Set for July 11-15, 2022 in San Diego.
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- (left to right) Rylan Johnson, Anawin Pikulthong and Nicholas Lippe
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- (left to right) Gracie McGovern, Taylor Wilczek and Makenzie Cooper
The first local qualifying tournament to enter the coveted IMG Academy Junior World Championship was recently contested April 23-24, yielding 19 qualifiers for the championship to be held July 11-15 in San Diego.
Whirlwind Golf Club’s Cattail Course hosted the Boys Championship division, with the first qualifier Anawin Pikulthong of Gilbert running away with medalist honors after rounds of 65-67. At 12-under par, he finished five strokes ahead of two other qualifiers tied for second place at 7-under par – Nicholas Lippe (71-66) of Chandler and Rylan Johnson (69-68) of Gilbert.
Wirlwind also hosted the Boys 15-18 division, with JJ Brigowatz of Phoenix shooting steady rounds of 71-72 to land six strokes ahead of second place at 1-under par.
The Girls Championship division squared off at Ocotillo Golf Club, with two qualifiers moving on to San Diego. Gracie McGovern of Scottsdale fired 72-71 to finish in first place at -1, and Taylor Wilczek of Anthem shot a pair of 74s to come in second place.
In the Girls 15-18 division, also contested at Ocotillo, Madeleine Nguyen of Phoenix and Bellamaria Mantini of Chandler separated themselves from the pack. Nguyen eventually edged out Mantini by one stroke, after firing 82-82, +20.
Bear Creek’s Bear Course hosted the Boys and Girls 13-14 divisions. A three-way tie for first place at -1 on the boy’s side gave Dylan Boenning (73-68) of Phoenix, Owen Bolles (72-69) of Chandler and Landon Ashcraft (69-72) of Scottsdale all paths to the championship. On the girl’s side, Kaitlyn Helm of Litchfield Park took first place, shooting 71-69, -2, for the win over Julia Herzberg of Gilbert, who shot 74-71, 3-over par to take the second qualifying spot.
Three players in the Boys 11-12 division moved on. Apollo Lynch of Scottsdale shot 3-over par (60-61) at Bear Creek’s Cub Course. Parker Servoss (59-64) of Tucson came in second place at 5-over par, and Hagen Lancaster of Anthem shot +7 (62-63) to take the final spot.
The Girls 11-12 division, Kaitlyn Morland of Scottsdale shot 60-64 on the Cub Course for the win at 6-over par, and Hannah Nguyen of Phoenix fired +10 (62-66) to join Morland in San Diego.
Jaxon Luzar of Chandler won the Boys 10 and Under division at +10 (65-63). He finished two strokes ahead of Gabriel Mathur of Scottsdale who fired 63-67.
In the Girls 10 and Under division, Beau Ellington of Paradise Valley finished at 4-over (62-60) par to take the first qualifying spot for the division, and Gabriella Collelo of Scottsdale took the second after shooting 59-69, +10.
FULL RESULTS
The 2022 IMG Academy Junior World Championships tees off July 11-15. From its humble beginnings in 1952 with a group of 50 young players at the then Mission Valley Country Club, today the IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships has grown to host 1,200 participants representing 56 countries and 42 states. The tournament is the largest international event in the world and is uniquely recognized for its cultural diversity. Hosted at famed Torrey Pines as well as other San-Diego-area clubs, in 1968 John W Brown, A.S. “Lou” Smith and Norrie West decided the San Diego Junior Golf Association would host the Junior World Golf Championships to create a tournament where juniors from all parts of the world could come together to play golf and grow culturally. Click here to learn more about the IMG Academy Junior World Championships.
