The Junior Golf Association of Arizona (JGAA) is delighted to report that 25 Arizona junior golfers and 33 total JGAA members signed National Letters of Intent to play collegiate golf.
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Max Lyons, a junior golfer at Marquette University, has clinched the postseason award of 2023-24 BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year, as announced by the league on Monday. This marks his second consecutive year receiving All-BIG EAST First Team honors, joined by graduate student Josh Robinson, while Aidan Lafferty secured second team accolades.
JGAA junior golfer Ashley Shaw accomplishes quite the feat as she became the youngest player to win the John Shippen Cognizant Cup and youngest overall winner in tournament history. The 15-year-old out of Litchfield Park collected three birdies and minimized damaged throughout her round to put together a 1-over-par 73 to win by two strokes, despite being the only amateur in the field. Shaw will play in the LPGA Tour Cognizant Founders Cup this week at Upper Montclair in New Jersey on a sponsor’s exemptions.
On May 4 & 5, the 23rd annual Quintero Cactus Cup was held at Quintero Golf Club, one of the top-ranked public courses in Arizona. The Founder’s team won for the 4th consecutive year, beating the Charter team in an extra-hole playoff.
We are thrilled to highlight a JGAA member, Alexis Lamadrid, on her recent feature in CNN’s Living Golf segment. Alexis was brought on to discuss the local impact of the Desert Mashie Golf Club. The clip takes place at Encanto Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona which is also the first course to allow people of color to play the game of golf in Phoenix.
In the Boys Championship division, the first round belonged to Owen Greenough who put on a clinic and flirted with a 59. The Chandler resident rattled off six birdies and an eagle on the back nine to shoot 28 en route to a first-round 61, his lowest score ever recorded. The win marks his first of the season. Riding the hot hand after last week’s victory at the Betsy King IMG Junior World Qualifier, Charlene Lamb caught fire on the final day. She recorded five birdies in the final round to one-up her score from Saturday to conclude the tournament at 5-under par (69-68).
Former JGAA standout and Brophy Prep golfer Charlie Palmer recently completed his first year of college golf at Princeton University. In his inaugural year at Princeton, Charlie Palmer made a statement, earning the postseason title of Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Notably, Palmer secured two impressive top-12 finishes during the season.
Whirlwind Golf Club’s Cattail Course hosted the Boys Championship division, with the first qualifier Landon Ashcraft of Scottsdale earning top medalist honors after two red-hot rounds of 67-66. The Girls Championship division squared off at Ahwatukee Country Club and Arizona Golf Resort with two qualifiers and two alternates heading to San Diego. Charlene Lamb of Scottsdale fired 72-74 to squeak past the rest of the leaderboard in first place at 2-over par.
The 50th edition of the Thunderbird Collegiate teed off at Papago Golf Club last weekend, with Arizona State University junior Preston Summerhays earning his second-straight individual title, while the Sun Devils successfully defended home turf to win the team title.
Superstition Junior Classic
