A week to remember, a year for the books: Jacksonville's Kaitlyn Schroeder captures top AJGA title
It's been a good week for Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville.
Schroeder, 17, was named the American Junior Golf Association Rolex female player of the year on Thursday, a day after she qualified for the field of 64 in the PXG Women's Match Play Championship at the World Golf Hall of Fame Slammer & Squire.
Schroeder is the first female player from the First Coast to win the AJGA's top award and the first since David Duval was named the boys player of the year in 1989.
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"This feels a lot different than winning a golf tournament," Schroeder said. "When you win a tournament it means you had a good week. When you win something like this, it means you had a good year. It's still crazy to think that with all of the great players in the AJGA, I was able to win this."
Schroeder, the daughter of University of North Florida golf coach Scott Schroeder, will enroll at the University of Alabama in January. She is a two-time Florida Junior champion and this year ended the AJGA season ranked first, with two victories and three top-five finishes.
She and boys winner Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif., will be honored at a banquet at the TPC San Antonio on Nov. 19 the day before the first round of the AJGA Tournament of Champions.
Joining Schroeder on the AJGA's Rolex first team is Andrew McLauchlan of Neptune Beach, a Providence graduate who is attending Wake Forest. Camden Smith, a Ponte Vedra High senior and a Georgia commit, is on the second team.
Schroeder joins a select company. Among past winners have been Michelle McGann, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.
"I can't imagine my name being in that group," Schroeder said. "I don't think it will really sink in until I get to San Antonio for the banquet."
On Wednesday at the Slammer & Squire, Schroeder played her last 16 holes at 3-under with no bogeys for a 70 and a 5-under-par total of 139 to finish fifth in the PXG Women's Match Play Championship stroke-play qualifying.
The field of 64 will compete in pod play on Friday, with four players battling in nine-hole matches, with points awarded for winning holes. The 16 pod winners will begin match play on Saturday, with the championship match on Sunday.
Schroeder won her AJGA tournaments at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and the Girls Junior PGA. She has won five AJGA titles since 2020.
She also has contended deep into match play in the U.S. Junior Girls and U.S. Women's Four-Ball, and won the First Coast Women's Amateur in 2021.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville's Kaitlyn Schroeder named AJGA girls player of year
