Distinguished Alumni
Dawson Armstrong - Lipscomb University
Best GJT finish: T4 at Vanderbilt Legends Club, 2012
Dawson played in his first US Amateur Championship before getting to college and narrowly missed the cut by 1. He re-wrote the record book at Lipscomb, including the three lowest scoring average years in program history and the most wins in history. He won the prestigious 2015 Western Amateur, the third best field in amateur golf. In 2016-2017, he was named a 3rd team All-American to both Golfweek and Ping and led the Bisons to their first NCAA Finals appearance. He was named First Team All-ASUN each year and won 3 conference Player of the Year awards. He was the 2nd alternate for the 2017 Walker Cup, the Ryder Cup of amateur golf. After qualifying for his 4th straight NCAA Championship, he turned pro. Armstrong recorded 3 top 10 finishes in his first season on the Canadian tour and won his first event in 2019. He advanced to the Korn Ferry Tour where he had two top 5 finishes in 2020 and a runner up finish at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in 2021.
John Augenstein - Vanderbilt University
Best GJT finish: 1st at Bowling Green Country Club, 2013
After his freshman year of high school, John advanced all the way to the semifinals of the US Junior Amateur Championship. He was ranked in the top 20 juniors in the country at various points during his high school career. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and won the clinching points in both the semifinals and finals matches of the SEC Championship. At the NCAA Finals, John finished 8th individually and helped Vanderbilt advance to match play. He was named a First Team Freshman All-American by the GCAA. John won his first college tournament in 2017-2018 and tied the Vanderbilt record with a 63. He finished 9th at the NCAA Championship en route to being named 2nd team All-SEC. In the summer of 2018, he advanced to the round of 32 at the US Amateur and won the The Players Amateur. Augenstein was again named 1st Team All-SEC as a junior in 2018-2019, 3rd Team All-American, and made the 2019 Palmer Cup team. Augenstein made it all the way to the finals of the 2019 US Amateur before losing on the 35th hole. He then led a comeback andclinched the winning point in the Walker Cup for the United States. He returned to Vanderbilt and became a first team All-American and the SEC Player of the Year as a senior before turning pro late in 2020. He now competes on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Ally Geer - Michigan State University
Best GJT finish: 1st, 7x
Ally entered Michigan State ranked in the top 20 junior golfers in the country. She was a 2x AJGA Rolex All-American in high school after winning 5 AJGA tournaments in her junior career. She won the Michigan Women's Amateur title in both 2015 and 2016, before she even got to college. Despite joining the team mid-semester, she was still named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was also named First Team All-Big Ten. She helped the Spartans on a great postseason run that took them all the way to the NCAA Finals. During the summer of 2017, she got her first tour start in the Meijer LPGA Classic. A month after that, she made the cut at the Symmetra Tour's Tullymore Classic and finished as the low amateur at the event. As a sophomore, she recorded the second lowest season average in MSU history and again made All-Big Ten first team. She won her first collegiate tournament at the Mary Fossum Invitational in the fall of 2018 and followed that up with another win in the spring and another All-Big Ten 1st team. As a senior, she became MSU's first 4 time First Team All- Big Ten selection and was selected to the Arnold Palmer Cup team before turning pro. She ended her college career with the school's all-time best stroke average.
Will Grimmer - Ohio State University
Best GJT finish: 2nd at Hueston Woods Golf Course, 2013
Will entered Ohio State ranked 10th in his high school class. He played in 2 US Junior Amateur Championships and made it to the quarterfinals in 2014. He played in 2 Junior PGA Championships as well. After his junior year of high school he qualified for the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst. Later that summer, he was the Ohio Men's Amateur runner-up. Will played in the US Amateur Championship each year from 2014-2018. After his freshman year, he was named GCAA All-Midwest Region. In his sophomore year, he won his first collegiate event, the Bearcat Invitational. He finished runner-up in the Big Ten Championship in the spring of 2017 and was named All-Big Ten Second Team. Will made it back to the US Open in 2018, and made the cut at Shinnecock Hills. He won another tournament at the Musketeers Classic in the fall of 2018 and was named All-Big Ten 2nd team as a senior before playing in the Arnold Palmer Cup. He now plays professionally on the PGA Tour Canada.
Lauren Hartlage - University of Louisville
Best GJT finish: 1st, 2x including 2014 Tour Championship
Lauren was ranked amongst the top 40 juniors in the country coming out of high school. While there, she won 2 AJGA events and advanced to the semifinals of the Women's Western Amateur. She placed 12th at the Junior PGA Championship. She set the University of Louisville freshman scoring record en route to being named the ACC Freshman of the Year. She was one of two freshman to make the All-ACC team in 2016-2017. In the summer of 2017, Lauren qualified for the US Women's Amateur Championship and then qualified for match play. In the fall of 2017, she won her first college event by 12 shots at the Cardinal Cup. After the 2017-2018 season, she was again named to the All-ACC team after recording the second best stroke average in Louisville history. She made the cut at both the US Women's Amateur and the British Women's Amateur Championships in the summer of 2018. Hartlage was again named to the All-ACC squad as a junior in 2018-2019. She won the Orlando International Amateur in January 2020 during her senior year and set the single season school scoring record. As a graduate student in 2020-21, she was once again named to the All-ACC Team and finished her career as the school's all time scoring leader. Lauren earned her LPGA Tour card through the 2021 Q school.
Rachel Heck - Stanford University
Best GJT finish: 2nd, 2x
Rachel had a decorated junior career, being named a 5 time AJGA Rolex All-American, including the 2017 Player of the Year. She won 2 Junior Solheim Cups and a Junior Ryder Cup. She was twice named the USA Today high school Golfer of the Year and reached the #1 ranking for girls junior golfers in the world. Heck was the medalist at the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur. She joined the Stanford Cardinal and exploded onto the college golf scene. In only half a season (due to COVID-19), she re-wrote the record books. Rachel won 6 tournaments, including the PAC 12 Championship, the NCAA regional, and the NCAA championship. She set the women's NCAA all-time scoring record at 69.72. Every award possible came her way including the NCAA Player and Freshman of the Year, PAC 12 Player and Freshman of the Year, and she made every All-American 1st Team. As a sophomore, Heck once again made the Pac 12 First-Team and was a Golfweek Third Team All-American as she won two more tournaments. She helped lead the Stanford Cardinal to a victory at the 2022 NCAA Championship.
Jillian Hollis - University of Georgia
Best GJT finish: 1st, 4x including 2012 Tour Championship
Jillian had a brilliant high school career, being named an AJGA Rolex All-American in 2014 and being ranked as high as 3rd in the country in her class. She played in the 2014 and 2015 Wyndham Cups, an AJGA all-star event. As a freshman at Georgia, she was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and was a 3rd team All-American. Won the Mountain View Collegiate in 2016 for her first college win. She won the 2016 Women's Western Amateur and then played in her first LPGA event at the Marathon Classic. She led Georgia in scoring the following year and earned 2nd team All-American honors. In the summer of 2017, she qualified for the US Women's Amateur Championship. She set the Georgia single season scoring record as a junior and was first team All-SEC before turning pro. She left Georgia as the program's career scoring leader before recording 3 top 10 finishes in her first year on the Symetra Tour. Hollis won her first professional event on the Symmetra Tour in 2019 at the IOA Championship and followed that a few months later with a win at the Forsyth Classic. Those wins moved her up to the LPGA Tour for the following year.
Dylan Meyer - University of Illinois
Best GJT finish: 1st at Greystone Golf Club, 2013
Dylan was ranked as a top 30 junior in high school and finished 2nd in the Western Junior Championship. He won his first collegiate tournament and finished 22nd at the NCAA finals his freshman year. After earning First Team All-Big Ten as a sophomore, he won the Western Amateur Championship in the summer of 2016 and made it to the quarterfinals of the US Amateur Championship. As a junior, he won 3 times, including the Big Ten Championship. He finished 6th at the NCAA finals and was named First Team All-Big Ten, First Team All-American, and the Big Ten Player of the Year. He was a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to college golf's top player. In the spring of 2018, he won 2 more college tournaments.. He finished 4th at the NCAA finals and was named 1st team All-Big Ten again in 2018. Meyer finished in the top 20 at the 2018 US Open and made 6 cuts on the PGA Tour during the 2018 season, finishing as high as 7th at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He now competes on the Forme Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
James Piot - Michigan State University
Best GJT finish: 1st, 2x including at Forest Akers Golf Course, 2014
James was one of the top seniors in the country coming out of high school. He found immediate success at MSU, becoming the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, he recorded the second lowest single season stroke average in school history and was named 1st Team All-Big Ten. In his junior campaign, Piot picked up his first two collegiate victories and finished the year on the 2nd Team All-Big Ten. In 2019-20, he won another college tournament and made his way to the NCAA Finals as an individual. He set the single season school scoring record and was again named First Team All-Big Ten. In the summer of 2021, Piot secured the ultimate prize in amateur golf. He won the US Amateur Championship, the biggest and most prestigious amateur event in the world at the famed Oakmont Country Club. Piot won the Island Resort Intercollegiate in the fall of 2021 before being named First Team All-Big Ten once again in 2022. After finishing his college career, he joined the LIV Golf Tour.
Erica Shepherd - Duke University
Best GJT finish: 1st 4x, including 2014 Tour Championship
Erica had an elite junior career that saw her ranked as one of the top 5 juniors in the country. She competed in both the 2016 and 2018 U.S. Open. She garnered 5 AJGA Rolex Junior All-American nods in her high school career. She played in and made the cut in 3 LPGA events before starting college. Shepherd was named to the Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup teams and participated in 3 Wyndham Cups. Shepherd's biggest accomplishment came when she won the 2017 US Girls' Junior Championship. She followed that up 2 years later with another USGA title, this one in the US Women's Four-Ball Amateur Championship with partner and former GJT champion Megan Furtney. In the spring of 2019, she recorded a top 25 finish in the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship. She captured the Indiana Women's State Amateur Championship in the summer of 2020. As a sophomore, Erica won her first collegiate tournament, was named All-ACC, and 2nd Team All-American. She finished the season ranked 15th in the country and was selected to the Arnold Palmer Cup team. Shepherd once again made the All-ACC team in 2022 and was named a Golfweek Third Team All-American before competing in the Palmer Cup again. She once again grabbed All-ACC honrsas a senior in 2023 before turning pro.
Braden Thornberry - University of Mississippi
Best GJT finish: 1st at Greystone Golf Club, 2012
Braden was ranked amongst the top 10 juinors in the country coming out of high school, where he was a 3 time AJGA Rolex Junior All-American. Since getting to Ole Miss, he was completely destroyed the record book. He owns the school career wins record and scoring average record. As a sophomore, he won 5 times in college, including the NCAA Championship. He was named First Team All-SEC, All-American, and won the Fred Haskins Award as college's top golfer. He led the country in scoring average and won the prestigious Jones Cup in late January. In the summer of 2017, he played in his first PGA event, the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic and finished 4th. Braden represented the US in the 2017 Walker Cup. He won 4 more college tournaments in 2017-2018 and ascended to being the #1 amateur golfer in the world. He was awarded the McCormack Medal after being the #1 ranked amatuer after the US Amateur in August. Thornberry turned pro halfway through his senior year in December of 2018. He left Ole Miss with almost every imaginable scoring record. In December 2019, he won the 3rd and final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q School, becoming a full time member where he competed in 2020. Thornberry had 4 Top 10s on the KFT during the 2020-21 season where he still competes.
Updated 2/25/24