The 51st Annual Junior Americas Cup was hosted by the Northern Nevada Junior Golf Association, at Red Hawk Golf & Resort, in Sparks Nevada. Team Arizona stacked up well on the big stage, placing fifth out of 18 teams representing their state, province, or country. The team included Henry Dall of Scottsdale, Brasen Briones of Tucson, Vincent Cervantes of Chandler, and Carlos Astiazaran of Tucson.
The Grand Canyon state finished the three-round tournament at 10-under par due to a stellar six-under par showing in the final round. The Arizona squad started the Junior Americas Cup slow after back-to-back two-under par scorecards but gathered momentum in the final day of play. Henry Dall fired off a four-under 67 in round three to provide leverage for Team Arizona down the stretch and secure a top-5 finish.
The teams of Mexico Red, Southern California and San Diego were declared Co-Champions after all three teams concluded at 18-under par for the three rounds. Of the three Co-Champions, San Diego stamped out the best final round at nine-under par.
Round 1 and 2 leader Southern California shot 2-under par in the final round, with Kai Hirayama and Jeffrey Kwak both shooting 70 (one-under par).
Gerardo Gomez, Mexico Red, took top individual honors at 11-under par (67-66-69= 202), while one stroke back at 10-under par was Parker Paxton, Wyoming, with rounds of 70-64-69 (203) and Trevor Garus, Idaho, who had rounds of 71-65-67 (203). Taking top status on the leaderboard for Arizona was Henry Dall of Scottsdale at five-under par. Dall started the tournament cold but picked up the slack throughout the event and progressed nicely throughout the event. Rounds two and three were kind to Dall as he posted two scores in the 60s, including a four-under 67 on the last day. Carlos Astiazaran and Brasen Briones of Tucson ended the event T-21 at two-under par (71-71-69 and 68-72-71).
Like a collegiate event, the Junior America’s Cup features 18 teams of four boys representing their state, province, or country. The competition takes place over 3 days with 18-holes played each day for a total of 54-holes played to determine the winning team. Each team counts its best three scores each round with the low scoring team after 54-holes being crowned the 2021 champions and presented with the champions medals & trophy.
The 2023 competition marks the 51st anniversary of the Junior America’s Cup championship and the fourth time it will be held in Wyoming. The previous time the event was hosted in Nevada was 2003 which also at Rio Secca Golf Club, in Henderson, Nevada. The team from Oregon won the championship that year. JAC Alumni from the 2003 Championship include Kevin Chappell (team Northern Cal), Joel Dahmen and Kyle Stanley.
Past Junior America’s Cup participants who have gone on to successful professional careers include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Corey Pavin, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Ryan Moore, Kyle Stanley, and Tony Finau.
“It was amazing to see the fight and tenaciousness from this team,” said JGAA Executive Director Scott McNevin. “They battled hard till the very end and represented the Grand Canyon State well.”
Click here for full results.
