Event Organizer
American Junior Golf Association
The #ANNIKAInvUSA receives 2024 Social Media award
By Hayden Hanslik
Braselton, GA – The American Junior Golf Association has announced the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex as the 2024 recipient of the Social Media Award. The all-girls Invitational celebrated its 16th anniversary in 2024.
This award is selected based on an event’s success with engaging local media and overall creativity and interaction on social media. On Instagram, the social posts from the tournament reached over 200,000 individuals. On TikTok, the video posts for the event were viewed by over 22,000 users. On X, the hashtag for the event #ANNIKAInvUSA accumulated nearly 7.5 million impressions on the platform.
Tournament host and LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam was on-site for a majority of the event in 2024. She hosted a clinic and tournament social event following the second round for all participants, as well as attending the final round and presenting trophies at the awards ceremony following play.
This award is a testament to the incredible energy and spirit of the ANNIKA Invitational. This event continues to set the standard for excellence, bringing together amazing young talent while being supported by outstanding sponsors who make this an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.
Matt Emmi, AJGA Regional Manager, Southeast
To further elevate the experience for the juniors, the champion of the #ANNIKAInvUSA receives two professional tournament exemptions. The first being the LPGA’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, which was contested in 2024 at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. The second to an Epson Tour tournament.Along with this, each player in the field received custom tournament gifts courtesy of the ANNIKA Foundation as well as a full-color tournament program.
The Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex returns to the AJGA schedule in 2025 and will be played at Heathrow Country Club January 17-20. 2024 champion and Texas A&M commit, Natalie Yen of West Linn, Oregon, will be back to defend her title.
Each year, the AJGA presents awards to the tournaments with the best individual hospitality, Junior-Am fundraising, charitable giving and volunteer base. Awards are also given to the events with engaged media and social media participation. Finally, the AJGA recognizes the year’s most outstanding golf professional, superintendent and golf course executive, as well as the most game-changing event, best new event, best Preview Series tournament, best Ninja Junior All-Star Series tournament, best Invitational and overall tournament of the year. Tournament awards for the 2024 season will be presented on-site at the 2025 tournament.
For more information about the AJGA Tournament Awards or the tournament, please contact Tim Jackman (tjackman@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department.
American Junior Golf Association
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit association dedicated to the overall growth of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships. With over 10,000 members ages 12-19 from 50 states and 60 foreign countries, the AJGA will conduct over 250 championships this year from January to December. Each year AJGA seniors secure more than $26 million dollars in athletic and academic scholarships from participating in the AJGA. Through initiatives like the Liberty National Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation. AJGA is open to explore new opportunities domestically and internationally. At this time, there is a strong priority to bring new events to the Western Region.
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