THE WOODLANDS, Texas — One of the best moments of the week at The Chevron Championship happened well before the first tee shots were struck on Thursday at The Club at Carlton Woods.
Hosted by three-time Chevron Championship winner Amy Alcott, the Junior Legacy Pro-Am pairs junior girl golfers with some of the game’s past and present stars, allowing them to gain insight and experience as they play The Club at Carlton Woods the Sunday before championship week. This year’s pro-am took place on April 14, a week before the newest Chevron champion is crowned in The Woodlands, Texas.
Alcott has been putting on the event for years and is grateful that Chevron has continued her annual tradition, elevating the experience even further by welcoming the Junior Legacy Pro-Am to the major championship venue. She knows the impact that playing alongside a major champion or LPGA Tour winner can have on a young golfer with professional aspirations and enjoys the opportunity she and her colleagues have to impart their wisdom on golf’s next great stars.
“This is all about mentoring, and I'm so happy that Chevron has continued this event that I started years ago,” Alcott said. “Together, we’re fostering a lot of goodwill with all these young junior girls here in Houston and keeping the junior legacy alive. Last year, we played another course, and I said, ‘Why don't we try to play the actual tournament course? That way the juniors can experience that.’
“The event is growing, and I know that Chevron is very proud of it, having this and continuing this vision I had years ago, and I think it will grow by leaps and bounds.”
This year’s professional participants included a slew of Chevron Championship winners like Juli Inkster, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel, as well as plenty of other female golf legends like Betsy King and Pat Bradley.
Lincicome, who is an ambassador for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, loves getting to interact with young fans and always puts a premium on playing in these types of events in an effort to continue growing the women’s game. She was incredibly impressed with her playing partner’s ability to hit it far and long, quite the compliment from a player whose nickname is “Bam-Bam” and who is known for her length on the LPGA Tour.
“The girls that I had were so good, and they swung so hard, which I love seeing being a long hitter,” said Lincicome. “I had a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old, and both of them just really went after it. I thought that was so cool to see the next generation, and you're swinging hard, wanting to hit the ball far. It was cool to see Pat Bradley and Judy Rankin and Juli Inkster and all the Hall of Famers, and to bring everyone together and have a fun round of golf. I had the best time.”
One of Lincicome’s groupmates was Megan Rodrigues, and she was so excited to play alongside someone who has twice made the jump into Poppie’s Pond, having won The Chevron Championship in 2009 and 2015 when the tournament was held at Mission Hills Country Club.
“It was amazing to play with Brittany,” said Rodrigues. “The shots she was hitting were crazy, and I learned a lot. She gave some good tips for short game around the green. We also got to help each other read our putts, which was pretty awesome.
“My main goal was to learn as much as I could today from the pro, and I definitely met that expectation. Getting to play with a major champion was unforgettable.”
Morgan Pressel, 2007 Chevron Championship winner and golf analyst for NBC, was another one of the pros who teed it up alongside the juniors last weekend. Like Lincicome, she enjoyed watching how her groupmates play the game and was excited to see the love the girls had for golf this early in their respective lives. But chatting with the girls had Pressel feeling a little nostalgic for her younger years as she listened to their dreams and aspirations for their golf careers.
“I had the absolute honor and privilege of playing with Aleah and Jayce,” said Pressel, who’s an LPGA*USGA Girls Golf alum. “It was so incredible to watch them. Both are young talents with bright futures. It made me think of when I was in their shoes as a youngster and to have had this opportunity would have been truly incredible. I cannot wait to watch them progress in their careers.
“There’s nothing that I love more, even when I was playing, than seeing the kids out on the golf course. That was my favorite part because that was me. I was that 10-year-old standing to the side of the 18th green, waiting for autographs from my favorite players. To see these young players so dedicated to the game and embracing the spirit of the LPGA and what Girls Golf has meant to them and brought into their lives is really special.”
Aleah Shields-Rodipe learned a ton from teeing it up alongside Pressel, lessons she’ll apply to her future golf endeavors as she works to become an LPGA Tour winner just like Morgan, and exposure she may never have gotten it if wasn’t for an event like the Junior Legacy Pro-Am.
“She brought a lot of knowledge to my golf game and gave me a few tips on my putting,” said Shields-Rodipe. “It was really cool because I just got to see what went through her mind when she picked clubs and how she used the course to make sure she was doing everything right. Like the wind and the trees. She made me understand that it's more about the course than just your golf game.
“I just want to thank Chevron and The Woodlands for giving me the opportunity to play this golf course with the legends. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
That’s exactly what the Junior Legacy Pro-Am is all about – giving girls new opportunities to learn and grow both on and off the golf course. And who knows where some of the junior participants will end up in a few years.
They just might be hoisting the Dinah Shore Trophy themselves one day.
For more information on Junior Legacy Pro-Am, please visit https://www.thechevronchampionship.com/ and for more information on how to support LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, please click here.
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