Having received over 100 nominations, the Kids Golf Foundation has now selected the individuals who will participate in an exciting, all-female event called the 2009 PING Junior Solheim Cups Junior-Am. The Kids Golf Foundation reached out to its local program sites, in which Site Coordinators nominated their program participants, as well as the Illinois High School Association, in which High School Golf Coaches nominated their student-athletes. These administrators nominated junior golfers who they felt would be excellent candidates.

"It is important for us as a Foundation to offer opportunities such as this," said Holly Alcala, Foundation Director. "The young ladies selected have a once in a lifetime opportunity to play with some of the world's best junior golfers."

In order to have a field of young ladies to select from, the Foundation has been working with their local program Site Coordinators and the Illinois High School Association's girls golf coaches over the past several months.

“It is a huge honor for Allison, as well as the school,” said Doug Brown, Girls Golf Coach at Oak Park River Forest High School, who nominated junior golfer, Allison Monks. “We didn’t have a team two years ago, and Allison was our only female golfer playing on the boys’ team. Watching Allison expand her golf career is very exciting for me as a coach – I’m ecstatic!”

The Junior-Am will take place on Monday, August 17, 2009 at Aurora Country Club in Aurora, IL. This event is a special opportunity in which one junior player from either the European or USA Team will play with three junior golfers (combined KGF and IHSA) ages 12-18. Groups will play 18-holes of golf in a fun format. The Junior-Am, similar in format to a Pro-Am, is a fundraising opportunity designed to help the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Foundation and local junior golf programs. The 2009 PING Junior Solheim Cup and the Junior-Am will be managed and operated by the AJGA.

“The AJGA is very excited to partner with the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois for this year’s Junior-Am at the PING Junior Solheim Cup,” said Mark Oskarson, Chief Operations Officer of the AJGA. “We look forward to seeing young amateurs have the opportunity to play with some of the most promising juniors in the world.”

The Foundation feels it is important to provide deserving young golfers with an opportunity to see the future of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and Ladies European Tour, while improving upon their own golf game, as they learn from each other.

“I am very honored to be one of the selected participants,” said Katlyn Anderberg, selected IHSA participant and student at Huntley High School. “I’m looking forward to picking the brains of the future LPGA Professionals to learn how they prepare and work towards reaching successful results. I plan to take what they do and add it into my routine.”

The Junior-Am participants have a unique opportunity to learn from the PING Junior Solheim Cup players. These players are role models for the participants, as they are leaders at the junior level and rising stars working towards a professional career in golf. Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel were a part of the inaugural PING Junior Solheim Cup held in the United States in 2002 and are now playing for a spot on the U.S. Team for the 2009 Solheim Cup!

“It’s a good opportunity and a chance many girls do not receive,” said Nora Durkin, selected KGF participant and program participant of Children’s Educational Institute, INC. “I’m happy to be one of the participants.”

As one of the largest junior golf associations in the state, the Kids Golf Foundation is dedicated towards bringing the sport of golf into the lives of children and providing them with an opportunity for career enhancement. Most recently, the Foundation has been working together with state associations like the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) to expose junior golfers to the 2009 Solheim Cup.

“We appreciate the unparalleled opportunity being provided our high school golf teams by the LPGA and the Kids Golf Foundation,” said Sue Hinrichsen, Assistant Executive Director of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). “It makes what is exciting in the Solheim Cup belong also to our student-athletes.”

Congratulations to all the individuals selected to partake in the 2009 Junior-Am! The Foundation looks forward to witnessing the success of the deserving junior golfers who were chosen! It is sure to be an experience they will never forget.

“What an incredible week - the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms and I'll have the amazing opportunity to play with one of the PING Solheim Junior Cup participants,” said Kelly Carlquist, selected participant and student at York High School. “That’s like back-to-back birdies!”

A complete listing of the Junior-Am selected participants is available by contacting the Kids Golf Foundation at (630) 466-0913. Please ask to speak with Samantha Rubin. For more information on the PING Junior Solheim Cup visit www.ajga.org.