Menne wins four of five Junior Masters Series tournaments; places second in fifth
Daniel Thompson of Phoenix and Ashely Menne of Surprise took home top honors at the IHOP Invitational at GCU, contested August 19-20 Grand Canyon University Golf Course.
After round one, Thompson posted a 5-under-par 66 to open up a three-shot lead over Max Engel of Scottsdale and a five-shot lead over Davis Evans of Phoenix. Engel and Evans fired back with rounds of 65 and 64, respectively, however Thompson’s final-round 67 was enough to earn the victory by a stroke. He finished the tournament at 9-under par (66-67—133). Engel finished at 8-under par (69-65—134), and Evans finished at 7-under par (71-64—135).
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- Max Engel, Daniel Thompson, Davis Evans and Chris Milisci with IHOP
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- Madeleine Laux, Toni St John, Ashely Menne and Chris Milisci with IHOP
In the Girls Championship Division, Menne set the tone by going five-under par for the last six holes on her way to first-round, 6-under par 65. She then closed out the competition with a 4-under par 67 to finish at 10-under par (132). This was 11 strokes ahead of second-place finisher Toni St John of Gilbert (74-69—143, +1). Madeleine Laux of Goodyear finished in third place with a score of 70-74—144, +2.
Menne’s most recent victory is the fourth, of five, Junior Masters Series tournament wins she has posted this season, and Menne placed second in only one she didn’t win. Plus, with only a handful of tournaments remaining in 2017, Menne holds a commanding lead for Player of the Year honors in the Girls Championship Division.
“Congratulation to Ashely and Daniel. They came out on top of a very competitive field at one of our premier Junior Masters Series events,” said Scott McNevin, Executive Director of the JGAA. “Thanks to the support from IHOP, this event has become one of the top tournaments on our schedule.”
The JGAA’s Junior Masters Series consists of five tournaments at some of the most prestigious courses in Arizona. The field is made up of 78 players invited to compete by virtue of their national ranking by Junior Golf Scoreboard – boys must be in the top 3,500 and girls in the top 1,500.
“Our goal is to provide a competitive place for aspiring local players to play,” said George Getz, Chairman of the Board of the JGAA. “This tournament series allows kids to earn national-level points and will serve as a launching pad into nationally chartered events.”
To learn more about the JGAA, contact Scott McNevin, JGAA Executive Director, smcnevin@jgaa.org, 602-944-6168.
About IHOP
Romulus Restaurant Group’s Arizona IHOPS are proud sponsors of the JGAA. Since 1958, IHOP® has been the place where people connect over breakfast, enjoy study breaks, grab a bite before or after sporting events, and so much more. Romulus Restaurant Group, the largest franchisee and developer of IHOP Restaurants, is headquartered in Phoenix where it operates IHOP Restaurants in Arizona, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Indiana, and Ohio. Founded and led by owner/CEO Chris Milisci, Romulus has consistently ranked in the “Franchisee Top 100” by the Restaurant Finance Monitor and received numerous awards from IHOP Corporate including Franchisee of the Year. Both Milisci and Romulus proudly give back to the community and have been recognized for their charitable work including support on the JGAA. To learn more, visit http://romulusinc.com/site/.
