Salesmanship Club of Dallas Announces 2010 Recipients of the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards
U.S. Junior Amateur Champion Jordan Spieth Among Recipients
Irving, Texas, Apr. 29, 2010 – Three of the nation’s highest ranked junior golfers will be honored at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas announced today that Yaroslav Merkulov of Penfield, New York, Jordan Spieth of Dallas, Texas and Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala., will receive the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards.
Spieth, who has also been granted a sponsor exemption to play in the Nelson, is the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur Champion and is also the top-ranked junior in both the Polo Golf Rankings and Golfweek’s junior rankings. Wyatt is ranked No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings and No. 4 in Golfweek’s junior rankings, and Merkulov is ranked No. 6 in the Polo Golf Rankings and No. 5 in Golfweek’s junior rankings.
The recipients were selected not only for their superior athletic abilities demonstrated in junior golf, but for their honorable community involvement and academic pursuits.
“We are certainly excited to recognize these three young men, who have each followed the same inspiring moral compass that guided Byron Nelson,” said Brooks Cullum, chairman of Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas. “Byron’s legacy of being a gentleman lives on in young men such as these, and we must honor that.”
The 2010 award recipients will attend the HP Byron Nelson Championship. They will be recognized at the Championship’s Opening Ceremony at noon on Tuesday, May 18, and will participate in the Youth Golf Clinic later that day at 5 p.m. on the TPC Four Seasons Practice Range. The formal awards ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. the same evening at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas. The award recipients will also walk inside the ropes with PGA TOUR players during the practice round on Tuesday.
Last year, the Salesmanship Club bestowed the second annual Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards to four golfers from Argentina, Virginia and Washington. The Awards were created in 2008 to honor Byron Nelson and his renowned mentoring and support of young golfers.
About the HP Byron Nelson Championship
The HP Byron Nelson Championship has been a premier event on the PGA TOUR since 1968. Dallas’ biggest sports attraction and most anticipated social event of the spring is also the most financially successful charity event on the PGA TOUR, raising over $112 million for children and families served by Salesmanship Club Youth and Family Centers. Join the great time in 2010 – May 17-23 at the Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. A Great Time. A Greater Cause. Learn more at hpbnc.org.
About the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards
The Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards were created to continue Byron Nelson’s legacy for encouraging and mentoring young golfers. Each year, a panel of professional golfers and golf officials identify three to five young athletes from around the world who distinguish themselves with a high level of junior tournament play as well as excellence in academics, a commitment to community service and exceptional character. The recipients are invited to Dallas for the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
The Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards are intended to recognize that junior golf is growing internationally and serves as the feeder system for the PGA TOUR, European Tour and other golf circuits worldwide. Many of the current PGA TOUR professionals were identified through their participation and victories in various national and international junior tournaments.
