Wheaton Ennis earns first AJGA victory; Gracie McGovern wins in a playoff.
For the 20th consecutive year, Longbow Golf Club hosted the AJGA PING Heather Farr Classic, named for the former Arizona State and LPGA golfer who passed away in 1993. The field contained a large number of top-50 ranked amateurs, according to Golfweek. Litchfield Park’s Wheaton Ennis and Scottsdale’s Gracie McGovern lifted trophies after winning the Boys and Girls Divisions of the PING Heather Farr Classic Sunday afternoon at Longbow Golf Club. This was the fourth-straight year that a JGAA member/ Arizona resident won the boys title (2022= Johnnie Clark; 2021= Anawin Pikulthong; 2020= Adam Miller). The last Arizona girl to win the tournament was Hannah O’Sullivan in 2015
Ennis secured his first AJGA win and had just one bogey in three rounds of play. The Texas A&M verbal commit shot 11-under-par through 54 holes and rounded up 12 birdies throughout the event. Ennis wounded up leading by three strokes, ahead of Jack Jerge out of Pleasant Hill, California, and Nathan Miller out of Dallas, Texas. This win makes it back-to-back weeks with a victory for the Litchfield Park native as he won last week at the JGAA Bryce Molder Invitational out at Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club.
“It’s incredible. I love this event and I love this course,” said Wheaton Ennis. “I feel like I was on top of my game this week and want to keep that going forward.”
Gracie McGovern made quite the comeback after finishing the first round at even par and in the middle of the pack. She got hot in the final round with four total birdies and managed to force a playoff with Lucy Yuan out of San Diego, California. On the first playoff hole, McGovern sealed the deal by making par while Yuan made bogey. With this win, the Texas Christian University commit ranks inside the top-50 Rolex AJGA Rankings.
“My favorite part about this week and all these events are the new friends I make along the way,” said Gracie McGovern.
