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Foster, Pickrell and Harper Win at Lanny Wadkins JC
Briefly: Dallas’ Matthew Foster shot 8-under on Tuesday to win the Boys 15-18 Division of the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship at Oakmont Country Club. Austin’s Kate Pickrell won the Girls 12-18 Division at 5-under, while Dallas’ Brooks Harper won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 9-under.
Champions: Matthew Foster of Dallas captured his first victory with the Legends Junior Tour after posting rounds of 68-64. His 12-under total was one stroke better than the field as he amassed 13 birdies and one eagle over 36 holes. The eagle came on the par-5 15th in the final round and he followed it up with a birdie on the par-4 16th, which played as the toughest hole on Tuesday. He made par on the final two holes and secured his victory.
Austin’s Kate Pickrell won the Girls 12-18 Division after shooting rounds of 69-70 to get to 5-under overall and three strokes ahead of the field. She made one bogey in 36 holes with six birdies to capture her first win with the Legends Junior Tour.
Dallas’ Brooks Harper won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 9-under overall after rounds of 67-68 at Oakmont Country Club. He totaled five birdies in Tuesday’s final round, including three straight on holes 13-15. This was his first victory with the Legends Junior Tour.
Top Finishers: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Trevor Algya of Highland Village came just shy of a second-straight victory with the Legends Junior Tour. Coming off his win at the Collegiate Preview on June 28-29, Algya made seven birdies in the final round to get to 11-under overall. Mansfield’s Cameron Beck finished third in the division followed by Jonathan Kim of Round Rock in fourth and Dallas’ Logan Johnson tied with Frisco’s Jaxon Copeland for fifth.
In the Girls 12-18 Division, three girls tied for second at 2-under. Southlake’s Makayla Tyrrell, Rogers’ Elizabeth Whalen and Prosper’s Lucy Kate Smith made up the three-way tie with Argyle’s Madison Baer and Austin’s Ally Black tying for fifth. Jenna Madden and Nitisha Manikandesh tied for seventh, while Sidney Robertson finished ninth and three girls tied for tenth.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Dallas’ Reese Roberts finished second at 6-under. Allen’s Elijah Estonilo finished third at 5-under, followed by Corinth’s Nathan Zmolik in fourth and Richmond’s Grayson Sebastian in fifth.
Golf Course: Oakmont Country Club is hosting the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship for the first time in the tournament’s 13-year history. The par-72 layout features champion Bermuda grass greens and Bermuda fairways surrounded by towering oak trees and 51 bunkers.
Weather: Tuesday’s weather was similar to Monday’s with the sun out and temperatures in the mid-90s. The winds were a little heavier ranged from 10-12 miles per hour, but conditions remained ideal for lower scores.
Tournament Format: The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event for players ages 12-18 years old. Membership with a Texas Junior Golf Alliance Partner is required to play in Legends Junior Tour events.
Texas Junior Golf Alliance: The Alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The goal of the Alliance was to allow junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. Each of the three tier-two organizations (STPGA, NTPGA, HGA) conduct events that serve as qualifiers into the statewide tier-one events run by the Legends Junior Tour (LJT). This allows players to compete in local events in which they can earn spots to play in statewide tournaments.
Next Up: The Legends Junior Tour heads to The Clubs of Kingwood on July 26-28 for the 95th Texas Junior Amateur. The 240-player field is split between four division: Boys, Girls, Boys 14 & Under and Girls 14 & Under. The Boys Division will play the Island Course, while the Girls Division and both 14 & Under Divisions will play the Lakes Course.
For more information on the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here. To see all the scores from Oakmont Country Club, click here.
News
Low Scores at Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship
Briefly: Four players are tied atop the Boys 15-18 Division of the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship after shooting 4-under 68 at Oakmont Country Club. Elijah Estonilo of Allen shoots 7-under 65 and leads the Boys 14 & Under Division by two strokes, while Austin’s Kate Pickrell leads the Girls 12-18 Division at 3-under.
Leaders: In the Boys 15-18 Division, four players are tied for the lead at 4-under overall. Frisco’s Jaxon Copeland, Dallas’ Matthew Foster, Highland Village’s Trevor Algya and Keller’s Anthony Azzopardi are the players tied atop the division.
In the Girls 12-18 Division, Austin’s Kate Pickrell leads after posting 3-under 69 in her opening round. The bogey-free round saw three birdies made overall, including on the par-3 17th which is a picturesque hole over water. Pickrell seeks her first victory with the Legends Junior Tour on Tuesday.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Allen’s Elijah Estonilo leads by two strokes after shooting 7-under 65 on Monday. He shot 2-under 34 in his first nine holes and turned to the front and made birdie on five of the first six holes. He capped off the round with a birdie on the par-4 ninth and seeks his first victory with the Legends Junior Tour.
In Contention: Houston’s Rex Hargrove sits in fifth at 3-under and trails the leaders in the Boys 15-18 Division. Six players are tied for sixth in the division at 2-under while three are tied for 12th at 1-under and 11 players are tied for 15th at even-par.
In the Girls 12-18 Division, six players are tied for second at even-par. McKinney’s Jenna Madden is joined by Elizabeth Whalen of Rogers, Ark., Lucy Kate Smith of Prosper, Cathilyn Lee of Houston, Sidney Robertson of Chandler and Brecklyn Flanagan of Murphy. Madison Baer, Makayla Tyrrell and Ally Black are tied for eighth at 1-over.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division Dallas’ Brooks Harper and Reese Roberts are tied for second at 5-under, while Austin’s Jaxon Bandelier is in fourth at 4-under. Corinth’s Nathan Zmolik is tied with Frisco’s Luke Colton in fifth at 3-under, while Mitchell Maier is in seventh at 2-under and Jack Watters is in eighth at even-par.
Golf Course: Oakmont Country Club is hosting the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship for the first time in the tournament’s 13-year history. The par-72 layout features champion Bermuda grass greens and Bermuda fairways surrounded by towering oak trees and 51 bunkers.
Weather: The weather for Monday’s First Round was ideal with temperatures in the mid 90s and winds staying steady between five to 10 miles per hour. The sun was out all day and offered players ideal scoring conditions.
Tournament Format: The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event for players 12-18 years old. All players in the field are required to have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance.
Texas Junior Golf Alliance: The Alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The goal of the Alliance was to allow junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. Each of the three tier-two organizations (STPGA, NTPGA, HGA) conduct events that serve as qualifiers into the statewide tier-one events run by the Legends Junior Tour (LJT). This allows players to compete in local events in which they can earn spots to play in statewide tournaments.
Tournament Exemptions: The top three finishers of each division will earn a spot in the upcoming Texas Junior Amateur at The Clubs of Kingwood on July 26-28.
Next Up: The Final Round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 am off the No. 1 and 10 tees on Tuesday, July 13. The Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under Divisions will tee off in the morning wave, while the Boys 15-18 Division will tee off in the afternoon wave. To see the pairings for the Final Round, click here.
For more information on the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here. To see all the scores from Oakmont Country Club, click here.
News
Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship Moves to Oakmont CC
ADDISON– The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is set to head to Oakmont Country Club in Corinth on July 12-13. This will be the fourth event this summer for the Legends Junior Tour and the last event before the 95th Texas Junior Amateur.
“We’re looking forward to bringing the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship to Oakmont Country Club for the first time,” said Tournament Director Adam Schulte. “The course is a great championship layout that should provide a solid challenge for all and produce a great group of champions.”
Oakmont Country Club was opened in 1986 and designed by Roger Packard with consulting from Don January. The par-72 layout stretches out to 6,800 yards and the Bermuda greens and champion Bermuda fairways will offer a nice test to the 120-player field.
The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event with players competing in three different divisions. There is a Boys 15-18 Division, a Boys 14 & Under Division and a Girls 12-18 Division. Players are required to have an active membership within the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern Texas PGA, Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association.
“The Texas Junior Golf Alliance does a great job of helping players map out their junior golfing careers,” said Legends Junior Tour staffer Kevin Porter. “The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship offers a great opportunity for players to start competing on a state-wide level versus a regional level.”
Now in it’s 13th year, the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship has been named after the Hall of Fame golfer since 2008. Wadkins won the 1970 U.S. Amateur Championship and turned professional the following year. He compiled 21 victories on the PGA Tour, including the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 1979. He was a perennial member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, playing on eight teams and winning 20 matches and 21.5 points.
Matthew Watkins of Heath won last year’s Boys 15-18 Division at Brookhaven Country Club’s Masters Course. His 6-under score was two strokes better than Seth Bearden of Crowell and three strokes ahead of Plano’s Matthew Comegys, who would go on to win player of the year honors in the division.
Austin’s Farah O’Keefe won the Girls 12-18 Division by one stroke. O’Keefe just recently competed in the LPGA’s Volunteers of America Classic after qualifying through the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. Dallas’ Nathan Miller won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 3-under 141 overall.
Other past champions include Sam Rosenberg, Blaine Hale Jr., Matthew Zampello, Travis McInroe, Ryan Grider, Pierceson Coody, Grace Do, Amber Wang and Callie Scheffler.
This is the final LJT event before the 240-player Texas Junior Amateur, which returns to the Clubs of Kingwood on July 26-28. The top three finishers of each division will earn an exemption into the 95th Texas Junior Amateur.
Along with exemptions into future LJT Major and Invitational event, players are competing for AJGA Performance Stars as well as LJT Player of the Year Points. The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard as well as Golfweek.
Pairings for the First Round will be available on Friday, July 9, and tee times for Monday’s first round will begin at 7:30 am off the No. 1 and 10 tees. The tournament will be in two waves with the Boys 15-18 Division going off in the morning and the Girls 12-18 and the Boys 14 & Under Divisions going in the afternoon. The final round pairings will be sent out following Monday’s play and the divisions will flip.
For more information about the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here.