Mason, OH (June 3-4, 2024) – 68 players took to the Grizzly Golf and Social Lodge in Mason, Ohio for the 2024 Grizzly Jr. Classic!
Despite some early morning fog, the boys 16-19 division came out of the gates firing during Monday’s opening round. Familiar faces found their way back up the top of the leaderboard as play came to a close for the day. 2023 SOPGA Boys 16-19 Player of the Year Andy Steed made four birdies on his way to a two-under-par 69, picking up right where he left off last season. Tied with Steed for first place was Junior Ohio Cupper Zach Hartley. Hartley blitzed the back-nine making five birdies en route to a four-under-par 32. Sitting in third place was Evan Brown. Brown made a flurry of birdies on the back nine to finish at three-over-par 74 and find his way into the final pairing for the final round. We also have to shout out Aidan Fischer for making his first ever hole-in-one on the par-3 second hole!
The boys 16-19 division would be a battle to the very end during Tuesday’s final round. As the final putts dropped, Andy Steed would stand alone in the first place thanks to a round of three-over-par 74. Zach Hartley would battle hard all day long, but come up just short, finishing the tournament in second place. Rounding out the podium was Casey Colton. Colton improved on his round one score by two strokes to grab the final spot on the podium.
The girls 16-19 division saw plenty of players bunched up towards the top of the leaderboard after the opening round. Everyone would be chasing down Alayna Meyer. Meyer would play an incredibly strong round, making 12 pars and one birdie on her way to a score of five-over-par 76. Chasing down Meyer after the opening round was Aubrey Arnold. Arnold played steady all day long posting the same score on both nines to end the day in second place after an eleven-over-par 82. Ella Berning, Kyrstin Schilens, Kinsley Brown, and Grace Boone all closed the day within five strokes of third place.
The girls 16-19 division had a lot of change during Tuesday’s final round. One thing that stayed the same was the fantastic play of Alayna Meyer. Meyer carded her second consecutive round of five-over-par 76 to earn the top spot in the Grizzly Jr. Classic. Aubrey Arnold held strong in second place after a difficult start to add another top finish to her SOPGA Jr. Tour resume. Kinsley Brown played a fantastic round, posting the second lowest score of the tournament with a nine-over-par 80 to jump to third place, just beating out Kyrstin Schilens.
Three players separated themselves from the field after play on day one of the boys 13-15 division. Leading the way was Jakob Allen. Allen used a strong front nine to take a one stroke lead into the final round. William Tschirhart and Luke Wagner played great all day long to finish with rounds of five-over-par 76. Wagner made an astounding 13 pars on his opening round and Tschirhart made two birdies to set themselves up for a battle for the top spot!
Jakob Allen stumbled on the first hole of the final round in the boys 13-15 division, making an opening bogey. However, after that, Allen put the pedal to the floor and battled his way around the Grizzly Golf and Social Lodge and finished his round with a score of five-over-par 76 claiming the gold medal. Consistency was the name of the game for William Tschirhart who would again make two birdies en route to a five-over-par 76 and a silver medal. Luke Wagner would round out the podium for the boys 13-15 division.
The girls 13-15 division saw seven competitors teeing it up to compete for the top spot at the Grizzly Jr. Classic. As play concluded on Monday’s opening round, Cadence Monroe-McCoy would find herself in a familiar spot atop the leaderboard thanks to an opening round twelve-over-par 83. Sitting just four strokes behind Monroe-McCoy was Emma Lohman. Lohman just barely edged out Monroe-McCoy earlier in the year at the Hamilton Jr. Classic, and was hoping to be able to do the same thing on Tuesday’s final round. Taylor Stringfield ended play in third place, putting six strokes between her and Mickaela Grieshop who was in fourth place.
Over half of the players in the girls 13-15 division improved on their first round scores during Tuesday’s final round. Cadence Monroe-McCoy maintained her spot atop the division, grabbing her first victory of the year in her quest to repeat as the Girls 13-15 Player of the Year. Emma Lohman and Taylor Stringfield ended play in a tie for second place. In the end, it was Stringfield who took home the silver on a scorecard playoff. Mackenzie Blankenship, Sophia King, and Addison Koenig all improved on their scores to end play at the Grizzly Jr. Classic.
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Click here for Player of the Year Points List.
Thank you to Andy Horn, PGA and his entire staff at the Grizzly Golf and Social Lodge for another great event on the SOPGA Jr. Tour!