Nicholas Lyman And Julia Herzberg Win Thunderbird Invitational

: Nicholas Lyman

: Julia Herzberg

The annual Thunderbird Invitational wrapped up over the weekend, after two days of sunshine and fun-filled competition at Papago Golf Club. The first round of The Thunderbird Invitational, sponsored by The Thunderbirds, kicked off on March 8th. Nicholas Lyman of Surprise caught fire on the front nine with a four-under 32, finishing with a tournament-low 66 (-6). However, Ajay Morris of Avondale, Bridger Johnson of Nevada and Beau Sahr of Idaho all remain within striking distance just two strokes or less off the lead. Lyman didn’t give an inch heading into round two with an equally impressive final round. The JGAA standout rattled off six birdies and recorded only one bogey to extend his lead. The final-round 67 proved to be too low for the rest of the field to catch up. Lyman shut the door on the back nine with four birdies on the first six holes (Holes 10-15), closing the event at 11-under par to win by five strokes. The future University of Texas-Arlington Maverick is putting together a solid start to the 2025 season, with a top 10 finish at the inaugural Scottsdale Charros Invitational and now securing his first JGAA win since 2022. Ajay Morris captured second place at 6-under par and Landon Ashcraft of Scottsdale ended up solo-third at four-under par.

The leaderboard was much closer In the Girls Championship division. Julia Herzberg of Gilbert, winner of this year’s Warren Schutte Invitational, put together a stellar display of golf over the weekend. Herzberg recorded a 1-under 71 in the opening round to give herself a shot on Sunday. Four other golfers stayed in the hunt as Kaitlyn Helm of Litchfield Park was the girl to chase at 2-under par after Saturday. The second day posed a challenge for majority of the field, except for Herzberg who carried her momentum into the final round. The Gilbert golfer ran into some trouble throughout her final round but responded to the adversity after making bogey on the first hole. Beau Ellington of Paradise Valley appeared out of nowhere with a career-low 68 to get right back into the mix. The emergence of Ellington put Herzberg on the spot, yet she answered right back with a 1-under score through nine holes (course back nine). Herzberg wrapped up the event with a 1-under total score to scrape by the rest of the players by a stroke. The Hamilton talent posted the only total score in red figures to earn her second PING Junior Masters Series win of 2025. Beau Ellington received second-place honors after a marvelous 4-under scorecard on day two. Kaitlyn Helm of Litchfield Park and Cindy Yang of California tied for third place at 2-over par.

“We’re beyond thrilled with how this year’s Thunderbird Invitational played out,” said JGAA Executive Director Scott McNevin. “Huge congrats to our winners, and a big thank you to The Thunderbirds and Papago Golf Club for putting on an outstanding tournament!”