

when are matches?
Those who qualify for match play will play their first match on Wednesday morning starting at 8am unless otherwise instructed. Winners advance to play Wednesday afternoon. Winners Wednesday afternoon play Thursday morning, championship matches are Thursday afternoon. This schedule will be adjusted for the boys 10-12 and girls divisions as the fields are smaller so not as many matches will be necessary.

do last year’s winners play in the qualifier?
Yes, they should, even though it won’t effect their top seeding. Because the qualifier is used for tour pts, it would be wise not to miss this opportunity to add to point totals.