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- Boys Championship division
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- Girls Championship division
Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club hosted Arizona’s top 54 boys and 28 girls, April 13-14, at the fourth PING Junior Masters Series tournament of the 2024 JGAA season – Bryce Molder Invitational presented by Trident Capital Partners sponsored by Alliance Bank of Arizona and No Mow Grass and Greens. Future Marquette golfer Vincent Cervantes put together two strong performances over the weekend as he wound up the only player in the Boys Championship division to finish in red figures. Cervantes is coming off a Top 25 at The Thunderbird Invitational, his last start back in March. The Hamilton standout started off the tournament at even par and one back of first-round leader Brennan Korn of Scottsdale. However, it was Cervantes that picked up steam in the final round at Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club. He gathered four birdies on the front nine and began to separate from the packed leaderboard. Cervantes would go on to win by two strokes at 2-under par (72-70-142). The win marks his first of the 2024 JGAA season and his first-ever PING Junior Masters title. Miles Kuhl of Colorado and Chase Pickering of Tucson each tied for second place at even par for the event.
In the Girls Championship division, 2023 Player of the Year Alexis Vakasiuola started out four strokes behind the first-round leader, Kaitlyn Helm, who shot a 1-under 71. Heading into the final round, Vakasiuola switched gears and fired off a 2-under 34 on the front nine, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 8th hole. She stayed the course and posted 11 pars in the final round to shoot 1-under par and maintain the top spot in the heat of competition. Vakasiuola won the Girls Championship division by three strokes at 2-over par (75-71-146). This season, she has notched three top-5s and five top-10s. Ariya Soldwisch of Nevada finished solo-second at 5-over par and recorded the lowest final-round score at 2-under par (79-70-149). Future University of Denver golfer Raegan Capizzi of Scottsdale ended up in third place at 7-over par (76-75-151).
The PING Junior Masters Series consists of five tournaments held at some of the most prestigious courses in Arizona. Debuting in 2015, the PING Junior Masters Series is a series of invitation-only tournaments tailored to Arizona junior golfers with the desire and ability to compete locally against their top-ranked peers.
The field for the events is limited to junior golfers who are invited to compete based on their national ranking by Junior Golf Scoreboard. Boys must be in the top 3,500 and girls in the top 1,500.
“We’re thrilled to witness the transformative effect these tournaments have on our young golfers, providing them with a launching pad to elevate their game,” expressed Scott McNevin, Executive Director of the JGAA. “Observing remarkable growth among our players throughout the series and enabling them to showcase their skills on prestigious national stages is priceless for our JGAA community.”
