Junior Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners During Fall Series I Championship at Cypress Lakes Golf Club
Fall Series I Pairings/Results
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 26, 2024) – The Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) conducted its first Fall Series Championship of 2024 and crowned winners at Cypress Lakes Golf Club
Ben Friedman and Sophia Lee both shot 3-under par 141 to win their respective divisions at the Fall Series I Championship at par-72 Cypress Lakes Golf Club.
Friedman picked up right where he left off from last season earning his first win of the 2024-2025 season thanks to back-to-back under par rounds of 71 and 70. During play of Saturday's opening round, Friedman posted a score of 1-under 71 where he strung together five birdies and nine pars. A day later, he carded a 2-under 70 provided himself a comfortable buffer over runner-up Aidan Sweeney by two shots. Friedman's championship weekend was decided during play of his final nine-holes as he carded an sublime 5-under 31, shooting him up the standings as he clinched hit title. Friedman had a total of 10 birdies between the two rounds, evenly split between either round. Aidan Sweeney subsequently took the second place medal finishing at 143 with rounds of 72-71, marking a total of nine birdies on his scorecards over the two days. Aidan's final back-nine push of 35 was not enough to hold off the eventual winners performance during the final stretch of the championship.
Third place went to Chase Yukawa with rounds of 76 and 68 after a card off versus The Anderson, the pair were all tied at even-par 144. Yukawa's birdie on the second to final hole of the competition ended up being the difference maker during the card-off, with his second round 68 being enough to see out Anderson's final round of 69. Theo Anderson of San Rafael eventually took 4th place where he had rounds of 75 and 69, carding a total of eleven birdies.
In the Girls’ Championship, Sophia Lee earned the first winners medal of the 2024-2025 JTNC season where she won by five shots over the next closest competitor. Sophia kept her game consistent over the two rounds carding 71 and 70 with a total of six birdies, and just three bogeys. Lee's final round was near perfect, carding three birdies, fourteen pars, and just one bogey. Lee's closing nine holes of 2-under 34 capped off a stellar weekend for the Fairfield talent, showcasing a dominant performance that she hopefully will repeat as this season goes on. Runner-up Jayleen Sito finished with five birdies over the weekend and a total score of 146, with rounds of 74 and 72.
Third place went to Erica Villegas of Suisun City at 4-over 148, Villegas made a two stroke improvement between rounds one and two as she carded 75 and 73. Fourth place resulted in a tie between Sai Kaneshiro and Hailey Peterson as the two players were level at 8-over par 152 once the competition closed.
In the Boys’ First Flight Championship, Inho Park produced a spectacular final round of 4-under 68 to come in at 142, carding eight birdies and one eagle on his way to victory for the first win of the 2024-2025 season. Park defeated runner-up Augy Dutra by nine shots, Dutra finished the weekend at 7-over par 151, he had rounds of 81-70.
Third place ended with Jay Hsu being awarded the bronze medal, Hsu turned in rounds of 79 and 73 along with three birdies while beating the next closest competitor by just one shot.
In the Girls’ First Flight Championship, Danica Hidayat had a final round 73 to come in at 152, defeating runner-up Katelyn Zhang by three shots. Hidayat would card four birdies during the final nine holes of the competition, allowing her to build a three shot lead over Zhang. Zhang's runners-up medal came with rounds of 76-79, carding two birdies and ending the tournament at 155.
Third place went to Olivia Lee who is the younger sister of Sophia Lee, the Girls Championship winner for this tournament, at 159. Olivia carded two birdies during the two-day event as she finished four shots ahead of fourth place Anika Minami.