JUNIOR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP: Cream of the crop

Nine players from Nevada to compete

Arbor View High School senior Chris Plappert will be making his second appearance in the annual Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship, which runs from Monday to June 14 at Angel Park Golf Club.AJGA COMMUNICATIONS/Special to View Advertisement

The annual Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship will return to Angel Park Golf Club next week, and while most of the youth competing are hoping to attract the attention of college recruiters, at least one local player will be teeing off with a different goal in mind.

Chris Plappert, a graduating senior at Arbor View High School who recently placed third at the prep golf state championship tournament, signed to play golf and go to school at the University of Nevada in Reno in November.

He'll be making his second appearance in the American Junior Golf Association event that starts on Monday, but he's just looking forward to some top-ranked opposition.

"I just look at it as a great chance to play and face some great competition," said Plappert, who was named the Player of the Year in the Northwest Division after completing a successful senior season at Arbor View. "Most of the players in this event are looking to get some exposure for college and it's a great event to do that. But now I'm just trying to get ready for college and play against the highest level of competition I can."

The Junior Golf Championship, presented by the Las Vegas Founders and Meadow Gold Dairy, might be the best place for golfers like Plappert to do just that.

The tournament, which runs through June 14 at Angel Park's Arnold Palmer-designed Mountain Course, will feature 84 boys and girls ages 12-18 from 11 different states. Three players who finished in the top five of AJGA Boys Division last year will be competing in the event: Justin Spray of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Zachary Baker of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Robert Perrot of Rio Rico, Ariz.

Nine players from Nevada will be competing, including Plappert; Alexandra Borcherts of Centennial High School; Kevin Collignon of Heritage Academy; Kevin Lim and In-Ah Park of Bishop Gorman; Sydnee Mack of Cimarron-Memorial; Kevin Stratton and Bethany Glassford of Coronado; and Dusty Craddock of Boulder City.

Park, the younger sister of former Bishop Gorman star and current LPGA Tour member In-Bee Park, is one of the notable female golfers at the event, as is Cheyenne Woods of Phoenix, Ariz., the niece of Tiger Woods.

The tournament is one of 80 events the AJGA will conduct this year in more than 25 states. The nonprofit organization states its goals as continuing the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships. The AJGA has an annual junior membership of more than 5,000 golfers from the U.S. and 25 foreign countries.

For Plappert, competing in AJGA events -- he plans to play in a couple more this summer -- has contributed to his growth as a player. He finished 13th in last year's Junior Golf Championship.

"This is definitely one of the biggest and best events. I don't think we have anything better, junior-wise," he said. "It really means a lot to your future to play in events like this one."

He's hoping to stay busy on the links during the summer months so he'll hit the ground running when he joins the Wolf Pack team in Reno this fall.

"The program up there is really coming along. They have a great coach and some great young players, and they won the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) championship this last year," Plappert said. "It's a team that's coming on strong. I'm excited to get up there."