Golf Editor

Ashley Menne wins unprecedented fourth-straight Girls Arizona State Junior Championship and Ben Lorenz fires final-round 64 to win by seven in the Boys competition at Paradise Valley Country Club.

Scottsdale residents Mason Quagliata and Mason Domecq qualified to play in the 2019 US Junior Amateur to be held July 15-20 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

Peoria’s Ben Lorenz and Madeleine Laux of Goodyear earned first-place honors in the Boy and Girls Championship divisions at the Thunderbird Junior Classic held June 11-12 on Arizona Biltmore Golf Club’s Adobe course.

Arizona’s best junior golfers (51 boys and 33 girls) will compete for the State Junior Golf Championship at Paradise Valley Country Club, Tuesday, June 18 through Wednesday, June 19 with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. each morning of the 36-hole tournament.

Laveen resident Noah Nuez notched his second JGAA win of the year in the Boys Championship Division by firing a 9-under-par 201 (64-69-68) at Encanto G.C. at the Antigua Milt Coggins AZ Junior Stroke Play, a 54-hole event held June 4-6. In February, Nuez also won the Phoenix Metro Jr.

Scottsdale’s Cameron Kaiser and Ashley Menne of Surprise turned in exceptional performances to notch wins in the Boys and Girls Championship divisions at the Tucson City Junior Championship – Tucson Conquistadores, held at Randolph North Golf Course and Dell Urich Golf Course May 29-30.

Camden Katz of Scottsdale fired a first-round 71 highlighted by three birdies and one eagle to open up a six-shot lead. He held on in the second round to finish at 8-over-par 152 (71-81), five shots clear of David Ramirez of Yuma (76-81—157, +13) in the Boys Championship Division at the Bruce Brown Yuma City Junior Championship.

Each year The Thunderbirds and the JGAA host a special one-round tournament at Gainey Ranch Golf Club to honor Arizona’s senior class of high school golfers who played during the 2018-2019 season.

The number of JGAA seniors moving up to college golf recently broke 50, one of the largest tallies in the association’s history. To celebrate, the JGAA called on 2002 PGA Champion, Rich Beem, to participate in a fireside chat alongside JGAA board member Joe Worden, who had the special honor of his daughter Eve among the honorees.

The Junior Golf Association of Arizona (JGAA) announced that junior golfers in the program signed National Letters of Intent to play collegiate golf.