In Texas, bluebonnets are sacred. They are a legendary staple in Texas history and the flocks of people who stop alongside the highway to take pictures in a bluebonnet patch each spring continually reaffirm this. The story of how these little flowers became such a big deal is as wide ranging as the Lone Star State itself.
The history of the Bluebonnet Championship, one of the most competitive junior golf events in the country, isn’t so dissimilar in its rise to popularity. It started out as a mere idea between a few dads whose sons were often entered in the same junior golf tournaments. Now, it is a fixture on the yearly schedules of top-ranked boys and girls across the state.
Uniquely, since its inception in 2002, the elite Legends Junior Tour event has been hosted in Brownwood at Brownwood Country Club. It’s unique because Brownwood is a small town of a little under 20,000 people. Bart Johnson, who was born and raised there, met Bill Reed, father of Patrick Reed, and Bill Gribble, father of Cody Gribble, while traveling with their sons to play in various junior golf events across the country.
It was Johnson and these two fathers, plus a few others, that came up with the plan of creating an elite junior championship in Texas after experiencing the Future Masters Golf Tournament in Dothan, Ala.
“The Future Masters is one of the premiere junior golf tournaments in the U.S. and they come from all over the world to play in it,” Johnson said. “Dothan is a small town, and everybody knows everybody. The food was great, the volunteers were great, and they treated us like we were home. It was more personal. Bill Reed and I looked at each other and said, ‘maybe we ought to do one of these in Texas.’ So, we decided to recreate that exceptional tournament experience in Texas and invite the top players that we know throughout the Southwestern United States.”
Johnson suggested to Reed that the event could be held at Brownwood Country Club because it’s a beautiful course, a golf-friendly town, and he knew there would be plenty of volunteers ready to help. The rest is history.
Johnson credited Brownwood Country Club’s former Head Golf Professional Steve McNabb, who passed away in December, for being instrumental in managing the event. “He could run a tournament big-time. So, we did it all ourselves. We had a scoring committee and all these other committees just like the Future Masters. We probably had around 40 volunteers.”
“One thing that I wanted to make sure was that we had plenty of flights in the event and that we gave really nice Waterford Crystal trophies through four places in each age group,” Johnson said. “We wanted a really special tournament. We wanted the top kids that we could find from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, anywhere in the Southwest. We even had a kid fly in from Japan.”
“Word got out after the first year of the event,” Johnson said. “And what got out was kids mentioning these beautiful trophies. Everybody was talking about them saying, ‘you gotta go to Brownwood.’”
The Bluebonnet Championship has been run by the Legends Junior Tour since 2007 after Johnson handed the reigns over because his son was graduating high school and would no longer be playing in it. Among the list of notable past champions include the likes of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, 2019 Texas Amateur champion Ryan Grider, USA Walker Cup Team Member Pierceson Coody, Cooper Dossey and former Texas Junior Amateur champions Stratton Nolen and Hailee Cooper.
While Johnson is no longer in charge, he still takes pride in the event and supports it in any way he can. “I’m always out there on Friday of the tournament,” he said. “I’m driving around shaking people’s hands, welcoming them to Brownwood and thanking them for playing in the event. I still want to be a good ambassador for the tournament, for our city and for Brownwood Country Club.”
The list of past Bluebonnet champions is impressive, but so too is the list of former contestants which includes major champion winners Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, among others. The starting field for the tournament consistently boasts a top-100 ranking by GolfWeek and has often served as a steppingstone to greater heights for many champions.
Picking a bluebonnet in Texas is illegal, however, one bluebonnet you should pick (to play or attend) is the Bluebonnet Championship in Brownwood. A family atmosphere is evident from the moment you stroll into town until the time you leave. And there’s a good chance you’ll witness someone who you’ll likely see on TV playing in the final group on Sunday afternoons in the not-too-distant future.
This year’s Bluebonnet Championship will be played on May 7-8 and it’s shaping up to be one of the best fields in history. For more info on the event, click here.