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- Alexis Lamadrid and Landon Ashcraft
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- Boys Champ division left to right: Tyler Spielman, Landon Ashcraft, Trey Moore and Nicholas Lyman
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- Girls Champ division left to right: Alexis Lamadrid, Ashley Shaw, Emmerson Hinds and Kaitlyn Moreland
Arizona’s best junior golfers – 30 girls and 54 boys – gathered at Longbow Golf Club February 17-18 to compete in the 2024 Fisher-Bryan Invitational, the second prestigious PING Junior Masters Series event of the JGAA season. Exclusive to boys ranking within the top 3,500 on Junior Golf Scoreboard and girls within the top 1,500, this event is designed for Arizona junior golfers who possess the ambition and skill to compete locally against their highest-ranked peers.
“Our aim is to create a competitive platform for aspiring players,” stated JGAA Executive Director Scott McNevin. “This tournament series offers youngsters the opportunity to accumulate national-level points and serves as a springboard for nationally recognized events.”
Players to watch in the Boys Championship division included Landon Ashcraft of Scottsdale, Tyler Spielman of Cave Creek, Trey Moore of Scottsdale and Brasen Briones of Tucson. The leaderboard in the Boys Championship division featured a stacked bunch of contenders in the 60s. Future University of Pacific golfer Brasen Briones of Tucson got off to a great start in the opening round after firing off a seven-under 64 with five birdies on the front nine. That’d usually be enough to give you a substantial lead, but not in the second PING Jr. Masters event of the year, as Landon Ashcraft of Scottsdale put together a solid first round of his own at five-under 66 to remain within striking distance. Four players remained five shots off the lead which led to an exciting finish in the final round. The final day showed a tale of two rounds, with tougher playing conditions leading to higher scores. Not a single player in the field shot in the 60s and created an eventful finish. Ashcraft started out shaky with a triple-bogey 8 on the first hole to kick off his final round and made the turn at six-over 41. However, the discouraging front nine didn’t knock his spirits as he remained poised and calm down the stretch. The sophomore put together an excellent back nine with zero bogeys and a clutch eagle on the par-5 18th hole to squeak past future Auburn Tiger Tyler Spielman of Cave Creek at two-under par to seal the victory. Spielman wound up at one-under par for the tournament and a solo runner-up finish, while Trey Moore and Brasen Briones tied for third place at even par. The win marks Ashcraft’s first PING Jr. Masters series. A key highlight from the weekend included Cameron Summerhays jarring it from 160 yards with a seven iron to secure his second career hole-in-one on hole 7.
In the Girls Championship division, the opening round presented three girls in the 60s- Ashley Shaw of Litchfield Park (69), Emmerson Hinds of Nevada (68) and Alexis Lamadrid of Phoenix (69). Hinds of Nevada took the first-round lead by one stroke over two players, but her lead was short-lived as Lamadrid turned things up a notch and put together a stellar final round. It was all Alexis Lamadrid of Phoenix who set the tone from the get-go and put on quite a scoring clinic. The Phoenician was the only player in the field to stay the course and repeat her success from the opening round of play. Lamadrid one-upped her performance on Saturday with a bogey-free back nine and three birdies to help her pull away from the rest of the leaderboard. She ended up winning by a staggering eight strokes to wrap up her first win of the 2024 season. Ashley Shaw of Litchfield Park finished runner-up with a total score of three-over par (69-76), and Emmerson Hinds of Nevada ended up solo third with a final score six-over par (68-80). The win marks Lamadrid’s first PING Junior Masters Series title and first overall victory since April 2023 at the Betsy King IMG Academy Jr World Qualifier.
The PING Junior Masters Series consists of five tournaments held at some of the most prestigious courses in Arizona. Debuting in 2015, the PING Junior Masters Series is a series of invitation-only tournaments tailored to Arizona junior golfers with the desire and ability to compete locally against their top-ranked peers. The field for the events is limited to junior golfers who are invited to compete by their national ranking by Junior Golf Scoreboard – boys must be in the top 3,500 and girls in the top 1,500.
Openings for junior players from neighboring states will be dependent on availability at each event. Qualified junior players can sign up for the PING Junior Major Series by visiting www.jgaa.org.
To learn more about the JGAA and the PING Junior Masters Series, contact Scott McNevin, JGAA Executive Director, smcnevin@jgaa.org, or call Scott at 602-944-6168.
