The Challenge Cup remains in Southern California, with the SCPGA Jr. Tour making it a three-peat in the process.
The Southern California PGA Junior Tour defeated the Junior Tour of Northern California 4.5-1.5 in Saturday’s Four-Ball and Foursome matches, both matches taking place over the front-9 and back-9 during the first day of the Cup. The narrative shifted as matches started to end on Sunday, with the Junior Tour of Northern California making up some much-needed ground on the leaderboard. Sunday’s Singles matches ended with the JTNC tallying up 6.5 points, compared to SCPGA Junior Tour’s 5.5. Ultimately, the Southern California PGA Junior Tour triumphed by collecting a total of 13 points closing out the competition, with the JTNC only being able to account for 11 points in total.
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Winners in Singles for the SCPGA Jr. Tour were Nixon Lauritzen (8 and 6), Kent Karlstrom (1up), Matthew Robles (3 and 1), Anna Song (2 and 1), and Annika Ishiyama (3 and 2). Baron Nguyen tied his match for a half-point.
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The JTNC winners in Singles were Gianna Singh (5 and 4), Asterisk Talley (4 and 2), Clark Van Gaalen (2 and 1), Zachary Tarter (5 and 4), Ayden Fynaut (5 and 4), and the dominant display of Jaden Dumdumaya who was 6-under par as he closed out his match on the 13th green winning 6 & 5.
The SCPGA Jr. Tour took a 7.5-4.5 over the JTNC on opening day, winning Four-Ball 4.5-1.5, and splitting the points on Foursomes at 3-3 with the JTNC. The Cup follows a format similar to the Ryder Cup and is a rare opportunity for the juniors to compete in match play, giving players the vital exposure they will need when competing in a team environment.
Representing the JTNC were Asterisk Talley, Cathy Zhang, Lily Peng, Gianna Singh, Chris Bettencourt, Trenton Stuart, Clark van Gaalen, Jaden Dumdumaya, Matthew Lin, Cambron Nevill, Zachary Tarter, and Ayden Fynaut.
The SCPGA Jr. Tour squad was represented by Annika Ishimaya, Nikki Oh, Sophia Fujita, Anna Song, Logan Kim, Matthew Robles, Adam Anderson, Baron Nguyen, Kent Karlstrom, Matthew Diehl, Nixon Lauritzen, and Nolan Kuszyk.
