Second Annual “The Dye” National Junior Invitational at Crooked Stick

66 of The Top Junior Golfers in the Nation Come to Carmel June 6-8
Sons of PGA Pros Daly, Poulter and Choi Among the Participants
CARMEL, IND. (June 3, 2021) – The second-annual “The Dye” National Junior Invitational will once again be held at Crooked Stick this upcoming week, June 6-8. The national event, inaugurated in 2020 to honor Crooked Stick’s late founders – champion golfers and world-renowned golf course designers Pete and Alice Dye – enjoyed incredible success in year one despite the pandemic. The impressive field showcases some of the top-ranked national and international boy and girl competitors, facing off in 54-holes of medal play at Crooked Stick – the Dye’s earliest championship design, dating from 1964.
Some familiar last names to golf fans will be in competition at “The Stick,” including John Daly II, from Clearwater, Fla., son of PGA legend John Daly, who stunned the golf world in capturing the PGA Championship 30 years ago this summer at Crooked Stick. Daly II, who competed in last year’s inaugural event and tied for second, will head to the University of Arkansas to play collegiate golf. Also on hand will be Luke Poulter, Orlando, Fla., son of European Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter and Daniel Choi, Keller, Tex., son of PGA veteran KJ Choi. Daniel Choi is headed to Duke while Poulter is presently uncommitted.
Four Hoosiers – two from Carmel – are in the field: Drew Wrightson of Carmel, who played in last year’s event and is headed to Baylor University for collegiate golf; Michaela Headlee (uncommitted) of Carmel; and sisters Chloe and Faith Johnson of Evansville, both committed to Furman.
Among schools this week’s competitors have chosen to continue their golf careers are: Florida, Illinois, Duke, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Louisville, Virginia, Tennessee, Auburn, Ohio State, Northwestern, Clemson, USC, Penn State, Baylor and many more.
Activities begin on Sunday, June 6, with practice rounds. Competition will begin Monday morning, June 7, with starting times off No. 1 and No. 10 from 8:00-10:00 a.m. The second round is slated to start with tee times off No. 1 and No. 10 from 1:00-3:00. The final round will be Tuesday morning, June 8, with starting times off No. 1 and No. 10 from 8:00-10:00 a.m. Play will be in threesomes. Round 3 pairings and starting times will be based on scores from rounds 1 and 2.
About the Championship
The Dye Junior is a one-of-a-kind event in the world of golf – an elite, limited-field invitational where boys and girls compete at the same time on the same major-event host site. The 33 boy/33 girl field also competes for points from World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS) and Golfweek Sagarin Junior Rankings.
Last year’s boy winner John Marshall Butler (now at Auburn University) took the crown at even par 216, finishing a stroke ahead of runners-up John Daly II, Jordan Gilkison and Drew Wrightson. Laney Frye (now at University of Kentucky) captured the girl’s title with a 2-under, 214 – finishing five strokes ahead of runner-up Kynadie Adams. Players returning in 2021 include top-five finishers from last year – boys: Daly, Gilkison and Wrightson, along with girls: Adams, Bailey Shoemaker and Reagan Zibilski.
Tournament Chairman Wayne Timberman said success and national media coverage of last year’s inaugural event exceeded expectations. “The strong field…the aura of Pete and Alice Dye and their beloved Crooked Stick…it all came together,” said Timberman, their life-long friend. “Pete and Alice took me under their ‘golfing wings’ when I was a junior player. Today, with this tournament, the Dyes are inspiring a whole new generation of junior golfers,” he said.
Live-stream and TV Broadcasting
A live TV and internet audience – from 20 countries – tuned into watch the 2020 Dye Junior. “Once again, we will broadcast the final round,” said Tournament Media Director Chris Wirthwein. “Families, friends and fans everywhere in the world can see every player – boy and girl – compete at Crooked Stick,” he added. “Live TV coverage is one more thing that makes ‘The Dye’ special for players and fans.”
For more information – Details about the Pete and Alice Dye Junior Invitational, including the announced field for 2021 can be found at the championship’s website www.dyejuniorinvitational.com and social media: @TheDyeJunior (Twitter), thedyejuniorinvitational (Instagram) and @TheDyeJuniorInvitational (Facebook).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION – The Dye Junior at Crooked Stick
About the host: Crooked Stick Golf Club
Crooked Stick first climbed into the U.S. Top 100 echelon in 1971, just four years after Pete Dye completed construction of all 18 holes. In all, Crooked Stick has been awarded Top 100 rankings in six different decades. As a tournament site, “The Stick” has hosted five USGA National Championships, the 1991 PGA won by John Daly, the 2005 Solheim Cup (won by the U.S.), and two BMW Championships – won by Rory McIlroy in 2012 and Dustin Johnson in 2016.
About Pete and Alice Dye
Paul “Pete” Dye, Jr., born in Urbana, Ohio, learned golf on a course built by his father. He would become an accomplished junior player, winning the 1942 Ohio Boys High School championship. As an amateur, Pete played his way into five U.S. Amateur Championships, the 1957 U.S. Open (where he missed the cut but finished ahead of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer) and a British Amateur (1963). A 2008 inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Mr. Dye designed more than 100 courses throughout the world in a career that spanned six decades. He passed away on January 9, 2020 at the age of 94.
Alice (O’Neal) Dye was born and raised in Indianapolis, Ind. and learned the game at an early age. She would go on to become a champion golfer and earn more than 50 amateur titles, including two USGA Sr. Women’s Amateur crowns and a place on the victorious 1970 U.S. Curtis Cup team. Mrs. Dye would later become the first woman member and first woman President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA). In 2004 she received the PGA of America’s First Lady of Golf Award and in 2017 Alice joined husband Pete as a recipient of the Donald Ross Award, ASGCA’s highest honor. Mrs. Dye died in February 2019 at age 91.
About “The Dye” Championship Trophies
Dye Junior Champions receive a unique award, a hand carved likeness of the club’s iconic ‘Crooked Stick.’ The award ceremony take place near the club’s 18th green, located a few hundred yards from the house where Pete and Alice Dye made their home for nearly 40 years. The 18th green is the same site where champions John Daly, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, the victorious U.S. Solheim Cup team and many other winners at Crooked Stick have been crowned over the past half-century.