Tag: Junior Tour of Northern California

JTNC Has Been a Force at The First Tee Open

Sep 2, 2016Comments Off on JTNC Has Been a Force at The First Tee OpenFeatured

If you’re looking for a favorite in the Pro-Junior portion of the upcoming First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and Poppy Hills, you can start with someone from the Junior Tour of Northern California.

In the last few years, the JTNC has been a force to be reckoned with at the First Tee Open, which tees off Sept.13-18.

At the 2011 First Tee Open, then-JT NC member Casie Cathrea won the Pro-Junior portion of the First Tee Open playing with Ben Crenshaw. Two years later at the 2013 First Tee Open, then-JTNC member Michelle Xie of Palo Alto won the Pro-Junior with professional partner Kirk Triplett.

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In 2014, JTNC Boys’ Player of the Year Joshua McCarthy and pro partner Peter Senior appeared to be a lock to win the title. He’d have to settle for runner-up, however, when  The First Tee of Tucson member Christopher Meyers pulled off one of the greatest shots on the historic 18th hole at Pebble Beach—a double-eagle from 203 yards out—to give him and pro partner Lee Janzen the victory.

Prior to Meyers’ miracle, McCarthy was already in the clubhouse with a day-low 64 that had pushed him and Senior to a total of 20-under 195. The tandem of fellow JTNC member Katie Horsford and pro Steve Elkington were also in at 195, but McCarthy would’ve won the tiebreaker due to having the lower round.

At last year’s First Tee Open, it was JTNC member Jack Avrit’s turn at the top. Avrit would win playing with pro partner Mark O’Meara, who’s also known as the “Prince of Pebble Beach” due to having won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am a record five times.

When this year’s First Tee Open gets underway, another eight JTNC members will have a chance at hoisting a trophy at Pebble Beach. Here’s the eight JTNC players in this year’s field:

  • Emily Dixon (First Tee of Greater Sacramento)
  • Cathering Batang (First Tee of San Francisco)
  • Isabelle Castro (First Tee of Silicon Valley)
  • Neeve Chen (First Tee of Greater Sacramento)
  • Misa Church (First Tee of Contra Costa)
  • Beah Cruz (First Tee of Greater Sacramento)
  • Grant Leppek (First Tee of Greater Sacramento)
  • Madeline Zunino (First Tee of San Joaquin)

Lucy Li WIns 41st PGA Junior Championship

Aug 12, 2016Comments Off on Lucy Li WIns 41st PGA Junior ChampionshipFeatured

August 12, 2016

Redwood Shores resident and JTNC member Lucy Li claimed the title at the 41st annual PGA Junior Championship at Wannamoisett Country Club.

Li had a final round 2-under 69 to finish with a three-day total of 7-under 206, good enough for a two shot win over co-runner-ups Alyaa Abdulghany and Mariel Galdiano.

”I didn’t think I played all that good, but it was really windy today, and that made it tough,” Li said. ”I am used to playing the in the wind, so that might have been an advantage for me.”

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Abdulghany, who won the 2015 CIF Girls’ State Championship at Poppy Hills with a then-record score of 2-under 69, came in at 208 after a final round 70. Galdiano, the third round leader. slipped to a final round 77.

In 2014 at the age of 11, Li became the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open.

Sabrina Iqbal of San Jose, who recently claimed her third straight JTNC Girls’ Player of the Year crown, finished T-8 at 212 after a 72.

In the Boys’ Championship, the best NorCal finish came from Brendon Hy, who came in T-13 at 283.

Thomas Hutchison, Sabrina Iqbal 2016 Players of Year

Aug 3, 2016Comments Off on Thomas Hutchison, Sabrina Iqbal 2016 Players of YearFeatured

August 3, 2016

2016 Junior Tour of Northern California Players of the Year

Fellow San Jose residents and Pioneer High teammates Thomas Hutchison and Sabrina Iqbal Win Titles

2016 Boys’ Player of the Year

San Jose resident Thomas Hutchison knows all about 2011 Junior Tour Player of the Year Bryson DeChambeau. He also saw that two-time Player of the Year Justin Suh (2013, 2015) had played in this year’s U.S Open and that 2014 Player of the Year Joshua McCarthy had teed it up at the recent Web.com Tour Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.

Now, Hutchison hopes his title also leads to bigger things.

A 16-year-old senior at Pioneer High in San Jose, Hutchison captured the 2015-2016 JTNC Boys’ Player of the Year title by finishing the season with 2,518 points. Finishing in second place at 2,103 was Alamo’s Ryan Grauman, while McCarthy, in his last season, was third at 1,991.

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“Just to know that my name will be with those guys, it gives me a lot of confidence,” said Hutchison, who has already verbally committed to UC Davis.

Hutchison, who was introduced to the game by his father, David, and later honed his skills as a Santa Teresa Youth on Course member, tallied three JTNC wins during the season: Fall Series III, Spring Series V and Spring Series VI. The back-to-back Spring victories tied a JTNC record for most wins in a row held by six other players. The three victories tied the JTNC record for most wins in one season (held by four other players).

His biggest win came at July’s NCGA Junior Championship at Half Moon Bay GL, where he earned 650 points and joined his older sister, Samantha, as winners of the event. The two became the first siblings to win the championship in its 87-year-history. Other highlights were back-to-back second place finishes at the Summer Series III and IV Championships and a T-3 finish at the season-ending Tour Championship.

“I feel like I started playing better in the spring. It was just a matter of a lot of practice,” Hutchison said. “I’m already looking ahead to winning Player of the Year again.”

2016 Girls’ Player of the Year

San Jose resident Sabrina Iqbal had a few targets to aim at. For one, Iqbal, already the two-time defending JTNC Girls’ Player of the Year, knew that no player had ever won three titles in a row.

There was also the matter of catching former JTNC standout Casie Cathrea for most junior NorCal “major” wins—JTNC titles, CIF High School State Championship, California Women’s Amateur Championship Junior, NCGA Junior Girls’ and NCGA/CIF NorCal Championship.

The still only 15 year old Iqbal, a junior at Pioneer High, did both.

“I knew that no one had won three in a row,” said Iqbal, who tied Cathrea (2010, 2011, 2013) for most JTNC Girls’ Player of the Year titles. “That’s why I really wanted to win it again this year.”

Already verbally committed to Texas Christian University, Iqbal had yet another season to remember. She’d win her third straight crown with a whopping total of 5,003 points. Finishing in second place at 3,924 was San Ramon’s Yoonhee Kim. Third place went to Concord’s Yealimi Noh with 2,565 points.

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In another dazzling performance, Iqbal captured four JTNC titles—Fall Series IX, Spring Series V, Summer Series IV and the Tour Championship. Other victories included the NCGA Junior Championship, the California Women’s Amateur Championship, the San Francisco City Women’s Amateur, the Sacramento County Women’s Championship and the CIF/NCGA NorCal High School Championship.

All of the wins moved Iqbal to a total of 21 NorCal “major” victories. Cathrea had been the all-time leader with 18.

During the season, Iqbal also had five runner-up finishes: JTNC Fall Series I, Fall Series III, Fall Series IV, Spring Series VII and Summer Series III.

“I feel like, whenever I’m having a good round, that I want to be at that level every time,” said Iqbal, who picked up the game from her father, Shaheen, a PGA teaching professional at Los Lagos GC and later honed her skills as a Santa Teresa Youth on Course member. “When I do play bad, I want to work on fixing things. There’s nothing else you can do.”

 

 

Three JTNC Players Advance to U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship

Jun 13, 2016Comments Off on Three JTNC Players Advance to U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur ChampionshipFeatured

Redwood Shores resident Lucy Li and five others are headed to this year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship at Ridgewood CC in New Jersey.

Li, the darling of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, carded a 5-under 67 to earn medalist honors Monday in a qualifier held at par-72 Merced Golf and Country Club. Still only 13 years old, Li posted six birdies with just one bogey. She’d card a 3-under 33 on the back-nine.

Placing second with a 71 was Danville resident Ty Akabane. Akabane recently shot a 66 at the Junior Tour of Northern California Spring Series VII Championship. The 5-under 66 was the third lowest Girls’ score in JTNC history.

Third place went to Concord’s Yealimi Noh, who won the 2014 California Junior Girls’ State Championship, at 72.

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Also advancing were Grace Fitzgerald of Poway (76), North Tustin’s Katie Stribling (76) and Kayla Sam of Anaheim Hills (77).

The first alternate spot went to Tiffany Kong of Vancouver at 78. Rocklin’s Nicole Schroeder (78) is the second alternate.

This year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship will be held July 18-23.

Two JTNC Members Headed to Augusta National for Drive, Chip and Putt Finals

Mar 30, 2016Comments Off on Two JTNC Members Headed to Augusta National for Drive, Chip and Putt FinalsFeatured, JTNC News

March 30, 2016

Two Junior Tour of Northern California members will tee it up at Augusta National Golf Club prior to the likes of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy.

Sofia Young of Benicia and Ty Griggs of Manteca will be among 80 juniors who are set to compete in the third annual Drive, Chip and Putt Championship National Finals to be held Sunday, April 2, prior to the start of the Masters.

Young will be playing in the Girls’ 14-15 Division, while Griggs will compete in the Boys’ 12-13 Division. Also representing Northern California will be Jayden Lizama of Elk Grove, who ‘ll be part of the Boys’ 7-9 Division.

Junior Tour of Northern California

Sofia Young

A joint initiative by the Masters Tournament, the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America, the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is a free nationwide junior competition focusing on the three fundamental skills employed in golf, tapping the creative and competitive spirit of girls and boys, ages 7-15.

Junior Tour of Northern California

Ty Griggs

All championship scoring at the local, sub-regional and regional qualifiers is based on a 25-point-per-shot basis, with each participant taking three shots per skill. Each participant accumulated points per shot in all three skills (maximum of 75 points per skill = 25 points per shot x 3). The overall champion in each age category was determined by the participant with the most points accumulated between all three skills (maximum of 225 points = 75 points per skill x 3).

For each skill, the point system is based in incremental distance measurements, rewarding accuracy and distance in the drive skill, and proximity for chipping and putting skills. Difficulty increases with age.

At Augusta National, one champion will be named from each age/gender division. Each final will be scored based on a 30-point system, offering the player with the longest drive 10 points, the player with the closest cumulative chips 10 points and the player with the nearest cumulative putts 10 points, in each separate skill. The highest total composite score will determine the winner.

JTNC Alums Bryson DeChambeau, Maverick McNealy and The King

Mar 21, 2016Comments Off on JTNC Alums Bryson DeChambeau, Maverick McNealy and The KingFeatured, JTNC News

 

Stanford junior Maverick McNealy simply described it as “awesome.” Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, called it “a thrill.”

That included not only the golf, but also being around The King.

McNealy, who won last year’s NCGA Amateur Match Play Championship, and DeChambeau, who hails from Clovis, had a weekend to remember playing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Playing in the same group with Rory McIlroy, DeChambeau carded a final 6-under 66 to finish T-27. In a little less than three weeks, the 22-year-old 2015 U.S. Amateur champion will play in his first Masters.

Bryson DeChambeau Rory McIlroy

 

“I was pretty darn comfortable out there,” said DeChambeau, the 2011 Junior Tour of Northern California Boys’ Player of the Year. “My first time on the Tour (at the FedEx Cup St. Jude Classic) it was a little nerve-wracking. Rory and I were feeding off of each other. It was great to get that experience. You could see what momentum is. We had a lot of fun out there.”

Also playing via a sponsor’s exemption, the 20-year-old McNealy soaked it up every minute as well.

“I think the biggest thing I need to improve is my driving,” said McNealy, who T-46 thanks in part to an opening 69. “That sets up every shot and it’s incredible how much more difficult it is to play out of the rough on the PGA Tour than it is versus the rough in college. It takes really, really good golf to compete with these guys.”

Of course, the two also got to spend some precious time with The King.

DeChambeau, who plans to turn pro after the Masters, had previously met Palmer briefly at the Walker Cup practice session with Captain ‘Spider’ Miller and the rest of the squad. This time, he got to visit with Palmer in his office.

“That’s a moment I’ll never forget,” DeChambeau said.

Also a former member of the JTNC, McNealy was followed by Palmer over the back-nine on Thursday.

“Playing the back-nine at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with Mr. Palmer watching was the coolest golf experience in my life,” McNealy said. “This is something I’m going to tell my kids and grandkids about.”

–Jerry Stewart

JTNC Alum Hannah O’Sullivan Named to Curtis Cup

Mar 15, 2016Comments Off on JTNC Alum Hannah O’Sullivan Named to Curtis CupJTNC News

NCGA member and former Junior Tour of Northern California member Hannah O’Sullivan will be representing the Stars and Stripes at this year’s Curtis Cup.

Recently, O’Sullivan, who lives in Arizona but is a member at the Olympic Club, was among eight players named by the USGA to the 2016 USA Curtis Cup team. Th championship will be held June 10-12 at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club in Enniskerry, Ireland outside Dublin.

Currently the No.2 ranked women’s amateur in the world, O’Sullivan won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur by a 3-and-2 margin over Brooks at Portland (Ore.) Golf Club. Earlier in the year, she won the Symetra Tour’s Gateway Classic, becoming the tour’s first amateur winner since Kellee Booth in 1999 and the youngest since Cristie Kerr in 1995.

Junior Tour of Northern California Hannah O'Sullivan

Hannah O’Sullivan with the hardware from last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Set to become a freshman at USC this fall, O’Sullivan also earned victories in the 2015 Rolex Girls Junior Championship and 2015 Rolex Tournament of Champions. She’d partner with Robynn Ree to finish runner-up to Liu and Rinko Mitsunaga in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Bandon Dunes, and she finished tied for 53rd in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club.

Joining O’Sullivan on the USA squad will be:

  • Sierra Brooks, 17, of Sorrento, Fla.
  • Mariel Galdiano, 17, of Pearl City, Hawaii
  • Andrea Lee, 17, of Hermosa Beach, Calif.
  • Mika Liu, 17, of Beverly Hills, Calif.
  • Hannah O’Sullivan, 17, of Chandler, Ariz.
  • Bailey Tardy, 19, of Peachtree Corners, Ga.
  • Monica Vaughn, 21, of Reedsport, Ore.
  • Bethany Wu, 19, of Diamond Bar, Calif.

The Curtis Cup Match is a biennial international women’s amateur golf competition between eight-player teams from the United States of America and Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I). It consists of six foursomes (alternate-shot) matches, six four-ball matches and eight singles matches over three days of competition.

Robin Burke, the 1997 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up and a member of the victorious 1998 USA Curtis Cup Team, will serve as USA captain.

 

Spring Series II: Windsor G.C.

Jan 11, 2016Comments Off on Spring Series II: Windsor G.C.Current Year, Past Results, Tournaments

Windsor, CA
March 19-20, 2016

Results  |  Pairings

Contestant Information Sheet | Yardages

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CIG-Sponsored Junior Golf Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners in Spring Series II Championship at Windsor Golf Club

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (March 21, 2016) – Sponsored by Capital Insurance Group, the 2015-2016 Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions Sunday at the Spring Series II Championship at Windsor Golf Club in Windsor.

Alamo resident Ryan Grauman shot 2-over 146 and defeated Joshua McCarthy in a playoff and San Mateo resident Amanjoty Sangha shot 12-over 156 to win their respective divisions at the Spring Series II Championship held Saturday and Sunday at par-72 Windsor GC.

Junior Tour of Northern California Spring Series II

Boys’ Championship winner Ryan Grauman and runner-up Joshua McCarthy (left to right)

Grauman’s victory, his second of the season, was keyed by a stellar2-under 70 in the first round.  After a front-nine 38, he’d catch fire, posting a 32 on his back-nine with four birdies.

While Grauman took the early lead, one of his pursuers was McCarthy. The 2014 JTNC Boys’ Player of the Year and Danville resident shot 72 to leave himself just two back.

On Sunday, Grauman slipped back to a 76 while McCarthy made a move with a 74, leaving them tied after regulation. In what became a playoff, Grauman came out on top on the second hole.

Finishing in third place at 147 was Robert Briggs of Novato after rounds of 73-74. Thomas Hutchison of San Jose and San Ramon’s Brendan Hy finished T-4 at 149 after final rounds of 74 and 78, respectively.

Junior Tour of Northern California Spring Series II

Girls’ Championship winner Amanjoty Sangha and runner-up and sister Kiran Sangha (left to right)

In the Girls’ Championship, Sangha outlasted her sister, Kiran, for her first win of the season.

A day after opening with matching scores of 80, Amanjoty posted a day-low 76 that featured two birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey. Kiran, meanwhile, shot 78. Kiran had a chance to catch Amanjoty but was stung by a critical double-bogey on the 16th hole.

Finishing in a tie for third at 160 were Angela Liu of San Jose and Belinda Hu of San Ramon following final rounds of 78 and 81, respectively. Liu was awarded third place in a card-off. Hu had taken the first round lead after opening with a 79.

Fifth place went to Danville’s Ty Akabane at 161 (80-81).

Junior Tour of Northern California Spring Series II

Boys’ First Flight winner Allen Zhang, runner-up Krishan Patel and third place finisher Lucas Happy (left to right)

The Boys’ First Flight Championship title was captured by Allen Zhang of San Jose, who put together rounds of 76-82 to come in at 158.

Zhang defeated runner-up Krishan Patel of San Jose, who finished at 161 after a final round 84, by three shots. Taking third place at 171 was Lucas Happy of Petaluma. Dylan McDermott of Granite Bay and Owen Randolph each grabbed a share of fourth place at 172 following matching final rounds of 88.

Junior Tour of Northern California Spring Series II

Girls’ First Flight winner Kaylen Choi, runner-up Madison Beckett and third place finisher Kiana Briggs (left to right)

In the Girls’ First Flight Championship, Kaylen Choi of Dublin came in at 163 after a final round 80 to defeat runner-up Madison Beckett of Santa Rosa by two shots. Beckett shot 86-79.

Third place went to Kiana Briggs of Novato (171), while Adora JiaYi Wen of San Jose took fourth at 174. Pleasanton’s Kate Lim and Steffi Lin of San Ramon finished T-5 at 175.

Junior Tour of Northern California Spring Series II

Samira Pal had the shot of the tournament, acing the 5th hole on Saturday.

Samira Pal of Cupertino had the shot of the weekend, acing the par-3 5th hole on Saturday using an 8-iron.

The 2016 JTNC Spring Series will continue with the Spring Series III Championship, to be held April 9-10  at The Golf Club at Roddy Ranch in Antioch.

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