Lake Forest’s Willis, Glenview’s Prchal earn Junior All-America honors

Updated: October 5, 2011 7:31PM

Two area golfers have been honored by the American Junior Golf Association and Hewlett Packard.

Lake Forest’s Joe Willis and Glenview’s Quinlan Prchal were named HP Scholasic Junior All-Americans on Wednesday.

Sponsored by Hewlett Packard since 1988, the team consists of 12 young men and 12 young women who demonstrate the ability to excel both on the golf course and in the classroom.

Willis has a 5.38 GPA (weighted on a 4.0 scale). The Lake Forest High School senior, who was the medalist (70) in Tuesday’s Class 3A regional at Steeple Chase, is actively involved in numerous volunteer efforts and fundraising events throughout the community and provides much of his services to local church groups. On the golf course, Willis has five career top-20 finishes, including a third-place showing at the 2011 McArthur Towel & Sports Future Legends in July.

Prchal, a senior at Glenbrook South, holds a 3.95 GPA. He is a member of the speech, math, and golf team. Prchal is an Eagle Scout in Boys Scouts of America and volunteers with the Sunshine Through Golf Foundation. On the golf course, Prchal earned top-10 finishes in two of the five AJGA events he competed in this season, including a career-best tie for sixth at the 2011 AJGA Nebraska Junior at Quarry Oaks in August.

“HP is delighted once again to recognize academic excellence with the naming of the 2010 HP Scholastic Junior All-America Team,” said John Dayan, vice president of marketing, Personal Systems Group Americas, Hewlett Packard. “The AJGA works hard to prepare young adults for life after high school by instilling honor, perseverance and good sportsmanship. HP is proud to be associated with the AJGA and this great group of young adults.”

To be eligible to apply for the HP Scholastic Junior All-America Team, boys must have placed in the top 10 of an AJGA Open or Invitational, while girls needed a top-five finish. The selections were then based on grade point average, class rank, leadership skills, SAT/ACT/PLAN/PSAT scores, community service and writing ability. Candidates were required to submit an essay no longer than 500 words on an original topic relating to golf.

Former HP Scholastic Junior All-Americans have gone on to successful amateur and professional golf careers, including Casey Martin (1989), Wendy Ward (1990), Kellee Booth (1992), Matt Kuchar (1994), Scott Langley (2005) and Patrick Rodgers (2009, 2010).

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.