色多多

There have been occasions when players have come to 色多多 Country Club with a professional start under their belt. This year鈥檚 girls 15-18 division field will feature a rising star who made her LPGA Tour debut last November.

Honorine Nobuta Ferry, a 15-year-old prodigy, is making her Scott Robertson Memorial debut this weekend after a scorching stretch of play that has seen her win once and finish in the top four in four other junior events since the middle of March.

She received a sponsor鈥檚 exemption to play as an amateur in the Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Oahu, Hawaii. Ferry was born and raised in Hawaii before her family moved to Flower Mound, Texas, four years ago.

Ferry missed the cut by two strokes.

鈥淚 would say I guess just for me it was the atmosphere that was pretty different,鈥� Ferry said before Thursday鈥檚 practice round. 鈥淪urprisingly, I didn鈥檛 feel as nervous as I thought I would be on the first tee. Everyone was really nice. Staff was amazing, the volunteers were really nice, so it was an incredible atmosphere, especially the pro-am party was pretty nice.鈥�

Ferry, who also has a start in the LPGA of Japan Tour and is the reigning Texas Girls Junior Amateur champion, is part of a loaded girls 15-18 division. Twenty of the 39 players in the field are ranked in the top 200 of the latest American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) rankings.

Salem High School senior and Vanderbilt signee Kathryn Ha is one of the heavy hitters in the group. She is ranked 64th in the AJGA rankings and is one of nine players who have signed to play Division I golf, and she is getting into her summer swing of golf after playing in the AJGA Nelly Invitational earlier this month.

Ha finished in a tie for 42nd. Ferry finished in a tie for third.

鈥淎s soon as I saw the dates come out for this tournament, I wanted to play since it鈥檚 my last year,鈥� Ha said. 鈥溾�� Always I think it鈥檚 better to have a loaded field. More competition means it鈥檚 better.鈥�

The girls 15-18 division field also features last year鈥檚 14-under winner.

Alexandra Phung is playing up a division at 13 years old. She claimed her second Drive, Chip and Putt national championship at Augusta National Golf Club in April, and she has posted three top-five finishes in AJGA events this year.

鈥淚 would say it鈥檚 more so I wanted to challenge myself and just try and learn from my experience from last year and also this year,鈥� Phung said. 鈥淭he course is in great shape considering the rain that it鈥檚 dealt with, and I feel like the conditions are hard to find anywhere else in the country. I really enjoy coming back and I鈥檓 just looking forward to this tournament.鈥�

Leesburg native Emerson Roychoudhury is playing in her second major tournament in a two-week stretch. She and Texas A&M signee Avery Zweig were partners in the U.S. Women鈥檚 Amateur Four-Ball at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club.

The pair missed the cut to advance to match play by two strokes.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice because you really get to see where you stack up against other players. Going to the USGA event, you see these players who are going to Duke and who are going to all these really big colleges, and you see, OK, I鈥檓 right here with them,鈥� Roychoudhury said. 鈥淭hen here, everyone鈥檚 committed to a really big college and the field is really good, so you really see where you stack up. And it鈥檚 cool to see a lot of college coaches.鈥�

The boys 15-18 division field isn鈥檛 lacking firepower by any means.

Blacksburg High senior and Auburn signee Jake Albert leads a field that includes Texas signee Adam Villanueva and Tennessee commit Pennson Badgett.

Badgett is ranked 11th in the latest AJGA boys rankings.

Villanueva didn鈥檛 have the Scott Robertson Memorial on his radar for potential junior events this year. He received an email inviting him to play in it, and Texas coach John Fields signed off on him getting the experience prior to joining the Longhorns.

鈥淰irginia is a really nice place. They鈥檝e got really good golf courses, different types of grass,鈥� Villanueva said. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥楬ey, let鈥檚 give it a shot.鈥� I saw kind of the past results and past players that played it, and I was like, 鈥楾his is a pretty good tournament.鈥欌��

Ha will spend the summer playing in high-profile events before joining the Vanderbilt women鈥檚 golf team. She will open June by playing in The Lanto Junior Championship at Blacksburg Country Club and then participate in the Rolex Girls Junior Championship at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

She said she plans on playing in the Women鈥檚 Open of Virginia to begin transitioning to amateur golf as she joins a Vanderbilt squad that opens play in the NCAA Division I women鈥檚 golf national championship on Friday.

鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 motivation for me because at Vanderbilt you鈥檙e going to have to earn your spot on the team every single week, every single tournament,鈥� Ha said. 鈥淭hat provides some motivation for me to be at the top of my game in order to contribute to the team.鈥�

Ha is one of two future SEC golfers in the girls 15-18 division field (Maggie Carlson has signed with Kentucky), and there are four players who have signed with ACC programs (Elsie MacCleery to Virginia, Lindsay McGrath to North Carolina State, and Grace Ridenour and Ellen Yu to North Carolina).