ROANOKE, Va. – The countdown is on. We are just over a week out from the 2019 Scott Robertson Memorial Golf tournament. The annual competition features some of the best junior golfers in the world. This year marks the 36th year of the event.
The 2019 field will include 165 participants from 26 different states and 14 countries. Nineteen of the players on the girls' side are currently ranked in the top 100, including Alexa Pano. She's the top-ranked golfer returning. Hidden Valley's Jayde Dudley is one of many local girls that will be on the greens next weekend.
The field is stacked on the boys' side as well, with Roanoke's own Ross Funderburke helping lead the way. John Daly II will also be competing in this year's tournament, which has gained attention over three decades on the junior circuit.
"We've turned from a local to a regional to a national to an international tournament and it just kind of feeds on itself. The better the players that come every year, the better the players that want to come next year. So that's a big part of it," tournament co-chairman Tim Bibee said.
"Families are wanting to go back to events like the Scott Robertson Memorial where the people are actually doing the event for the love of junior golf, it's run by volunteers and that's what families want." tournament administrator Debbie Ferguson explained.
The tournament will run from May 17-19 at Roanoke Country Club.