Legends Junior Tour heads to The Wilderness for the 2025 Fall Challenge
The Legends Junior Tour will host the Fall Challenge at The Wilderness Golf Course on Sept. 27-28, marking the final LJT event of September.
“We are excited to be heading back to The Wilderness for another great LJT event,” Tournament Coordinator Tanner Lewis said. “This course has a great layout and brings a challenge of shot-shaping — a true test for all the golfers.”
The Wilderness Golf Course, Lake Jackson’s 18-hole public course, is the product of more than two decades of planning, debate and legal battles.
The idea for a municipal golf course first surfaced in the late 1970s after the city acquired the 480-acre Wilderness Park. Public surveys in the 1980s ranked a course among the community’s top recreation priorities. In 1990, city leaders purchased 400 acres west of Wilderness Park from the Resolution Trust Corporation and began feasibility studies and environmental reviews.
The project faced years of hurdles, including wetlands regulations, multiple environmental impact studies, and lawsuits by conservation groups. A 1995 citywide referendum rejected a proposal to turn the site into a wildlife sanctuary, clearing the way for development. In 1997, voters narrowly approved a $6 million bond to fund construction.
Legal challenges continued until 2002, when the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the city’s right to proceed. Construction began soon after, with Kemper Sports hired to manage the facility. The course was grassed in October 2003, completing a 27-year journey from concept to reality.
Today, The Wilderness stands as a championship-caliber course and one of Lake Jackson’s signature recreational amenities.
In 2018, Golf Advisor ranked The Wilderness the No. 7 public course in the United States and the No. 11 course in Texas a year earlier.
Last year’s Fall Challenge, played at Nutcracker Golf Club in Granbury, saw Gable Roach of Keller cruise to victory in the Boys Division with rounds of 68-69, finishing 7-under for the tournament. It was Roach’s only win of the 2024 LJT season and earned him crucial Player of the Year points.
In the Girls Division, Aleah Shields-Rodipe of Conroe posted rounds of 73-69 to finish 2-under, winning by six strokes. JP Lynch of Austin captured the Boys 14 & Under Division with a steady 70-73 to finish 1-under, adding another title to an impressive 2024 season.
Including the Fall Challenge, just three events remain before the Player of the Year points list finalizes teams for the Jackie Burke Cup and determines divisional Player of the Year honors. William Mangione of Austin leads the Boys Division, Plano’s Eileen Lee tops the Girls Division, and Gunter’s Austin Anderson holds the lead in the Boys 14 & Under Division.
This year’s Fall Challenge will feature three divisions: Boys, Girls, and Boys 14 & Under. The Boys Division champion will earn exemptions into the 2025 Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational, 2026 Texas Cup Invitational, 27th Huntington Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship, and the 100th Texas Junior Amateur. The Girls Division champion will receive invitations to the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and the 2026 Texas Girls’ Invitational and 100th Texas Junior Amateur while the Boys 14 & Under winner earns a spot in this year’s Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and 2026 Bluebonnet Championship and George Hannon Junior Invitational.
The first round of the 2025 Fall Challenge begins Sept. 27 at 8 a.m., with players starting from Nos. 1 and 10 tees.
To learn more about The Wilderness, click here. To learn more about the 2025 Fall Challenge, click here.