Las Vegas Valley Junior Championship
It doesn’t get any better than this, Dragon Ridge and Southern Highlands for two days of golf. We were excited for our junior golfers to once again secure these two amazing courses for a RecruitLook Junior Golf Tour Major Championship. Day one was at Dragon Ridge on Monday, August 7th, with day 2 at Southern Highlands on Tuesday, August 8th. Both courses were in amazing condition.
Michael Salerno was able to secure his first win on the tour with two days of steady play, 74-72/146. Salerno was in a groove on day two and toured the front nine in 32, which included a slam-dunk from the fairway on hole 7 for an eagle. Salerno passed first round leader Austen Ancell who fired a 37 on the front 9 on the day 2 chase. Salerno slowed down a little on the back nine with a 40 but still cruised to a 6 shot victory over Kyler Atkinson. Atkinson had the best round of the event with a 71 on day two. The highlight of Atkinson’s round was his 31 on the back nine which included 6 birdies and 1 bogey. The victory by Salerno has moved him into second place in the Player of the Year standings with 950 points. Kevin Inthachack who was idle this event still leads with 1425 points.
The boy’s 13-14 winner was Jackson Parrish with rounds of 73-78/151. Close second was Aarjav Patel with 75-77/152. Parrish had a one shot lead heading into hole 15, but took a snowman to Aarjav’s par to fall three back. The test of a good golfer is how they bounce back from adversity on the golf course, and Parrish could have easily packed in. However, Parrish played the last three holes one under to secure a one shot victory. With this victory, Jackson moved into 2nd place in the Player of the Year standings to leader CJ Martin.
Vincent Kyle Forbes played as well as he has all year for the two days and took top honors with a 76-78/154 total. Kyle Guloy placed second and is leading the Player of the Year race over Vincent. This is Forbes second win on the RLJGT this year, and the Player of the Year race between Forbes and Guloy should be fun to watch down the second half of the tour.
Lee Howland, playing in his RecruitLook Junior Golf event, scored a 50-48/98 to win the Boy’s 9-10. This Major Championship by Howland jumps him all the way to a tie in fourth place on the Player of the Year leaderboard. Wade Arcella picked up big points for the leaderboard with his second place finish.
Playing in her first RecruitLook Junior Golf Tour of the year, Danielle Oberlander took the girl’s 15-18 with steady play both days. Oberlander shot an even par on Day 1 at Dragon Ridge, which included an eagle and two birdies. This Major Championship victory puts Oberlander in 5th overall in the points race. Her 72-78/150 enabled her to finish six shots ahead of Katelyn Smith who had a personal best 76-80/156. Heidi Moser finished 3rd with rounds of 82-80/162. Moser finished 2016 in 3rd place overall on the RLJGT. Perhaps this solid showing is what will jump start her chase for the 2017 title as she currently sits in 6th place.
Mizara Norton, who has shown remarkable improvement since joining the tour, prevailed from an 8 shot deficit with rounds of 89-83/172. First round leader and point’s leader Natalie Cheong finished second after struggling at Southern Highlands 81-93/174. Norton’s win is a big boost to her confidence – not only did she fire off terrific rounds, but she jumped into 3rd place on the Player of the Year Leaderboard. The golfer that Norton is chasing… Cheong.
The Hind’s sisters had a 1-2 showing with Emmerson taking first with rounds of 50-52/102. Addison took second with 54-57/111. In her first event on the RecruitLook Junior Golf Tour, Rivers Abigail Common fnished third with 49-63/112. All golfers picked up valuable points on the leaderboard.
For results of all the players – click here
Player of the Year Standings – click here
Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to all the players for their support of our tour. Our next event is scheduled for August 26-27 at Reflection Bay. This would make for a nice practice round as the Tour Championship is also going to be here.
We have officially hit the halfway point for the 2017 RecruitLook Junior Golf Tour. Player of the Year races are tight in every age group, so we encourage all the golfers to get out to the events during the second half of the season.
View all the pictures from the Las Vegas Valley Junior Championship – Click Here
