Arnold Palmer junior golf tour with tournaments across the country to launch in January
Sixers managing partner David Blitzer is teaming with the most trusted name in golf to help develop juniors for college scholarships and beyond.
David Blitzer always has an eye on sports properties as the managing partner of the 76ers and New Jersey Devils, and as the only person with equity in five major sports leagues. What got his attention recently was youth, specifically golf, with participation levels soaring.
“Good business doing excellent things for kids is a wonderful combination,” Blitzer said.
That combination — along with partnering with the most trusted name in golf — has led to the creation of the Arnold Palmer Junior Golf Tour. It launches in January with 400 tournaments planned across the country, including events at RiverWinds in West Deptford and at Seaview in Galloway, with an emphasis on accessibility.
The new junior tour is a partnership among Bolt Ventures (the family office of Blitzer), Arnold Palmer Enterprises and the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. The idea is to lean on Palmer’s timeless name to help develop juniors for college scholarships and beyond.
“Our goal with the Arnold Palmer Junior Golf Tour is simple — to create more opportunities for young people and their families to experience the positive benefits of golf, both on and off the course,” Blitzer said. “This is an incredible opportunity to build on the legacy of one of the sport’s greatest global icons and carry Mr. Palmer’s mission forward through the next generation.”
The golf ball got rolling before Blitzer’s group connected with Arnold Palmer Enterprises and the foundation. Bolt Ventures earlier this year acquired the Florida-based Hurricane Junior Golf Tour and the Texas Junior Golf Tour, a circuit that partners with the Rocky Mountain Junior Golf Tour.
Now those junior tours are under one umbrella — the colorful Palmer umbrella, the King’s famous logo seen at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the Palmer Cup college matches.
“We are hyper-protective of the brand and cautious, for sure,” said Brodie Waters, president of Arnold Palmer Enterprises. “We’re also focused on Mr. Palmer’s legacy, making sure we can share that legacy with the next generation. He really cared about giving opportunity to youth.
“We had these conversations, and it became pretty clear quickly their passion and vision aligned with what we were wanting to do.”
The Arnold Palmer Junior Golf Tour figures to complement, not so much compete, with the more established American Junior Golf Association, which has been around for some 50 years and has captured golf’s growth coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AJGA has about 150 tournaments around the country this year and has been using some of its many alumni, such as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas and Billy Horschel, to either support or lend their name to tournaments, often with corporate partners
Other junior golf needs are filled by PGA of America sections — both sections in Texas, both in California and south Florida are among the strongest. J.J. Spaun, the 2025 U.S. Open champion, once said he couldn’t afford to travel to national AJGA events with both parents working; the Southern California PGA section supplied plenty of competition.
Also key to the Arnold Palmer Junior Golf Tour was accessibility and affordability. The “Palmer Foundation Player Access Award” is being designed to help family cope with financial obstacles that can limit participation.
“It’s a mechanism of giving to the right people,” said Josh Press, CEO of the new tour. “We want to provide kids that need assistance and give them a path.”
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