Johnson notches second win of the season; Vakasiuola blitzes the back nine to win by one.
Jarrod Johnson of Tucson and Alyzzah Vakasiuola of San Tan Valley took home top honors at the IHOP Classic, contested August 11-12 at Grand Canyon University Golf Club.
After a 2-under-par 69 in round one, Johnson sat two strokes off the pace before posting a final-round, even-par 71 to win by one stroke at 2-under-par 140 over Scott Schlader of Phoenix (72-69—141, -1). Riley Lewis (74-68) of Prescott, Kohl Kuebler (71-71) of Gilbert and Alejandro De Zavala (76-75) of Chandler finished T3 at even-par 143. This marks Johnson’s second win of the season – the Tucson resident defended his home turf at the Tucson Spring Classic in April.
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- (left to right) Riley Lewis, Scott Schlader, Jarrod Johnson
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- (left to right) Brooke Veres, Carly Strole, Alyzzah Vakasiuola
In the Girls Championship Division, Vakasiuola (71-69—140, -2) made seven birdies on the back nine over two rounds to outlast Carly Strole (70-71) of Avondale and Brooke Veres (69-72) of Goodyear who both finished T2 at 1-under-par 144. Vakasiuola’s win at the IHop Invitational is her second consecutive victory in as many weeks after also wining the Maricopa Junior Championship in late July.
Alex Vekich of Scottsdale posted a victory in the Boys 15-18 Division with a 7-over-par 149 (77-72), and Anawin Pikulthong of Gilbert fired 65-69—134 to finish at 8-under par for the win in the Boys 13-14 Division.
In the Girls 15-18 Division, Olivia Serpa of Phoenix won in a playoff over Joy Callinan of Makawao, Hawaii at 8-over-par 150 (76-74), and in the Girls 13-14 Division, Carolyn Fuller of Phoenix fired 4-over-par 146 (75-71) for the win.
About IHOP
Romulus Restaurant Group’s Arizona IHOPS are proud sponsors of the JGAA. Since 1958, IHOP® has been the place where people connect over breakfast, enjoy study breaks, grab a bite before or after sporting events, and so much more. Romulus Restaurant Group, the largest franchisee and developer of IHOP Restaurants, is headquartered in Phoenix where it operates IHOP Restaurants in Arizona, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Indiana, and Ohio. Founded and led by owner/CEO Chris Milisci, Romulus has consistently ranked in the “Franchisee Top 100” by the Restaurant Finance Monitor and received numerous awards from IHOP Corporate including Franchisee of the Year. Both Milisci and Romulus proudly give back to the community and have been recognized for their charitable work including support on the JGAA. To learn more, visit romulusinc.com.
