75 players battled the elements at the Yankee Trace Jr. Open on the SOPGA Jr. Tour chasing down a gold medal.
Who else would you expect to see at the top of the boys 16-19 division? For an unbelievable sixth consecutive event, Andy Steed claimed the gold medal. Steed finished with a round of even-par 72, thanks to his first career eagle! The rain didn’t seem to bother Griff Turner. Turner used an eagle on the par-five tenth hole to propel himself to a silver medal finish. A two-way tie for third place had to be broken with a scorecard playoff. In the end it was Braylon Haney who edged out Eian Cambria to earn the bronze medal.
The girls 16-19 division was a close fought battle. Through the rain, Nithya Nunna grabbed the gold with a score of seven-over-par 79. Finishing in second place was Abby Kittles thanks to a stellar back-nine score of one-over-par 37. Rounding out the top three was Alayna Meyer. Meyer earned a silver medal at her first event of the year and continued the streak of top-three finishes at the Yankee Trace Jr. Open.
The boys 13-15 division saw Rohan Reddy finally break through. After back-to-back second place finishes, Reddy used a six-over-par 78 to earn his first gold medal of the season on the SOPGA Jr. Tour. AJ Mahoney used three birdies on his opening nine to propel him into second place at Yankee Trace. A two-way tie for third was broken in a scorecard playoff. Casey Colton and Bennet Bardonaro finished the day all square. Colton would go on to win the bronze medal in the scorecard playoff.
Some familiar faces populated the top of the leaderboard in the girls 13-15 division! As the sun set on Yankee Trace, Kinsley Brown used two birdies on her round to grab her first gold medal of the season on the SOPGA Jr. Tour. Coming off of a second place finish at the Germantown Jr. Open, Jackie Lehman followed it up with another silver medal at Yankee Trace, Lehman made a birdie on her third hole of the day and would cruise to a strong second place finish. Ava Snow continues her dominance in the girls 13-15 division. Snow finished in the top-three for the sixth time in as many starts on the season!
The boys 9-12 division had two players battle the conditions over 18 holes for a gold medal. Coming off a win at the Germantown Jr. Open, Owen Engel was looking to repeat his performance. Tommy Priefer would have something to say about that. Priefer made par on his final two holes to snatch the gold medal, his first of the season. Engel would go on the earn a silver medal for the Yankee Trace Jr. Open.
The nine hole division of the 9-12 year old boys saw another player trying to repeat their magic from Jamaica Run. Wesley Graf refused to let history repeat itself. Graf would birdie his third hole of the day after a slow start to claim a coveted gold medal. Finishing closely behind Graf was Jenner Gambill. Gambill was riding the momentum from the Germantown Jr. Open and grabbed yet another top-three finish on the season. Rounding out the podium was a two-way tie for third place. Alex Ahier would top Van Laver in a scorecard playoff to grab the bronze medal.
Thank you to Steve Marino, PGA and his entire team at the Golf Club at Yankee Trace for putting on such a great event in less than ideal conditions!
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