Kathrine Chan is teeing it up in the California desert this week with the opportunity of a lifetime to play in an LPGA major.
The JN Burnett Secondary School student is among 40 elite international junior golfers who have earned entry into the newly upgraded and expanded ANA Junior Inspiration tournament, an official American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Invitational. The 54-hole event starts Thursday at the Mission Hills Country Club’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage.
The winner will receive a spot in next week’s ANA Inspiration — the opening major of the LPGA season — which also takes place at Mission Hills.
The junior participants have qualified through the “ANA Priority Mileage” point system based on the AJGA Rankings, with 11 spots given to the top qualifiers in ANA’s gateway cities. The players will be paired with LPGA Legends during Saturday’s final round.
Chan, No. 84 in the AJGA Rankings, has competed with the AJGA since 2013, posting three top-five finishes. In addition to securing her first AJGA win at the 2016 Action Zone/Bob Estes Abilene Junior, Chan made her AJGA Invitational debut in 2016 at the Polo Golf Junior Classic.
The 11 ANA North American gateway cities in addition to Vancouver are Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., Houston, Honolulu and Mexico City. Chan will be representing her home city proudly as she is the only junior in the field from Canada.
She even received a congratulatory message from Canadian LPGA Tour star Brooke Henderson.
“The opportunity to play in the ANA Junior Inspiration is extremely exciting because I get to play in a highly competitive environment and be able to represent my gateway city, Vancouver,” said Chan who has come through the junior program at Quilchena. “I believe that the tournament will be a great experience and playing in this event means a lot to me.”
Thanks to the support of ANA and a partnership with the AJGA, the best young female golfers representing Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand will also be competing in this one-of-a-kind tournament.
“If I was a junior golfer competing now, this type of event and opportunity would definitely inspire me,” said LPGA legend and three-time ANA Inspiration champion Annika Sorenstam.
“Mission Hills Country Club is a very special place. “I know what it’s like to win there, but just getting a chance to sample the tournament atmosphere will have a powerful impact on the careers of these young players.”
