Joseph Nelson Earns First Win at Mesa City Junior Championship; Kaitlyn Moreland Prevails in a Playoff

The Mesa City Junior Championship was in full swing at Dobson Ranch and Viewpoint Golf Resort, June 26-27, with a competitive field featuring some of Arizona’s top junior golfers – boys and girls – ages 8-18 competing in five different age groups.

In the Boys Championship Division, contested at Dobson Ranch, Joseph Nelson of Gilbert put on a clinic in the opening round with a 6-under 66 highlighted by seven birdies. The standings remained stacked after round one with 12 players shooting in the 60s. A dramatic final round ensued with Tyler Weihe of Tempe, Connor Bringhurst of Scottsdale and Quinton Breuer of Peoria all within striking distance of Joseph Nelson at the top. Nelson managed to hang on to the slim lead and outperform Weihe and Bringhurst with a 4-under 68 to come up with the victory. He finished at 10-under par and scraped past Tyler Weihe by one stroke. The win is Nelson’s first in two years. Weihe took runner up at 9-under par while Bringhurst and Breuer tied for third place at 8-under par.

In the Girls Championship Division played at Viewpoint Golf Resort, Cynthia Lang of Chandler was in the mix yet again after carding a 2-under 69 in the first round to lead by three heading into the last day of competition. Kaitlyn Moreland of Scottsdale trailed by three shots in the final round but began inching closer to Lang with a bogey-free back nine to record a 1-under 70. She managed to tie Lang at the end of play, forcing the two to duke it out in a playoff to determine the winner. The Scottsdale resident came out on top and captured the title for her second JGAA win of the season.

At Dobson Ranch, Oliver De Guia of Tucson wins the Boys 15-18 Division over at Stone Creek Golf Club in a playoff against Karsten McCain. De Guia finished the event at 6-under par. Maverick Midthun won the Boys 13-14 Division at Viewpoint Golf Resort at 7-under-par (68-67–135). Cat Dann out of Mesa took top honors in the Boys 11-12 Division at Viewpoint Golf Resort at 3-over-par (69). And Kyle Wojtcuk out of Waddell won the Boys 10 and Under Division at Viewpoint Golf Resort after finishing the tournament 11-over-par (77).

In the Girls 15-18 Division, Bianka Goerke out of Benson led the field by a stroke out at Viewpoint Golf Resort with a 4-over-par scorecard for the tournament (69-77–146).Ashley Malko, based in Gilbert, finished with a three-stroke advantage in the Girls 13-14 Division over Ariela Trejo after a 11-over-par performance (76-77–153). Malone Wall, Scottsdale, shot 9-over par to secure her victory at Viewpoint Golf Resort in the Girls 11-12 Division (75). Chandler local Amy Xuan got the victory at the same course with an even-par 66 to clinch by a resounding 15 strokes.

Thanks to Dobson Ranch and Viewpoint Golf Resort for an awesome tournament!

FULL RESULTS | TOURNEY PHOTOS