The Keckstrong Chandler City Junior Championship once again brought two days of exceptional golf and intense competition to Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass and Oakwood Golf Club. In the Boys Championship division, held at Whirlwind Golf Club-Devils Claw, Kaj Johnston of Scottsdale stood two shots back of Jack Abraham of Paradise Valley after a 4-under-par 68 in the first round. His sights were set on redeeming himself after a runner up finish last year. The final round performance proved just that, lighting up the scorecard with a whole lot of red and rattling off eight birdies to card a 7-under-par 65. Abraham and Nelson refused to go down without a fight. The Scottsdale duo stayed relentless, always within striking distance. The trio bunched up atop the leaderboard which led to an exciting finish heading towards the turn. Back and forth they went, the lead swung like a pendulum. The field eventually belonged to Johnston as his noteworthy showing deemed enough with a birdie on the par-4 18th to edge the competition and complete his redemption after falling just short a year ago. His final score of 11-under par allowed him to rack up his fifth win of the 2025 season in what’s been a season to remember. Right behind him was Abraham at 10-under par and Asher Nelson took solo third at 9-under par.
Now onto the Girls Championship division, with three players in the conversation to capture the trophy. While five players recorded red figure opening rounds, one player ascended above the fray and put on an absolute clinic. Cynthia Lang is the name to separate from the pack after a truly flawless final round tallying five birdies, zero bogeys, and capped it with an eagle that left no doubt. Lang concluded the event at 8-under par total to clinch the championship division by a comfortable three strokes. The win marks the Chandler native’s third. Beau Ellington of Paradise Valley and Charlene Lamb of Scottsdale shared runner up honors at 5-under par.
In the Boys 15-18 division, hosted at Whirlwind Golf Club-Devils Claw, Sterling Moore of Snowflake outlasted Patrick Desmond of Phoenix in a head-to-head playoff. At Oakwood Golf Club, Troy Stahl of Phoenix took care of business at 6-under to win the Boys 13-14 division. At Whirlwind Golf Club-Devils Claw back nine, Zhenting Liu (72) of Chandler finished first in the Boys 11-12 division at even par. Parker Tang of Buckeye won the Boys 10 and Under division after being the last man standing in a sudden-death playoff.
Valentina WahnnatahHurtado of Tucson won at Whirlwind Golf Club-Devils Claw in the Girls 15-18 division at 3-over par. At Oakwood Golf Club, Amelie Khosla of Scottsdale held on in the Girls 13-14 division by two strokes at seven-over par. At Whirlwind Golf Club- Devils Claw back nine, Amy Xuan of Chandler wins the Girls 11-12 division by five strokes at 3-over par to consecutively bring home a piece of hardware. And lastly Julee Diaz of Phoenix survives in a playoff to triumph in Girls 10 and Under division.
