Golf Editor

Joseph Nelson finished at 10-under par and scraped past Tyler Weihe by one stroke. The win is Nelson’s first in two years. Kaitlyn Moreland came out on top in a playoff against Cynthia Lang to capture the title for her second JGAA win of the season.

A playoff ensued between Leid and Boenning, but only took one hole as Dylan won on the first playoff hole with a birdie on hole 18. Piazza won the championship division by a resounding six strokes ahead of Cynthia Lang who concluded the event at 10-over par.

Alexis Lamadrid of Phoenix rattled off five-straight birdies in the last five holes to polish off a 5-under-par 68. The red-hot back nine propelled her past one of the top junior female golfers in Arizona, Ashley Shaw, by one stroke for the victory.

Wheaton Ennis of Litchfield Park came out victorious at the 100th Arizona Amateur Championship at Phoenix Country Club, defeating Carl Miltun with a 3 & 2 win. The future Texas A&M Aggie captured the title after six days of intense competition against the state’s top amateurs, sealing his victory with impressive 30-plus foot putts on the 15th and 16th holes.

In just her second AJGA start of the 2024 season, Aubrey Hilgers joins the winner’s circle after a 7-over par performance at the Discover Austin Minnesota Junior Championship presented by Hormel Foods.

Kyle Heap of Mesa captured first place in the Boys Championship division at 6-under par. Heap remained at the top spot throughout the event and managed to hold onto the lead in the final round with a 2-under 70 at Camelback-Padre Course.The Girls Championship division, contested at Orange Tree Golf Club, belonged to 2022 winner Alexis Vakasiuola of San Tan Valley. Vakasiuola dominated straight from the get-go, being the only player in the field to post two rounds in the 60s.

The Girls and Boys USGA Junior Amateur Qualifiers teed off Monday, June 10 at Terravita Golf & Country Club and The Country Club at DC Ranch. On the boy’s side, Ajay Morris of Avondale qualified to play in the U.S. Junior Amateur with a first-place, 4-under-par 67, one stroke ahead Tanner Barra of Manhattan Beach and Henry Dall of Cave Creek, 4-under-par 67, at The Country Club at DC Ranch. Rounding out the final qualifying spot in the boy’s division was Adam Croix, making the cut at 2-under-par 69 to advance to Bloomfield Hills.

The JGAA cleans house at the American Junior Golf Association’s Jim Click Automotive/HSL Properties Championship, August 1-3 at the iconic Tucson Country Club. Both Finn Meister of Tucson and Julia Herzberg of Gilbert secured their first AJGA victory and joined the winner’s circle.

The final local qualifying tournament to enter the prestigious IMG Academy Junior World Championship was recently contested June 5-6 in the Antigua Milt Coggins IMG Qualifier #2, yielding 17 players that are heading to the championship. The Junior World Championships are held July 8-13 in San Diego.

The annual Tucson City Junior Championship, sponsored by the Tucson Conquistadores, teed off May 28-29 at the Randolph Golf Complex. The field featured over 170 junior golfers from all across Arizona in one of the biggest junior golf tournaments in Tucson.