Eric Lee of Fullerton was named winner of the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Junior Player of the Year Award, while Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Fla., earned the Girls Player of the Year Award.
Lee, the first California native to receive the award since 2010, and Schroeder join a long list of distinguished winners that include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Brian Harman, Hunter Mahan, Charles Howell III, Bob May, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, Inbee Park of South Korea, Grace Park, Rose Zhang, Andrea Lee, Rachel Heck, Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, Alison Lee and Vicki Goetze.
“It’s definitely an honor and feels great to be among the same list of winners such as Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth because it gives me confidence I am trending in the right direction and can hopefully compete with them someday,” said Lee, a senior at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton who has committed to Cal.
“When looking back, the biggest moment of my season was winning the Rolex Tournament of Champions. It really motivated me to start chasing for that No. 1 spot in junior golf.”
Said Schroeder, who won the 31st Rolex Girls Junior Championship in June and has committed to Alabama: “The history is one of the greatest parts about being named Rolex Junior Player of the Year. Everyone who has received the honor has gone on to do great things in golf, whether it be on the LPGA Tour or in college golf. To have my name added to this list is a dream come true.
“(The Rolex Girls Junior) was the biggest win of my career so far. It is always one of the best fields in junior golf so it was very special for me to win that event, especially in my home state. It gave me the confidence I needed for the rest of the summer and I believe if I had not won that event, I wouldn’t have come out on top at the Junior PGA.”
Lee, Schroeder, and the rest of the 2022 Rolex Junior All-American Teams will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-American Awards Banquet on Saturday, Nov. 19, at TPC San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. The teams were determined by the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of Oct. 12.
The AJGA Class of 2022 class includes 48 boys and 48 girls, ages 14-19, from 24 states and 10 countries, including Canada, China, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
They also will compete in the 2022 Rolex Tournament of Champions on Nov. 19-23 at on the Canyons Course at TPC San Antonio.
The 17-year-old Lee, after winning the winning a playoff at the season-opening Rolex Tournament of Champions at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., finished in the top 10 in seven more national junior golf events to end the season No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
In addition, Lee helped the United States team win the Junior Presidents Cup and was on the victorious West team in the Wyndham Cup.
Schroeder, also 17, claimed her second victory of the season in the 2022 Girls Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in LeMont, Ill., and recorded three other finishes in the top five this season to wind up with the No. 1 Girls ranking.
Her two victories this season were her first since she won three times in 2020.
To see who made the AJGA Rolex Junior All-American teams, visit https://www.ajga.org/2022-rolex-junior-all-america-first-team
