2021 DJ World Junior, Revisited. Wow.
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It’s been just four years since the memorable 2021 Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship at TPC Myrtle Beach was captured in dramatic splendor by CBS Sports Network in a feature-length special. It wonderfully chronicles the competition and elements that go into making the DJWJ one of junior golf’s premier showcases.
Of the nine players listed below that were featured by CBS Sports that year, six have already competed in a U.S. Open, LPGA Tour or PGA TOUR event. Three have already earned their PGA TOUR or LPGA Tour card.
And three additional players not featured in the CBS Sports special have each played multiple events on either the PGA TOUR or LIV Golf.
Jacqueline Putrino – Won the 2021 DJWJ. Went on to play at Florida State and Oklahoma State.
Catherine Park – Finished T3 in the 2021 DJWJ. No. 6 in current World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Won the 2024 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championship and finished second in the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. Competed in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open.
Gianna Clemente – Finished T5 in the 2021 DJWJ. A year later at age 14, Gianna made LPGA Tour history as the youngest player ever to qualify for three consecutive Tour events. She went on to become the 2024 American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year, and currently sits at No. 21 in WAGR.
Hyo Joon Jang – Finished second in the 2021 DJWJ. Turned pro the next year, and through her play on the Epson Tour earned her LPGA Tour card for 2023. She has since earned three top-10 finishes and amassed more than $328,000 in career earnings.
Andie Smith – Finished T8 in the 2021 DJWJ. Currently sits at No. 60 in WAGR. Since enrolling at Duke, she has earned All-ACC Academic Team honors in 2023 and 2024.
Nicholas Dunlap – Won the 2021 DJWJ. Played collegiately at Alabama, and along the way became the only golfer in history not named Tiger Woods to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur. On a special exemption to the PGA TOUR’s The American Express in early 2024, Nick became the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win a PGA TOUR event. Nick joined the PGA TOUR after that win, and won the Barracuda Championship later that year for his first victory as a pro. He is currently 38th in the Official World Golf Ranking and has amassed five top-10 finishes on the TOUR with more than $3.5 million in career earnings to date.
Luke Clanton – Finished T2 in the 2021 DJWJ. Enrolled at Florida State where he’s won six collegiate events and earned spots to compete in 12 PGA TOUR events, making nine cuts with four top-10 finishes that include three top-fives and two runner-up results. By making the cut at the recent Cognizant Classic, Clanton surpassed the 20-point threshold in the PGA TOUR University Accelerated standings to earn his PGA TOUR card.
Brendan Valdes – Finished T2 in the 2021 DJWJ. Enrolled at Auburn where in 2024 he and teammate Koivun won the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf team championship. In his quest to help the Tigers repeat, Valdes won the individual title as Auburn took team honors at the 2025 General Hackler Championship at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Competed in the U.S. Open twice (2023-2024). Brendan is currently at No. 8 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
John Daly II – Finished T6 in the 2021 DJWJ. Enrolled at his father’s alma mater, Arkansas, where he has earned three top-10 finishes in NCAA Division I competition.
And as for three notable players in that 2021 field who weren’t featured in this special:
Caleb Surratt – Finished T14 in the 2021 DJWJ. Enrolled at Tennessee, where he won the 2023 SEC Championship and followed that with appearances on the victorious United States Arnold Palmer Cup and Walker Cup teams later that year. Turned professional in 2024 by joining John Rahm’s Legion XIII team with LIV Golf.
Benjamin James – Finished T5 in the 2021 DJWJ. Went on to win the event in 2022, then enrolled at Virginia where he’s won three collegiate events and climbed to his current No. 3 WAGR ranking. Has teed it up in five pro events, including the 2024 U.S. Open.
Jackson Koivun – Missed the cut in the 2021 DJWJ. Went on to win the 2023 DJWJ, and then record a historic freshman season at Auburn that included a 2024 SEC Championship, runner-up finish in the NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Championship, and becoming the first player ever to sweep all four major collegiate awards in the same season (the Haskins Award, Jack Nicklaus Award, Ben Hogan Award and Phil Mickelson Award). Koivun has since earned spots to compete in multiple PGA TOUR events, garnering 15 points in the PGA TOUR University Accelerated Program that leaves him just five points shy of earning his PGA TOUR card, which he is projected to do later this year.
