Clemente named Rolex Junior Player of the Year - WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren Ohio

BRASELTON, Ga. - Blades Brown of Nashville, Tennessee, was named the top male junior golfer in the world with the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Junior Player of the Year award. Gianna Clemente of Estero, Florida, was named the top female junior golfer in the world and joins Brown on a historical list of Rolex Junior Players of the Year : Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Inbee Park and Rose Zhang.

The Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize the world’s premier junior golfers. The 2024 class includes 48 boys and 48 girls, ages 13-19, from 19 states and three countries.

These young men and women distinguished themselves through exceptional play in 160 national junior golf events, 142 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The teams were determined exclusively through the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of October 17.

Clemente’s extraordinary 2024 season further solidified her place among the elite in junior golf, earning her the honors of 2024 Girls Rolex Player of the Year. A five-time Rolex Junior All-American, Clemente began the year with a top-10 finish at the Fortinet Girls Invitational at Stanford, posting rounds of 71-72 — 143. In March, she finished tied for 11th at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.

Her performance took another leap when Clemente finished an impressive fifth place at the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship (ANWA), competing against the top female amateurs from around the world. This strong finish set the tone for her summer season and propelled her to her fifth AJGA win and third Invitational title at the Mizuho Americas Open in May. In this unique stableford event, Clemente tallied 149 points to win by two. With the AJGA field playing alongside a full 120-player LPGA field, Clemente found herself in a final round pairing with LPGA stars Nelly Korda and Hannah Green.

Immediately following her Mizuho victory, Clemente competed in the LPGA ShopRite Classic presented by Acer, finishing 47th with an impressive three-day total of 68-70-71 — 209, again proving she can hold her own among the best in the game.

In June, Clemente tied for 15th at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and played an integral role on the victorious East Team at the Wyndham Cup. Her summer continued with a deep run at the 75th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, advancing to the Semifinals before falling to PING Junior Solheim Cup teammate Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, California. She also reached the match play portion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, advancing to the Round of 32.