Junior Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners During Fall Series VI Tournament at Coyote Creek Golf Club.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (September 27, 2023) – The Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions during the Fall Series VI Tournament at Coyote Creek Golf Club's Valley Course in Morgan Hill.
Lexi Lowe and Zackary Tarter both put in dominating performances on their way to wins in their respective Championship Flights, with Lowe finishing at 6-under par and Tarter at 13-under par to secure their first wins of the 2023-2024 season. In the First Flight division, David Wu and Isabelle Duan both clinched their second wins for the 2023-2024 season with Wu taking the Boys First Flight and Duan taking the Girls First Flight.
In the Girls Championship Flight, like the Boys Championship flight with players from a certain region dominating the leaderboard, all the medalists were representing the greater San Jose area with Lexi Lowe (Class of 2026, San Jose), Varsha Ramachandran (Class of 2025, San Jose) and Sarah Lim (Class of 2025, Saratoga). Lexie Low finished at 6-under par with rounds of 68-70 to finish at 138, this is Lowe’s first win of the 2023-2024 season. Lowe’s highlight of the tournament were her nine birdies throughout the 36-holes, having only made bogey three times during the weekend. Lowe won the Girls Championship flight by a slim margin and a stroke of luck as the final holes were approaching, runner-up Varsha Ramachandran made a late push with three birdies during the final three holes of competition with Lowe having made bogey on her final hole. Ramachandran’s late push wasn’t enough to see off Lowe for the top spot, with the first-place medal ultimately remaining with the player who would card 6-under for the tournament.
Second place was awarded to Varsha Ramachandran after she carded rounds 72-67 for 139. Ramachandran carded nine birdies and prevailed in a card-off versus Sarah Lim as Varsha did shoot the lower second round between the two, her 67 triumphed over Lim’s 69 on day two. Third place went to Sarah Lim who shot 70-69 over the two days and ultimately missed out on second place via a card-off, Lim had a spectacular second round as she shot 3-under during round two and carded nine birdies over the weekend. Fourth place was a three-way tie between Lily Peng, Emma Wang, and Kara Lee as the trio came in at 4-under par 140 for the two rounds.
In the Boys Championship Flight, it was a Central Valley showdown as the top four finishers represented some of the best talent the valley has to offer when it comes to junior golf. Zackary Tarter (Class of 2024, Hanford) put together what could be nominated as the performance of the year so far on the Junior Tour, carding fourteen birdies and just one bogey over the 36-hole competition as he solidified his claim for a first-place medal. Tarter started off the tournament showing no remorse by being 7-under par through the first ten holes of competition, ultimately leading to his first win on the Junior Tour this season. Tarter finished at 13-under par with rounds of 63-68 for a 131, a four-shot victory of his next closest competitor Ayden Fynaut.
The runner-up was awarded to Ayden Fynaut (Class of 2026, Fresno) after a card-off versus Christopher Bettencourt saw him shoot the lower second day score by four shots. Fynaut carded rounds of 71-64 finishing at 135 with a highlight of twelve birdies throughout the weekend and only two bogeys through 36-holes. Christopher Bettencourt (Class of 2024, Clovis) was awarded third place after he shot rounds of 67-68, coming in with twelve birdies. Fourth place was awarded to a former Junior Tour Boys Player of the Year in Clark van Gaalen (Class of 2024, Turlock), finishing at 8-under par which included ten birdies and two eagles.
In the Boys First Flight, David Wu had rounds of even-par or better with scores of 69-70 to come in at 139 and earn back-to-back first-place medals on the Junior Tour this season. Wu dominated the leaderboard as he took the Boys First Flight by seven strokes as he finished the tournament 5-under par. This is Wu’s first second on the Junior Tour for the 2023-2024 season, putting together eight birdies over the two-day tournament. Second place went to Ben Thompson, of San Francisco, who shot rounds of 75-71 for 146, carding four birdies and one eagle over 36-holes earning himself a medal for the first time this season in a card-off versus Ernie Singh as the pair were both tied at 146. Ernie Singh was awarded a third-place medal after shooting the higher score between himself and Thompson during play of round two, Singh carded six birdies with repeat rounds of 73-73. Fourth place ended in a tie between Sudhaamsuram Parvataneni and John Baird as the duo ties at 3-over par 147.
In the Girls First Flight, Isabelle Duan won her second tournament of the 2023-2024 season after she carded rounds of 74-72 over the weekend coming out on top via a card-off between her and Melody Chen, both finishing at 2-over par 146. Duan’s highlights were the three birdies she made during the final five holes of the tournament, making a late push to the top of the leaderboard as the event concluded. Second place was awarded to Melody Chen who carded rounds of 73-73 featuring five birdies over the weekend, Chen would come up just short as her 73 wasn’t good enough to match Duan’s 72 for round two totals in the card-off. Third place in the Girls First Flight was given to Grace Gao after she had rounds of 74-75 finishing at 149, finishing one shot ahead of her next closest competitor Hailey Li.
Next up on the Junior Tour of Northern California’s schedule is the Fall Series VII tournament at Windsor Golf Club (September 30-October 1) and the First Flight Tournament V at Bennet Valley Golf Course (September 30).
Media Contacts:
Kurtis Bettencourt
Northern California Golf Association