Tucson JGAA member Carlos Astiazaran won in the Boys 15-18 division at the 2023 IMG Academy Junior World Championship, held July 11-13 on San Diego’s Torrey Pines South Course. Down by two strokes entering the final round of the 54-hole competition, Astiazaran (68-69-71) fired 1-under-par 71 to win by three strokes at -8 for the championship.
Astiazaran, an inbound freshman on the University of Pacific Golf team, was joined on the leaderboard by fellow JGAA member Charlie Palmer (69-70-73) of Paradise Valley, who finished in third place at -4, four shots off Astiazaran’s pace. Palmer is set to play for Princeton in the fall.
Two more JGAA players in the Boys 15-18 division finished T25 at +4: Arizona State freshman, Anawin Pikulthong (73-72-75) of Gilbert and Tyler Spielman (72-73-75) of Cave Creek. The final JGAA member to make the top 25 was Tucson’s Zachary Schaefer, who shot -4 (70-68-71) to finish tied for eighth place in the Boys 13-14 division.
Astiazaran’s win in the Boys 15-18 division at this prestigious, world-renowned junior golf tournament marks the second in two years for JGAA players. In 2021 Phoenix’s Gavin Aurilia, now a USC sophomore, fired -3 to win by four strokes.
