The 12th annual Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club is set to tee off April 1-4 at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. This top-tier national junior golf competition staged by the American Junior Golf Association will allow Arizona’s top junior golfers, ages 12-18, the opportunity to showcase their skills against the nation’s best players.

The Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic, a 54-hole stroke play competition, has been a mainstay on the AJGA schedule since 1999 when PGA TOUR professional Hunter Mahan took home the trophy in the Boys Division. In total, 144 juniors will have the opportunity to compete during the Easter weekend event.

This year’s tournament field will be filled through the AJGA’s Performance Based Entry system. Numerous spots will be held for those participating in an AJGA K12 Qualifier taking place at Longbow Golf Club Wednesday, March 31.

Historically, the event garners one of the strongest fields in junior golf, as evidenced by its impressive list of past champions. In addition to Mahan, LPGA standout Paula Creamer was victorious at the Heather Farr Classic in 2003 and 2004. Local players who have found themselves in the winner’s circle are Scottsdale-natives Amanda Blumenherst (2002), Drew Kittleson (2005) and Philip Francis (2006). In 2008, Trey Kaahanui of Tempe, Ariz., and Kyung Kim of Chandler, Ariz., took home top honors.

Last year’s Boys Division champion James Back of Cerritos, Calif., is currently ranked No. 19 in the Polo Golf Rankings and has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at San Francisco. Girls Division winner Jenny Shin of Torrance, Calif., is ranked No. 14 in the Polo Golf Rankings and was named a 2009 First Team Rolex Junior All-American.

Player practice rounds will take place Thursday, April 1. A Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament will take place immediately following the morning practice round. All proceeds will benefit the Junior Golf Association of Arizona and The First Tee of Phoenix. For information regarding the Junior-Am, please contact Jay Larscheid at Longbow Golf Club at 480.807.5400. Tournament play will begin Friday, April 2 and run through Sunday, April 4. An awards ceremony will immediately follow play April 4. Spectators are welcome to attend and admission is free of charge.

Winn Grips, a golf industry leader in high-performance golf grip technology, will be the Preferred Grip of the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series, the American Junior Golf Association announced Friday. As the Preferred Grip of the series, Winn Grips will be present at Junior All-Star events to provide complimentary grip fitting and replacement service for all players. In addition, Winn will also provide equipment services to players at select Open and Invitational tournaments, including the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods and the Heather Farr Classic.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA, the largest Association of its kind, has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Michelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

For more information, please contact Kristi Bradley kbradleyl@ajga.org in the AJGA Communications Department at 678.425.1790 or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.

Longbow Business Park and Golf Club is a 330-acre, mixed-use commercial development that incorporates office, light industrial, retail and hotel uses surrounded by desert vegetation and a main street transportation design and features the award-winning Longbow Golf Club. Daedalus Real Estate Advisors, LLC is a Phoenix-based commercial real estate services company that provides investment, development and communications consulting to corporate real estate clients in Arizona and the Southwest. For more information about Longbow Golf Club visit www.longbowgolf.com, call  480.807.5400 or become a fan of Longbow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/longbowgolfclub, or follow Longbow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/longbowgolfclub.

Longbow Golf Club is professionally managed by OB Sports Golf Management, a diversified, golf-oriented company with a long history of success. OB Sports currently manages 31 premier golf courses and country clubs throughout the United States. Known for its comprehensive and personalized services since 1972, OB Sports has become widely acclaimed as the leader in boutique-style golf course management. For more information on OB Sports, visit
www.obsports.com, call  480.948.1300, or become a Fan of OB Sports on Facebook at www.facebook.com/obsports or follow OB Sports on twitter at www.twitter.com/obsportsgolf.