Sharonville, OH (May 18, 2024) – 56 juniors took to Sharon Woods golf oCourse to compete in the Sharon Woods Jr. Open on the SOPGA Jr. Tour!
Leading the way in the girls 16-19 division was Andrea Golden. Golden made three birdies on her round on her way to firing a 10-over-par 80 to claim her first gold medal on the season. Closely behind Golden was Grace Boone. Boone played solid all day long to finish four strokes behind Golden and earn 2nd place. Rounding out the podium for the girls 16-19 division was Ella Berning. Berning bounced back on her back 9 en route to a round of 18-over-par 88 and a bronze medal.
The boys 16-19 division saw some new faces towards the top of the leaderboard at the Sharon Woods Jr. Open. Ryan Ashby got off to a slow start bogeying his first hole but bounced back in a big way. Ashby would play the next 17 holes at one-under-par to finish the day with a score of even-par 70, good for first place. Finishing in second for the day was Graham Brubaker with a three-over-par 73. Jack Hutcheson and Carter Adkins would finish the event in a tie for third place.
The girls 13-15 division was full of new names at the top of the leaderboard. Leading the way was Emma Gebhart. Gebhart played a great round all day long to finish three strokes ahead of Liberty Harris. Harris made a nice birdie on the par-four-seventh hole on her way to her first top-three finish of the season on the SOPGA Jr. Tour. Malavika Nair and Jo Nicol were in a battle for third place as play drew to a close. In the end, Nair would edge out Nicol by two-strokes thanks to a great par on the difficult closing hole at Sharon Woods Golf Course.
The closest race of the day came in the boys 13-15 division. Lucas Massa was looking to continue his hot start to the season while Benjamin Sheiwer was looking to grab his first gold medal of the year. In the end it would come down to the final hole of the day to separate the two. As they holed their final putts of the day, it would be Benjamin Schiewer finishing atop the leaderboard with a score of seven-over-par 77. Massa would finish just one stroke behind Scheiwer to finish in second place. Rounding out the top-three was Maxwell Olson, riding the momentum after last week’s strong showing at the Hamilton Jr. Classic.
Five players competed in the 9-hole division of the boys 9-12 division. Playing the challenging front nine at Sharon Woods, Raphael Zelik handled the course better than the rest thanks to a score of eight-over-par 43. Three strokes behind Zelik was Caiden Blackford, earning him the silver medal. Three players were battling for third place as they approached the final hole of the day. Brenton Hibbard would just barely edge out Payton Crego and CJ Schmid to earn his first medal of the year.
Four boys competed over 18 holes in the 9-12 age division. Leading the way with a fantastic score of nine-over-par 79 was Chaz Zitzner. Zitzner’s round was highlighted by a birdie on the par-four fourth hole to go along with seven pars during his round. Finishing second on the day was Alexander Ahier. Ahier edged out the third place finisher Jay Fox by three strokes. This was Fox’s first time breaking 100 in a tournament round! Rounding out the division was Levi Little who competed in his first event on the SOGPA Jr. Tour!
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Thank you to Taylor Suggs, PGA, Mike Thomas, PGA, and the entire staff at Sharon Woods Golf Course for hosting the Sharon Woods Jr. Open!