Junior Players Championship will be played for 20th time at TPC Sawgrass

The Junior Players Championship begins its third decade Sept. 4-6 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

This will be the 20th edition of the American Junior Golf Association invitational and the field is loaded as usual, with 15 of the top 25 players on the AJGA rankings as of July 31, including a pair of University of Florida commits, No. 4 Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie and No. 7 Guiseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach.

Also in the field are No. 2 Jaden Soong of Los Angeles (uncommitted), No. 6 Ronin Banjerjee of Irvine, Calif., (Tennessee), No. 8 Grayson Baucom of Hickory, N.C. (uncommitted), No. 13 Sam Carraher of Crown Point Ind. (Purdue) and No. 17 Sohan Patel of Weston (Vanderbilt), the defending FHSAA Class 2A state champion.

Two-time

Junior Players winner and defending champion Miles Russell is not in the field this year. He's playing for the U.S. team in the Walker Cup Sept. 5-6 at the Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.

JUNIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST AND SECOND TEE TIMES

Playing for the second year in a row will be Charlie Woods, whose father Tiger Woods won The Players in 2001 and 2013. Along with Cameron Kuchar last year, Woods (who has committed to Florida State) is one of four Junior Players participants whose father won The Players. Tyler McCumber (Mark) and Dru Love (Davis) previously competed in the event.

Based on history, any Junior Players Championship field has a strong chance of producing multiple PGA Tour winners and major champions. In the first 19 years of the Junior Players, 42 participants have gone on to win 137 PGA Tour titles, with eight combining to win 19 majors and three Players Championships: Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young.

Oddly enough, the Junior Players is still waiting for one piece of history: A Junior Players winner has never won on the PGA Tour.

Not yet.

The cost for viewing the future of professional golf at the home of the PGA Tour's marquee event: Free, including parking.

Here's the history of the Junior Players Championship:

2007: Morgan Hoffmann wins inaugural Junior Players

Winner: Morgan Hoffmann of Saddlebrook, N.J., shot 67 in the second round, waited out a weather delay in the third round and went on to beat Josh Jones of The Colony, Texas, by three shots at 7-under 209.

Low area player: Bud Cauley tied for third at even-par 216.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Cauley, Brooks Koepka (T9).

2008: Evan Beck with a bomb at No. 18

Winner: Evan Beck of Virginia Beach, Va., made a 60-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to beat Pontus Widegren of Sweden by one shot at 7-under 209.

Low area player: Julian Suri tied for eighth at 4-over 220.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Talor Gooch (T3), Patrick Cantlay (T6), Emiliano Grillo (T25), Justin Thomas (T38), Smylie Kaufman (68), Keith Mitchell (T72).

2009: Bobby Wyatt goes wire-to-wire

Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala., shot 66 in the first round and went on to beat Yaroslav Merkulov of Penfield, N.Y., by three shots at 6-under 210.

Low area player: None.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Patrick Cantlay (T14), Justin Thomas (T26), Wyndham Clark (T38), Talor Gooch (T50).

2010: Michael Johnson's miracle bogey

Michael Johnson of Birmingham, Ala., the last alternate into the field, made a 20-foot bogey putt at the last to beat Jordan Spieth and Emiliano Grillo by one shot. Johnson had a two-shot lead on the 18th tee but hooked his second shot into the water, dropped and wedged onto the green to avoid a three-way playoff.

The tournament set the record for the most future PGA Tour winners in a Junior Players field, with 11. Eight other players went on to earn full PGA Tour status.

Low area player: Dru Love of St. Simons Island, Ga., tied for 73rd at 34-over 250.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Jordan Spieth (T2), Emiliano Grillo (T2), Grayson Murray (6), Daniel Berger (T8), Wyndham Clark (T11), Adam Svensson (T13), Michael Kim (T22), Taylor Moore (T46), Nico Echavarria (T60), Brian Campbell (T67), Will Zalatoris (T73).

2011: Gavin Hall survives rocky final round

Gavin Hall of Pittsford, N.Y., set a tournament record with a 64 in the second round at the TPC Sawgrass Dye's Valley and then held on to win with a 75 at the Stadium Course in the final round, edging Jonathan Garrick of Atherton, Calif., by one shot at 5-under 211.

Low area player: A.J. Crouch of Jacksonville tied for seventh at 2-over 218.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Scottie Scheffler (5), Taylor Moore (T7), Nico Echavarria (T7), Thomas Detry (T22), Jake Knapp (T32), Matt Fitzpatrick (T43), Grayson Murray (T68).

2012: Robby Shelton IV is clutch at the end

Future PGA Tour member Robby Shelton IV of Mobile, Ala., knocked in a 10-foot par putt on the final hole of Dye's Valley to preserve a one-shot victory over Brad Dalke of Hobart, Okla. Shelton became the third winner from Alabama in the first six years in The Junior Players.

Low area player: Corey Carlson of Green Cove Springs tied for 19th at 5-over 221.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Cameron Champ (T14), Ben Griffin (T14), Scottie Scheffler (T33), Davis Riley (T38), Sam Burns (T65).

2013: Austen Truslow goes wire-to-wire

Austen Truslow of New Smyrna Beach shot 75 in the final round at the Stadium Course and won wire-to-wire under a week of tough scoring conditions at 1-under 213. It was the highest score by a winner to that point and he became the first Florida resident to win the tournament.

Low area player: Andreas Halvorsen of St. Augustine tied for 30th at 12-over 226.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Collin Morikawa (5), Scottie Scheffler (6), Cameron Young (T20), Davis Riley (T22), Sam Burns (T34), Ben Griffin (T48).

2014: Sam Horsfield is first international winner

Sam Horsfield, a native of England who went on to play for the University of Florida and then the LIV Golf League, shot 69 in the first round and held on to beat Dalke and Kristian Capparos of Hollywood by one shot at 3-under 213.

Low area player: Jack Comstock of Jacksonville tied for 31st with Halvorsen at 10-over 226.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Sam Burns (T5), Davis Riley (T25), Collin Morikawa (T39).

2015: Chun-an Yu makes memories at No. 18

Chun-an Yu of Taiwan became the first Junior Players champion to win by one shot with a birdie on the 54th hole when he dropped an 8-footer to finish off a 67. He shot 5-under 211 to edge Andrew Kozan of West Palm Beach.

Low area player: Brandon Mancheno of Jacksonville tied for 26th at 6-over 222.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Viktor Hovland (T9), Joaquin Niemann (T11), Matthew Wolff (T16), Ryan Gerard (T46), Kristoffer Reitan (T52), Austin Eckroat (T60).

2016: A Sawgrass Splash for Khavish Varadan

Malaysian native Khavish Varadan posted a tournament-low 65 in the second round but still had to go to sudden death to turn back Cole Hammer of Houston when he saved par from the water at the par-5 18th hole of the Sawgrass Country Club.

Tied for the lead with Hammer, Varadan pulled his second shot into the water, dropped, hit a wedge onto the green and made a 3-footer to preserve his spot in the first playoff in tournament history. He then two-putted the 18th green for birdie in the playoff to win. He and Hammer shot 10-under 216.

Low area player: Brandon Mancheno of Jacksonville tied for 33rd at 6-over 222.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Karl Vilips (T9), Kristoffer Reitan (T9), Ryan Gerard (T14), Akshay Bhatia (T18), Ricky Castillo (T22), Matthew Wolff (T66).

2017: Shuai Ming Wong survives in playoff

Shuai Ming Wong of Hong Kong birdied the 18th hole on a 15-foot putt to tie Logan McAllister of Oklahoma City and Jake Beber-Frankel of Miami at 4-under 212, then won a three-hole aggregate playoff with a par on the third hole, at No. 18 again, when McAllister and Beber-Frankel bogeyed. McAllister's 63 in the second round set the 18-hole scoring record and Beber-Frankel shot 67 in the third round.

Low area players: None.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Karl Vilips (T8), Ricky Castillo (T11), Jacob Bridgeman (T17), William Mouw (T19), Akshay Bhatia (T34).

2018: Travis Vick survives second playoff in a row

After a decade without a playoff, there were three in a row, with Travis Vick making birdie at No. 16, the second hole of sudden death, to beat Bo Jin of China and Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C. Jin chipped in for birdie at No. 18 and Vick made a 12-foot birdie putt, while Bhatia fell out with a par. Vick then hit the 16th green in two and two-putted for birdie to win after Jin got into trouble off the tee.

Low area player: Stewart Slayden of Ponte Vedra Beach shot 12-over 228 to tie for 60th.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Akshay Bhatia (3), Karl Vilips (6), Ludvig Aberg (T7), Ricky Castillo (T11), William Mouw (T62).

2019: Jayden Schaper is steady for the victory

Jayden Schaper became the first Junior Players winner from the continent of Africa with three under-par rounds to post a 6-under 210 and beat Bo Jin by one shot.

Low area players: None.

Future PGA Tour winner in the field: Nick Dunlap (T41).

2020: David Ford closes strong

Future University of North Carolina star David Ford of Peachtree Corners, Ga.,shot 66 in the third round and beat Thomas Morrison of Dallas, Scotty Kennon of Bradenton and Karl Vilips of Australia by two shots at 5-under 211.

Low area players: None.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Karl Vilips (T2), Nick Dunlap (T8), Jackson Koivun (T43).

2021: Ben James cruises to victory

Ben James, who rode a strong career at Virginia to the PGA Tour, shot 68 in the final round and won by four shots at 8-under 208 over Nick Dunlap of Huntsville, Ala. James trailed Dunlap by two shots through 36 holes.

Low area players: Moses Compaan of Jacksonville and Andrew McLauchlan of Neptune Beach tied for 24th at 7-over 223.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Dunlap (2), Jackson Koivun (T19).

2022: Jeffrey Guan's blazing

Jeffrey Guan of Australia set the Junior Players record for the low score in the final round when he shot 64 to beat Jackson Koivun by four shots. Guan also set the 54-hole scoring record at 16-under 200.

Low area player: Camden Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach tied for fifth at 5-under 211.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: Jackson Koivun (2).

2023: Miles Russell wins one for First Coast

There had never been a native of the First Coast who won the Junior Players. But Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach broke the ice with a three-shot victory over Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach at 9-under 207. Russell took the lead for good with a 66 in the second round. Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island tied for sixth and Jackson Byrd of St. Simons Island tied for ninth.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: None, but Blades Brown (T13) now has special temporary status on the PGA Tour.

2024: Hamilton Coleman out-duels Blades Brown

Hamilton Coleman, who would go on to win the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur, topped Blades Brown on the second playoff hole after both finished 6-under 210.

Low area player: Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach tied for seventh at even-par 216.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: None, but in addition to Coleman's U.S. Junior victory, Mason Howell (5th) won the U.S. Amateur in 2025 and Will Hartman (T7) and Tyler Mawhinney (T30) won the U.S. Four-Ball.

2025: Miles Russell the first to win twice

Russell followed up his historic victory in 2023 by becoming the first to win the Junior Players twice when he birdied the 18th hole to win by two shots over Bailey Sutter of Cullman, Ala., at 9-under 207.

Future PGA Tour winners in the field: None, but Russell went on to become the first two-time winner of the Sage Valley Invitational in 2026, tied for 15th in a Korn Ferry Tour event, then qualified for the U.S. Open, made the cut and tied for 39th.

Junior Players participants who have won majors

Masters: Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth.

U.S. Open: Brooks Koepka, Wyndham Clark, Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick.

PGA: Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa.

Open: Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth.

Junior Players participants who have won Players Championships

Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young.

Junior Players participants who have won the U.S. Amateur

Matt Fitzpatrick, Byeong Hun-An, Peter Uihlein, Doc Redman, Viktor Hovland, Andy Ogletree, James Piot, Nick Dunlap, Jose Luis Ballester, Mason Howell.

Junior Players participants in the Ryder Cup

U.S.: Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Ben Griffin, Brooks Kopeka, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young.

Europe: Ludvig Åberg, Victor Dubuisson, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland.

Junior Players participants in the Presidents Cup

U.S.: Daniel Berger, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young.

International: Byeong Hun-An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Emiliano Grillo, Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Junior Players Championship will be played for 20th time at TPC Sawgrass