Last weekend, on February 24-25, the Phoenix Metro Junior Championship, proudly supported by Van’s Golf Shops, took center stage, welcoming a formidable lineup of Arizona’s finest young golfers. From talented boys to skilled girls, aged 8-18, the competition unfolded across five distinct age divisions, promising an exhilarating display of skill and determination.
Arizona’s best junior golfers – 30 girls and 54 boys – gathered at Longbow Golf Club February 17-18 to compete in the 2024 Fisher-Bryan Invitational, the second prestigious PING Junior Masters Series event of the JGAA season.
The 2024 JGAA season is officially underway. The first tournament to kick things off was a PING Junior Masters Series tournament founded and hosted by Valley golf instructor Warren Schutte. The annual Warren Schutte Invitational, held January 20-21 at Wigwam Golf Resort, invited the top players in the state to all compete. The former Curry Cup champion Ashley Shaw of Litchfield Park won in the Girl’s Championship division.
Grayhawk Golf Club’s signature Raptor course played host to the 2023 JGAA Holiday Challenge sponsored by MassMutual Arizona. The Holiday Challenge, played on December 20, featured 64 boys and 32 girls that competing in an 18-hole two-person team scramble event.
The 2023 Winter Classic teed off December 2-3 with junior golfers ages 8-18 from across the Valley competing in five age groups at Sun City West-Grandview and Sun City South Golf Course.
The annual JGAA Fall Classic Presented by Elite Golf Schools Golf Club was in full swing, Nov. 4-5, at Lone Tree, Augusta Ranch and Las Colinas Golf Clubs. In the Boys Championship division at Lone Tree, the tournament kicked off with a tight leaderboard featuring ten players in the 60s.
Class of 2022 JGAA Alum Makenzie Cooper fired off three rounds in the 60s at the Evie Odom Invitational to secure her first collegiate victory. Cooper is a recent transfer from the University of Colorado and is off to a hot start with her new program (University of Chattanooga Mocs). The Litchfield Park native posted a school-record total of 203 (68-68-67), including a career-low three-under par 67. She captured the individual title by two strokes over host Old Dominion’s Puneet Bajwa in second (205).
Wheaton Ennis of Litchfield Park put on a clinic at the 2023 AJGA Invitational Presented by PING. Ennis kicked off the last round with a commanding nine-stroke lead. He managed to score three birdies on the first nine holes, but unfortunately, he lost ground with two bogeys on the 6th and 8th. However, as he made the turn, he maintained a comfortable enough lead to clinch the victory, despite finishing the back nine two strokes over par. Ennis finished with a 6-under-par 207 to win the Boys Division. The win marks his first AJGA Invitational victory.
JGAA Alum and Loyola Marymount University golfer Riley Lewis achieved an outstanding feat in the world of collegiate golf. The collegiate standout surpassed his own program record and etching his name into LMU’s history books as the first golfer to complete a 54-hole event with a score under 200. Lewis delivered three remarkable rounds in the 60s at the USF-Howard Intercollegiate at TPC Harding Park, concluding at a staggering 19-under par with scores of 67-68-62—197.
JGAA Alum and current ASU men’s golfer Preston Summerhays has played in a few PGA Tour events, including the 2022 WM Phoenix Open on a sponsor exemption. The Sun Devil captain will get another chance at this week’s Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa-North Course in Napa, Cali.
Summerhays shot 5-under 211 (62-67-72) and then beat Max Herendee of Illinois in a playoff to win the 72-player Sahalee Players Championship, hosted by the University of Washington, in Sammamish, WA.
The first NSR/JGAA recruiting seminar will be Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 7 pm Arizona time/ 9 pm central time. JGAA families and athletes can register for this FREE NCAA Recruiting Seminar. Click the image above to sign up.
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