WARSAW – Ben Barkey believes that hosting an AJGA event is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

An outstanding field of junior golfers from across the country will compete locally as the Stonehenge Golf Club in Winona Lake plays host to the tournament.

The American Junior Golf Association event begins with a qualifier Sunday. That will be followed by a practice round for players and then a Player-Am on Monday with the first round of the tourney set for Tuesday. The tourney continues Wednesday and Thursday.

Barkey, the coach of the highly-successful boys golf program at WCHS, is serving as tourney chairman again this year.

“I think this is a great thing for our community and an exciting event to be a part of,” said Barkey in a phone interview Friday night. “The community benefits as far as things like hotels and restaurants with this many people in town for the tournament.”

Barkey noted that the AJGA estimates that the tourney, which will include about 140 players, brings in around $250,000 to the local economy.

The tourney is also great exposure for the players involved in it. Barkey is able as the host to have six exemptions for players and will have six of his golfers entered in the tourney. The field will include Warsaw golfers Jonny Hollar, Will Petro, Ryan Cultice, Brandon Eckert, Josh Ahlersmeyer and Reid Cameron. Both Hollar and Petro played for the Tigers at the State Finals in June.

“It’s a great thing for our players to get an opportunity like this,” Barkey said. “There will be probably about 20 Division I college coaches out there each day and they get the exposure to them and the chance to make an impression on them. For me, it’s all about giving our kids as many good opportunities as I can.”

Warsaw golfers have fared well in this event before. Former Tiger star and state champion Tyler Ostrom, now playing for Ball State, finished third in the tourney two years ago.

Barkey feels the tourney itself will be a very strong one this year.

“It’s probably the deepest field that we’ve had here,” said Barkey. “It’s got quite a few players who are ranked in the top 100 in the country. That’s great to see.”

A name to watch in the field is that of Tyler Green. The sophomore to be at Columbia City High School has had another strong summer on the junior circuit. Green also shot a round of 71 at Stonehenge to place second individually as the Eagles finished in third place in the team standings behind champion Warsaw and runner-up Triton in the Warsaw Sectional there. He also fired a round of 76 at the layout on June 6 in the Warsaw Regional.

Proceeds from the tournament will go to the AJGA Foundation and locally to the Denny Hepler Future Stars Foundation.

The Cerulean Restaurant in Winona Lake, once again, is a key partner with the event. The restaurant will provide a picnic/cookout for the players who make the cut for the final round and their families on Wednesday night. Persons can also support the tourney by dining at Cerulean Monday through Thursday.  The restaurant will donate 10 percent of the bill to the event for anyone who mentions the tournament.

“Cerulean has really stepped up and been a great partner,” said Barkey.

Barkey noted that there is still room for teams to play in the Player-Am on Monday. Anyone interested should contact Stonehenge at (574) 269-6111.