Springfield, OH (May 25, 2024) – The SOPGA Jr. Tour returned to action at the Locust Hills Jr. Open! 74 juniors battled it out on the Locust Course at Locust Hills Golf Club to compete for the top spot and #DashToDayton points!
The boys 16-19 division saw some fantastic scores throughout the day! Leading the way was Simon Foreman. Foreman battled back after an early double bogey to finish the tournament with a score of even-par 72, the best score of the day out of all competitors. Closely behind Foreman was Tate Stephens. Stephens made three birdies on the round to finish at three-over-par 75 and earn the silver medal. Rylan Archey and Jack Noone finished the day in a tie for third place, just one stroke behind Stephens for second place.
There was a log jam towards the top of the leaderboard in the girls 16-19 division. Paige Weiss continued her quest to defend her title of Player of the Year with another strong performance at Locust Hills. Weiss made three birdies on her way to a round of one-over-par 73 to earn her first victory of the year on the SOPGA Jr. Tour. Maho Tanabe finished the day alone in second place thanks to an eagle on the par-five ninth hole! Avery Roethlisberger and Nora Meek tied for third as play drew to a close on Saturday.
The boys 13-15 division had plenty of familiar faces at the top of the leaderboard. Lucas Massa continued his dominant start to the year with yet another victory in the division thanks to a score of five-over-par 77. Finishing just two strokes behind Massa was Aditya Manjunath who played steady all day long. Jenner Gambill and Brendan Biegler finished in a tie for third place with rounds of eight-over-par 80.
Three players in the girls 13-15 division finished their rounds strong, improving on their front-nine scores to earn a podium finish. Malavika Nair built off her top-three finish at the Sharon Woods Jr. Open and was able to earn her first victory of the year on the SOPGA Jr. Tour. Finishing in second place was Addison Koenig who’s consistent play all day earned her the silver medal. Rounding out the podium was Mickaela Grieshop who improved by nine strokes on her back-nine!
Two brothers battled it out in the boys 9-12 division over 18 holes. Bear Kussman would edge out his younger brother Croix Kussman for the top spot in the division thanks to eight pars on his back-nine en route to a seven-over-par 79. Croix finished his round in style, playing his final three holes at one-under-par thanks to a great birdie on the tricky par-four seventeenth hole!
The 9-hole division for the boys 9-12 was the tightest race of the day! In the end, it was Raphael Zelik picking up his second consecutive victory in the division with a score of seven-over-par 43! Finishing just two strokes behind Zelik was Garner Shumaker in his first event of the season on the SOPGA Jr. Tour. Parker Moore and Slater Garber ended the day in a tie for third place thanks to some great golf all day long!
Click here for full leaderboard.
Click here to view the full SOPGA Jr. Tour schedule.
Thank you to Andrew Kitchen, PGA and the entire staff at Locust Hills Golf Club for hosting the SOPGA Jr. Tour again this season!