Down To The Wire - AJGA Weekly Recap

📷 – Media Courtesy of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA)

Six hard-hitting AJGA events went down to the wire this week across six U.S. states. The events – the GreatLIFE Junior Challenge by Sanford Health, the Harold Varner III Foundation Junior All-Star, and the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star, the Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek, the Coca Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands, and the Callaway Golf Texas Junior Open continued successfully with the AJGA’s new health and safety measures and policies – the new norm of junior golf.

The GreatLIFE Junior Challenge by Sanford Health is the first event in the history of the AJGA to be held in South Dakota in beautiful Sioux Falls. The event was held at Willow Run Golf Course – one of the best Sioux Falls has to offer. Taking home the trophy in the Boys Division was Tyson Shelley (2021) of Salt Lake City, Utah, firing a 67-70-68, and winning in a down to the wire sudden-death playoff. Dusting the field in the Girls Division was Malena Barrientos (2021) of Plano, Texas, firing 70-70-67.

The Harold Varner III Foundation Junior All-Star backed by the European Tour champ is the first of its kind at Tanglewood Park Golf Course. Will Baker (2023) of Statham, Georgia made 18 birdies on the week in route to a 65-67-70 week and a victory. Championing the Girls Division was Alexsandra Lapple (2023) of Pinehurst, North Carolina, with a 3-shot victory and scores of 71-67-73.

The KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star, previously championed by JGTA competitor and University of California, Berkeley commit Kuangyu (Tony) Chen of (Australia) Shenzhen, China, took place at Blessings Golf Club, home of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. The Girls Division champion is headed to the Symetra Tour’s Founders Tribute at Longbow, in Mesa, Arizona. Jack Usner (2023) of The Woodlands, Texas came in clutch in the final round, firing a 5-under-par 67 to take home the trophy in the stacked KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational field. Leigh Chien (2024) of Irvine, California left the field behind her with scores of 69-69-67 to become the back-to-back champion of the event.

Coming back for round two is the Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek in Columbus, Indiana. In down to the wire fashion, Drew Doyle (2020) of Louisville, Kentucky came in at 14-under-par to take home the title, just one-shot ahead of Luke Sample (2021) of New York, New York. Natalie Cao (2021) of Sugar Land, Texas dominated the field with a 5-shot victory in the Girls Division.

The Coca Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs, Michigan is the first event of the year in Michigan. Yet another playoff decided the Boys Division at Boyne Highlands, with Joshua Qian (2021) of Westerville, Ohio, who made a birdie on his 18^th hole in round 3 to get into the playoff. Gianna Clemente (2026) of Warren, Ohio has became one of the youngest champions in AJGA history after firing 70-69-73 in route to a 4-under-par tournament total of 212 and a 3-shot victory.

The Callaway Golf Texas Junior Open headed to Squaw Creek Golf Course in Willow Park, Texas, the former venue of the AJGA Junior All-Star at Squaw Creek. Wells Williams (2022) of West Point Mississippi took home the trophy and is now a 2-time AJGA Champion. Mackenzie Lee (2022) of North Little Rock, Arkansas won the Girls Division in what was her first AJGA event of the season.