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- Asher Nelson
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- Izzy Piazza
Asher Nelson of Phoenix topped the 16-player field in the Boys Championship division to win the 2025 Arizona Junior Match Play Championship contested at the celebrated Estancia Club, July 31st-August 1st.
The No. 2 seed, Nelson marched to the finals with dominant wins of 4 and 2, 8 and 7, and 2 and 1. He met Chase Cesarek of Tucson, who also put on a clinic with wins of 6 & 4, 2 & 1, and 3 & 2.
The title match was a grind from the jump. After halving the first four holes, Nelson took a 1-up lead on No. 5 with a steady par. A birdie at the par-3 11th gave him breathing room at 2 up, but Cesarek quickly countered with a win at 12 to tighten the gap. By the 15th hole, Cesarek squared the match thanks to an ill-suited bogey from Nelson, setting the stage for drama down the finish line.
But Nelson slammed the door with a clutch birdie-par finish on 16 and an easy par on 17 to win the match 2 & 1. The breakthrough win gives the rising Brophy Prep junior serious momentum heading into the fall season.
In the Girls Championship division, the top 16 players in the season-long Player of the Year points race earned invitations. PING Invitational champ Izzy Piazza of Phoenix kept her red-hot form alive, cruising into the title match with wins of 6 & 4, 5 & 4, and 2 up.
On the other side of the bracket, Charlene Lamb of Scottsdale—entering her senior year at Cactus Shadows—punched her ticket to the finals with a set of gritty wins, 5 & 4, 1 up, and 3 & 2.
Lamb jumped out early in the finale, going 1 up through four holes. But Piazza hit the gas, rattling off six straight holes at par or better, flipping the match and building a 3-up cushion by the 11th. Lamb made a comeback at the end with a long birdie putt on 17 to cut the deficit to 1 down. It wouldn’t be enough as Piazza won the 18th hole to give her a 2 up win and her second JGAA victory in a 4-day span.
