James A. Ragan Memorial Set for Oct. 13-14
CORPUS CHRISTI – The Legends Junior Tour will host the fifth annual James A. Ragan Memorial at Corpus Christi Country Club on Oct. 13-14.
“James’s experiences at Legends Junior Tour tournaments and the friends he made always meant a lot to him,” said Mecklin Ragan, James’s sister and co-founder of the unique foundation, Triumph Over Kids Cancer. “It’s incredibly humbling to see an organization continue to honor James’s memory and help Triumph Over Kids Cancer raise awareness for pediatric cancer by hosting the James A. Ragan Memorial.”
James Ragan was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in 2006 at the age of 13. Despite undergoing a grueling treatment regimen of chemotherapy, surgeries, radiation and experimental drug trials, Ragan started playing in LJT events just two years after his diagnosis. He became not only one of the top junior golfers in the state, but also one of the most inspirational.
The Corpus Christi native recorded three top-25 finishes on the LJT and won the 2010 Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic. He was a member of the 2010 Jackie Burke Cup South Team and was awarded the LJT Sportsmanship Award. He played in more than 20 events on the LJT before joining the Rice University men’s golf team in 2011.
After two seasons competing for the Owls, Ragan’s battle with cancer drew to a close in February of 2014. Ragan’s foundation Triumph Over Kids Cancer continues to raise money for cancer research. Today, the fund exceeds $3 million and is dedicated to improving the lives of children with cancer.
In 2015, the LJT created the James A. Ragan Memorial to remember the legacy of Ragan and his character. Now in its fifth year, the championship returns for the third time to Ragan’s home course.
“Triumph Over Kids Cancer is a great opportunity for the LJT to give back to the community and help get awareness out for an amazing organization,” LJT Tournament Director Kevin Porter said. “The Legends Junior Tour is honored to know the Ragan family so well and to get to help raise funds and fight pediatric cancer along with them.”
Last year, Flower Mound’s Rohit Madireddi completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Boys 15-18 Division. He carded rounds of 70-75 to win by two strokes. Hailey Vargas of Lubbock claimed her first LJT title with rounds of 74-77, while Keaton Vo of Austin won the Boys 14 & Under Division.
The LJT season has only two tournaments remaining to earn points toward the race for Player of the Year. As the season comes to end, players are jockeying for the final few spots on their respective Jackie Burke Cup teams. The Jackie Burke Cup will consist of two 12-player teams. The North and South will each be represented by eight players from the Boys 15-18 Division, two players from the Girls 12-18 Division and two from the Boys 14 & Under Division. The teams will be based on the final Player of the Year Points Standings. Dallas Hankamer of Temple leads the Boys 15-18, while Lauren Nguyen of Katy leads the Girls 12-18 and Grant Yerger of Driftwood leads the Boys 14 & Under standings.
The first round begins at 8 a.m. on Oct. 13. Final Round pairings will be redrawn according to first round scores and begin at 8 a.m. the next day.
For more information at the James A. Ragan Memorial at Corpus Christi Country Club, click here. To learn more about the Triumph Over Kids Cancer Foundation, click here.