Junior Championship

The history of WPGA Junior Championship is deep and prestigious. Since the inaugural event in 1921, the WPGA Junior has crowned a number of impressive champions.

Two players who started their careers by winning a West Penn Junior, Sam Parks Jr. (1926) and Arnold Palmer (1947 & 1948), went on to win U.S. Open Championships.

Jim Simons, who claimed victory at the 1966 WPGA Junior, nearly won the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club five years later at the age of 21. He led the event after 54 holes before tying for fifth to end the championship.

Frank Fuhrer III won the 1976 WPGA Junior and went on to win the prestigious 1981 Western Amateur and was a member of the 1981 Walker Cup team. Fuhrer III also won the WPGA Amateur Championship in 1978 and 1979, as well as the WPGA Open Championship in 1986.

One player has won the competition three times, as William Miller captured his third-straight title in 2005 with a victory at Hannastown Golf Club.

All-time, 15 players have won the championship on multiple occasions – Fred Brand, Jr., J. Denniston St. Clair, Wallace Kappel, Charles Manning, Jr., Arnold Palmer, James Holding III, Dick Chase, George Mackanos III, Dudley Merchant, Mark Scally, Bobby MacWhinnie, Hunter Bruce, Rocco Salvitti, Brent Rodgers and Miller.

In 1947, Arnold Palmer became the only player in the Association’s history to win the West Penn Amateur and Junior Championships in the same year – a mark that still stands today.

The Junior Championship is open to players 18 years of age and under. The competition a one-day event featuring 36 holes of stroke play.

Winners of the WPGA Junior Championship receive the Percy H. Preston Memorial Trophy.

The 1st hole at Nemacolin Country Club, host of the 2026 WPGA Junior Championship