The Junior Golf Association of Arizona (JGAA) is set to host the 25th annual Tucson Spring Classic, which tees off April 21-22 featuring 157 (48 from Tucson area) of Arizona’s best junior golfers (boys and girls) ages 8-18 competing in the tournament. View the full field here.
Silverbell (9 a.m. start) and El Rio (11 a.m. start) Golf Courses will host the first round on Saturday, and Tucson National Golf Resort will host the final round on Sunday with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. Spectators are welcome.
Mackenzie McRee – fresh off of her T7 performance at the Drive, Chip and Putt Championships held at Augusta National – is set to compete in the Tucson Spring Classic in the Girls 13-14 Division. She will compete at El Rio on Saturday and Tucson National on Sunday.
Among the top contenders in the Championship Divisions from Tucson, Jacob Goode and Alexandra Quihuis top the list. So far this year, Goode, 17, notched a top-10 (T7) finish at the Thunderbird Invitational, and his past accomplishments at the Tucson Spring Classic include a 6th-place finish in 2017 and 2nd-place finish in 2016. Goode is currently ranked T28 in the JGAA’s season-long points standing, and in 2017 he finished in 15th place overall.
Quihuis, 17, is currently in 7th place in the 2018 points standings; she finished in 6th place last year. In recent tournament play, Quihuis came in 6th place in Thunderbird Invitational and 3rd in the BMO Invitational. In five total events played so far this season, she has made the top 10 in four.
“Thanks to the Conquistadores, The Tucson Spring Classic will reach a big milestone this year,” said Scott McNevin, Executive Director of the JGAA. “It would be fitting for juniors from Tucson to win, and there’s a good chance that might happen. Jacob and Alexandra play well in big events. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Mackenzie gets her first win of the season in the Girls 13-14 Division.”
2017 Champions pictured below
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- (left to right) Reece Nilsen, Jake Carlson, Jonathan Walters
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- (left to right) Alyza Flores, Breyana Matthews, Ashley Menne
About the Tucson Conquistadores
Since its inception in 1962, the Tucson Conquistadores civic group has raised $29 million for young athletes. The group has an active membership of 200 business and professional men who represent a cross-section of the Tucson community.
Professional golf has been the primary source for the Conquistadores’ fundraising success. The Conquistadores currently sponsor the Tucson Conquistadores Classic, an Official PGA TOUR Champions Tour event staged in March. Proceeds benefit The First Tee of Tucson, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, Pima County Special Olympics, the JGAA and dozens of youth sports teams and events throughout Southern Arizona. To learn more about the Tucson Conquistadores, visit TucsonConquistadores.com or call 520.571.0400.
