Salesmanship Club Of Dallas Announces The Inaugural Recipients Of The Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards

Irving, TX – Five exceptional young golfers from around the world will be honored next week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas announced today that Dylan Frittelli from South Africa, Luciano Garcia from Mexico, Cody Gribble from Dallas, Cory Whitsett from Houston and Patrick Winther from Denmark are the first recipients of the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards.

The Salesmanship Club created the international awards program to honor the late Byron Nelson and his legacy of encouraging and mentoring young golfers. Byron’s commitment to developing future generations of golf was evident in his early support of such stars as Tiger Woods, Ken Venturi, Tom Watson and Justin Leonard. Last year’s winner of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Scott Verplank, worked with Nelson beginning at age 17.

“Byron was committed to giving back to the game of golf and to supporting the development of young golfers, including our 2007 champion, Scott Verplank,” said Andy Stern, chairman of Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas. “Byron identified many of the great golfers early in their careers and was partial to providing his sponsor exemption so they could gain valuable experience at a young age.”

The recipients were selected not only because of their accomplishments in junior tournament play, but also in recognition of their achievement in academics, participation in community service and demonstrated excellence in character, integrity and sportsmanship.

Three of the five 2008 recipients, including Garcia, Gribble and Winther, will attend the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. They will be recognized at the Championship’s Opening Ceremony at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 21, and will participate in the Youth Golf Clinic at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22 on the TPC Four Seasons Practice Range. The formal awards ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas. The award recipients will also walk inside the ropes with PGA TOUR players during the practice round on Tuesday.

Frittelli is unable to attend due to a commitment to play for the South African national team in Zambia at the Zambian Open. Whitsett is unable to attend due to a commitment at a golf tournament in Florida.