Coleman becomes first time Invitational champion at the #JrPLAYERS
By Angela Ding
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – Hamilton Coleman of Augusta, Georgia, wins the 18th edition of The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by Rolex.
The recent University of Georgia commit outlasted a two-hole playoff over Blades Brown of Nashville, Tennessee. In his second Junior PLAYERS Championship start, he finished with three rounds of 72-68-70.
It is definitely cool to see that I can win on a course like this. It is one of the tougher places we play. Just seeing myself play like I did this week gives me a ton of confidence.
Hamilton Coleman
Coleman started the round one-stroke back of overnight leader Mason Howell of Thomasville, Georgia. He made a birdie on the par-4 No. 1 and on the par-3 No. 8. Coleman added two more birdies on the par-4 No. 10 and the par-4 No. 12 to move up the leaderboard. Despite a bogey on the par-4 No. 14, he made four pars to close out the round.
Meanwhile, two groups ahead, Brown made a lot of noise after making a flawless 4-under-par on the front nine. He added another birdie on the par-3 No. 13 but made his only bogey of the day on the par-4 No. 15. He made two more birdies to tie Coleman coming down stretch.
The playoff lasted two holes, both played on the iconic par-4 No. 18. Both players made par to head to extend the situation. A bad drive led Brown to a tough finish while Coleman had a relatively easy two-putt par.
Playoff at the #JrPLAYERS!
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) September 1, 2024
Hamilton Coleman will battle Blades Brown (-6) for the win! pic.twitter.com/UVbh5ydcpY
The 2026 grad entered the field ranked at No. 91 and beat some of the top juniors in the country. This event marks his first Invitational win and second AJGA win. He won the 2023 Moon Golf Junior All-Star presented by Auburn Opelika Tourism.
There are just so many moving parts to this tournament. It has been really cool to see the support of junior golf this week.
Hamilton Coleman
In second place, Brown fired the low final and tournament round of 6-under-par 66. Brown struggled in the second round, but battled it out until the end. He is currently ranked at No. 5 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Two players tied for third place. Kartik Singh of Gurgaon, India, and Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Virginia, finished the event at 4-under-par 212.
Rounding out the top 10 are:
- 5: Mason Howell (-3)
- 6: Kailer Stone (-2) of Alameda, California
- T7: Will Hartman (E) of Marvin, North Carolina
- T7: Phillip Dunham (E) of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
- T7: Bailey Sutter (E) of Cullman, Alabama
- T7: Luke Colton (E) of Frisco, Texas
Thanks to a longtime partnership between the PGA TOUR and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), 78 of the world’s top-ranked male junior golfers, invited through the Rolex AJGA Rankings, competed in a 54-hole, stroke-play event mirroring THE PLAYERS Championship setup and hole locations.
The 18th annual Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by Rolex showcases the best of the next generation of future college and professional stars. To date, 61 past players have graduated to play in the PGA TOUR’s PLAYERS Championship. Justin Thomas became the first Junior PLAYERS Championship alumni to win the professional event in 2021. He competed as a junior in 2008 and 2009. Scottie Scheffler was the second Junior PLAYERS competitor to win The PLAYERS in 2023 after competing three years in the event as a junior and being named the AJGA’s 2013 Rolex Junior Player of the Year. Scheffler won the event again in 2024.
Representatives from 12 foreign countries are competing in one of the AJGA’s annual top fields, featuring 13 of the top 20 boys in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
