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.
Evan Tyree & Cynthia Lang Win the Tucson City Junior Championship Sponsored by Tucson Conquistadores
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.
The Junior Golf Association of Arizona (JGAA), headed south for the Bruce Brown Yuma City Junior Championship at Desert Hills Golf Course, May 18-19. Nathan Ash of Tempe won the Boys Championship division by one stroke. Izzy Piazza won by a substantial margin in the Girls Championship division at even par for the event.
The annual Thunderbird High School Senior Classic, sponsored by The Thunderbirds-hosts of the WM Phoenix Open, teed off at Gainey Ranch Golf Club on May 19, 2024. Known as a classic golf event, it honors and shines a spotlight on the graduating seniors from high school golf teams across Arizona in 2024. Sixty seniors, comprising 45 boys and 15 girls, took part in the tournament.
The 9th annual U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship was underway at the prestigious Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Texas, May 11-15. JGAA’s very own Gracie McGovern put on an impressive showing at this year’s USGA amateur event with playing partner Brynn Kort of Henderson, Nevada. McGovern, future TCU Horned Frog and 2023 Heather Farr Classic champion, played stellar golf all week at a challenging Oak Hills, only to come up short in the title match on Wednesday and finish runner up.