WSGA Player of the Year Joe Highsmith named First Team Junior All-American

Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash. was named First Team Rolex Junior All-American for 2017 by the American Junior Golf Association, establishing himself among the top tier of current and former junior golfers from around the world.

Highsmith, a senior at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, was also recently named the 2017 WSGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. Among his titles this year, he won the Washington State Amateur and the WIAA 4A High School State individual championship. He was also named to the prestigious Junior Presidents Cup and AJGA Wyndham Cup teams. (Click here for a complete list of his accomplishments.)

The 2017 Rolex Junior All-America Teams will be honored Sunday, November 19 during the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The awards ceremony, dubbed “The Greatest Night in Junior Golf,” will also celebrate the achievements of the Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-Americans and Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award recipient as a focal point of the Rolex Tournament of Champions week.

There’s a long history of success by Rolex Junior All-Americans at the college and professional levels. Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Inbee Park, Jordan Spieth and Lexi Thompson are among the many Rolex Junior All-Americans in the NCAA and professional record books.

Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize players who have proven to be the world’s premier junior golfers. This year’s Rolex Junior All-America Teams are comprised of 96 junior golfers ages 13-19, from 20 states and 13 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand. These young men and women distinguished themselves through their outstanding play in 132 national junior golf events, 120 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The teams were determined exclusively through the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of October 12.