Around the Green

WHITNEY – Boerne’s Price Hill and Joshua’s Kaylee Yuan were crowned champions at the 97^th Texas Junior Amateur on Wednesday at White Bluff Resort. Hill claimed the Boys Division by one with a final round 3-under 69 on the New Course. Yuan claimed the Girls Division title with a finishing 1-under 71 on the Old Course. 

Hill entered the day five shots back of the lead. After an opening 5-under 67 on Monday, Hill followed it up with a 6-over 78 on Tuesday. He wasn’t worried about it though. 

“I knew it was playing hard and I knew I got the hard wave that day,” Hill said of his second round. 

The Boerne native bounced back in a big way on Wednesday by rolling in four birdies and only one bogey. Hill’s neat scorecard led him to his first LJT victory and a place in Texas golf history. 

“I can’t even really put it into words right now,” Hill said of what this win means to him. “I haven’t really accepted what’s going on yet. It’s amazing. It’s things you dream about. I obviously wanted to do the best I could this week but you never really come in expecting to win because so many things have to go right. Luckily, I got it done this week.” 

Hill will head to Texas Tech to play golf in about a month. Needless to say, his game is in a great spot as he arrives in Lubbock. 

“This is the best you can ask for,” Hill said. “Last junior tournament. First win on the Legends Junior Tour. It’s a good win and obviously gives me a lot of momentum heading into college.” 

Finishing runner-up to Hill was San Angelo’s Colin Leonard at 1-under for the championship. Leonard shot a final round 1-over 73. In third was The Hills’ Connor Smith, who put together a commendable even-par week that included a final round 3-under 69. 

Plano’s Alex Huang and Austin’s Trenton Mierl rounded out the top five of the Boys Division at 1-over 217 total. Huang fired the low round on Wednesday with a 4-under 68 to vault up the leaderboard. 

Yuan, winner of the Girls Title, had the highlight of the day across the entire championship. Entering the par-3 No. 17 hole she was one shot back of the lead. The Joshua native then proceeded to make a hole-in-one to claim the lead and the tournament.

Yuan hit a 4 hybrid on the 150-yard par-3 to make an incredible shot. 

“On that hole I was just telling myself to get it close to the hole and give myself a shot at winning this.” 

Mission accomplished. She bested the field by two strokes at 5-under for the championship and etched her name next to many great past champions of this event. 

“I’m definitely very excited,” Yuan said. “This is one of the top events I had on the schedule this summer. Coming into it I wanted to play well. I did that, thankfully!” 

Finishing runner-up was Dallas’ Shyla Brown at 3-under for the tournament. Brown nearly made it 3-for-3 as champion of LJT events. She won her first two prior to this week. The Dallas native matched Yuan with a final round 1-under 71.

San Antonio’s Julia Vollmer carded a finishing even-par 72 to take third place. Vollmer was fresh off a solid appearance at the USGA’s U.S. Girls Junior Championship and put forth an impressive effort at White Bluff that came up just short. 

Rounding out the top five was San Antonio’s Lydia Portlock and Spring Branch’s Sayers Allen in a tie for fourth at 1-over for the tournament.

The Legends Junior Tour extends its sincere appreciation to the staff and members of White Bluff Resort as well as our volunteers for their integral part in making the 97th Texas Junior Amateur a memorable and successful event. 

For more information on the 97th Texas Junior Amateur, click here. 

To view the final results, click here.