Patty Berg Junior Championship connects future golfers to Fort Myers history

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — Some of the best junior golfers in South Florida are chasing a major title this weekend at Cypress Lake Golf Club.

The Patty Berg Junior Championship is a 54-hole event hosted by the South Florida PGA Junior Tour. The tournament features boys and girls ages 13 to 18, along with boys ages 11 to 12, competing across three days in Fort Myers.

“The golfers we have here are some of the best in the country,” said Haley Dunn, junior golf manager for the South Florida PGA section.

Dunn said the tournament is one of the tour’s eight majors, giving young golfers a chance to build their rankings, strengthen their golf résumés and get in front of college coaches.

“A lot of these kids, especially the ones playing today, are looking to play in college,” Dunn said. “They're high-level, elite junior golfers.”

For the boys 13-to-18 champion, the stakes are even bigger. Dunn said the winner will earn a spot in the new Justin Thomas and Cam Young Junior Cup, a 24-player event being launched this year at Emerald Dunes.

“Justin Thomas and Cam Young are involved,” Dunn said. “And so it's going to be a high-level event, probably one of our most exciting events of the year, and a lot of college coaches are going to be looking at it.”

For players like Ben Tomlinson, a sophomore competing in the tournament, that next step is what makes the field so strong.

“There's not a single slacker here,” Tomlinson said. “Every kid knows their stuff. Every kid's very good, and they're all trying to pursue the same dream. Every kid here is trying to play in college.”

Tomlinson said his own goal is to keep improving and see how far golf can take him.

“I'd love to be as good as I possibly could and see where it takes me,” Tomlinson said. “I'd love to play in college.”

The tournament also has a rich history at Cypress Lake Golf Club.

John Pazdera, general manager of Cypress Lake Golf Club, said the club is the oldest private club in Fort Myers. It was also home to Patty Berg, one of the founders of the LPGA and the first woman inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“She actually lived on the golf course,” Pazdera said. “So, she's had a very big impact with not only the members when she was here, but she gave a lot of clinics, over 16,000 clinics. And she was all about growing the game.”

Pazdera said hosting a junior tournament in Berg’s name helps keep her legacy connected to the next generation.

“Patty is with us through and through,” Pazdera said. “She's very important to the club. She's all about growing the game. She's very patriotic, so what better weekend to have it than on Memorial Day?”

Tomlinson said that history adds meaning to the event.

“I really like the history behind it,” Tomlinson said. “How Patty Berg and her story, about, you know, how she pioneered, kind of the whole LPGA, and just, even kids getting into golf in general.”