Miller birdie three of last four to hold on; Long wins by one
The Winter Classic teed off December 14-15 with a field featuring more than 160 junior golfers from across the Valley – boys and girls ages 8-18 – competing in five age groups.
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- (left to right) Alan Quezada, Anawin Pikulthong, Adam Miller
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- (left to right) Marley Moncada, Joy Callinan, Berlin Long
In the Boys Championship division held at Grandview Golf Course, Adam Miller of Phoenix fired two rounds of 68 to finish in first place at 8-under-par 136. Down the stretch in the final round, Miller birdied three of the last four holes to edge out second-place finisher, Anawin Pikulthong (68-69), of Gilbert by one stroke. Pikulthong, who held a share of the first-round lead, put on a show of his own by starting out strong in the final round with a 4-under-par front nine. The win marks Miller’s first in the Boy’s Championship division to go along with many wins in other age divisions since joining the JGAA in 2012. Alan Quezada (69-74) of Phoenix came in third place at 1-under-par 143, seven strokes off the Miller’s pace.
In the Girls Championship division, Berlin Long of Lehi, Utah, posted a pair of 75s at Sun City Country Club to win with a 6-over-par 150 performance, one stroke better than Joy Callinan (73-78) of Chandler who finished at 7-over-par 151. Marley Moncada made the trip up from Tucson to take third place at 8-over-par 152 (74-78).
Garrett Olson of Peoria (77-74) won the Boys 15-18 division in a playoff over William Moser (76-75) of Henderson after both finished regulation play at 7-over-par 151. Tyler Spielman of Cave Creek won the Boys 13-14 division at 3-over par (78-69—147). Contested at Sun City Country Club, Jack Cook won in the Boys 11-12 division at 2-over par (37-37—74), and Adam Blais from Phoenix won the Boys 10 and Under division at 30-over par (50-52—102).
In the Girls 15-18 division, Rianna Garland of Mesa won at 14-over par (77-81—158). Raegan Capizzi of Scottsdale won the Girls 13-14 division at 4-over par (77-71—148). And Alexis Lamadrid of Phoenix won the Girls 10 and Under division at 10-over-par 82 (42-39) played at Sun City Country Club.
