Aloha All BIJGA Members/Parents, We are pleased to announce that Lance Taketa, PGA, and the Hawaii Island Public Links Association (HIPLA) are providing a stipend program for all BIJGA members who qualify for any major national tournament. This stipend program is to assist with travel related expenses, and will be funded by the HIPLA and will continue until the exhaustion of the funds. The requirement for eligibility will be that the junior must be a current member of BIJGA and in good standing, and participate in any of eligible tournaments as follows: 

1. All USGA Qualifiers

2. Qualifiers to the Regionals of the Drive, Chip and Putt on the mainland

3. Qualifiers to a national or international Junior Golf Championship in which the sponsoring organization does not offer a stipend. 

4. The Junior World Championship is not eligible for this grant. However, qualifiers to the Junior World Championship may apply to the Hawaii Island Public Links Committee for a special grant due to financial hardship. 

5. Qualifiers to a major championship such as the Sony and Lotte Tournaments. 

All requests must be sent to Lance Taketa, PGA, via email at lancetaketa@hotmail.com for consideration. Please include the juniors name, along with the tournament name and dates. Additional information, such as receipts, etc, may also be requested. 

The stipend program will provide our current BIJGA members “in good standing” with up to $300 per eligible tournament. According to Mr. Taketa, the checks will be issued directly to the parents (and not the junior), to avoid any issues/concerns in regards to the junior’s amateur status. 

The Big Island Junior Golf Association would like to make all parents/juniors aware that accepting an amount more than $300 from HIPLA, or any other sponsor, MAY require additional reporting requirements, which if not done, could affect the junior’s amateur status. Additionally, if parents/juniors do consider accepting more than $300 (regardless of the sponsor), parents/juniors are highly encouraged to fully research the requirements before accepting the money. 

Please be aware that rules exist to govern these types of monetary distributions, and in so doing, the parents/juniors shall take full responsibility for what they do beyond what is being presented here by BIJGA and the $300 threshold. For your information please reference the USGA Amateur Status Guidelines.

BIJGA would like to thank Mr. Taketa and the Hawaii Island Public Links Association for their generosity and support for our Big Island junior golfers!