First Junior Masters Series Tournament of 2022 JGAA Season
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- (left to right) Irene Kim, Sammie Olson, Mattison Frick
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- (left to right) Mahanth Chirravuri, Wheaton Ennis, Carlos Astiazaran
The Warren Schutte Invitational presented by Hilgers Orthodontics – the first PING Junior Masters Series tournament of the 2022 season – teed off January 29-30 at Wigwam Golf Resort, with round one contested on the Red Course and the final round on the Gold Course.
The opening round in the Boys Championship division closed in a three-way tie for first place at 6-under-par 66. Remarkably, 11 players in the field broke 70 on the Red Course that day. Wheaton Ennis of Litchfield Park shot one of the 66s, carding an evenhanded 33 on each nine. Likewise, Carlos Astiazaran of Tucson also put up a 66 alongside Mahanth Chirravuri of Chandler for a share of the first round lead.
In the second round Ennis got off to a slow start on the front nine before pulling ahead of the field once and for all on the back nine, posting a 2-under 70 for the round. He finished the championship at 8-under par, one stroke ahead of Astiazaran (-7), who fired a final round 71 for second place. Two players tied for third place at -6: Chirravuri (66-72) and Rylan Johnson (68-70) of Gilbert. The win marks Ennis’ third in JGAA competition, with two prior 2020 wins at the Winter Classic and Scottsdale Junior Championship.
The Girls Championship division turned out to be a shootout between Sammie Olson of Phoenix and Mattison Frick of Peoria. In the first round Olson and three others – Irene Kim of Woodstock, Maryland, Erin Lee of Langley, B.C., and Makenzie Cooper of Litchfield Park – sat tied for the lead at 1-under-par 71.
Frick came out firing in the second round, with three birdies in the first four holes. She went on to shoot the low round of the tournament, 5-under 67, but Olson’s 4-under 68 provided the two-stroke cushion needed for the win, her second in as many weeks in JGAA competition. Kim pulled into third place at +2 after a final round 75.
