Junior Golf Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners at Fall Series IX Championship at Poppy Ridge Golf Course
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 30, 2023) – The Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions at the Fall Series IX Championship at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore.
Asterisk Talley shot 10-under par 134 and Christopher Bettencourt shot 9-under par 135 to win their respective divisions at the Fall Series IX Championship at Poppy Ridge Golf Course’s 27-hole venue.
In the Girls’ Championship flight, Talley picked up her 24th JTNC winners medal all-time while also making it three consecutive wins on the Junior Tour this season. Talley dominated the tournament right from the start, carding a first round 6-under par having strung together seven birdies and just one bogey to show for it. Talley went on to beat her next closest competitor, Lily Peng, by four shots with rounds of 66-68 finishing the championship at 134. The young phenom marked up 12 birdies and just two bogeys over the weekend with her best stretch of golf being the opening seven holes where she went 4-under par. Talley, 14 years old, is only 5 wins back of Sabrina Iqbal’s JTNC Girls record that stands at 29 wins.
Lily Peng was awarded second place after back-to-back under par rounds of 70-68, coming in a 6-under par 138. Third place went to Samantha Chiou at even par 132, beating out Anita Lumpongpoung who earned fourth place at two-over par 146. Fifth place went to Cathy Zhang at 3-over par 147.
In the Boys Championship flight, Christopher Bettencourt claimed his first win of the 2023-2024 season thanks to back-to-back under-par rounds of 69-66. Over the two rounds Bettencourt put together one of the best, if not the best, rounds a JTNC player has had on the Junior Tour this season as he went bogey-free for 36 holes! Bettencourt carded nine birdies and moved up to 9th place in the Boys Player of the Year rankings. Christopher eventually triumphed over runner-up Hartej Grewal by three shots, Grewal finished the weekend at 6-under par 138. Grewal had a rollercoaster ride throughout the first round where he ended the day placed 15th, only to come back during the second round and card a staggering 8-under 64 that included six birdies and two eagles. Grewal was awarded a second-place medal making it his fourth top-five finish of the season.
Third place went to Lequan Wang of San Mateo after a comfortable two shot lead over his closest competitors who were all tied at 1-under par 143, Lequan shot 68-73 141. Fourth place ended in five-way between Ethan Allred, Ayden Fynaut, Cambron Nevill, Trenton Stuart, and Ben Friedman.
In the Boys’ First Flight Championship, Grant Curtiss had a final round 75 to come in at 149, carding seven birdies and an eagle over the 36-hole event. This is Curtiss’ first victory on the Junior Tour for the 2023-2024 season. Curtiss defeated runner-up Niko Sato by one shot, Sato finished the weekend at 6-over par with rounds of 72-78 for a 150.
Third place went to Dylan Wickum at 7-over par 151. Trevor Jakopin missed out on a medal by four shots, finishing his weekend at 11-over par 155.
In the Girls’ First Flight Championship, Beverley Cui had a final round 77 to come in at 154, defeating runner-up Kelly Zhang via a card-off as the pair were tied at 154. Cui carded the lower second round score to win the card-off, carding four birdies on her way to victory in the Girls First flight. The runners-up medal went to Kelly Zhang with rounds of 76-78 coming in at 154.
Third place was decided by a card-off as well with Viven Li and Eunbeen Ko tied at 158, Eunbeen Ko came out a medalist thanks to her second-round score of 76. Subsequently, fourth place went to Vivien at 158. Janae Reese Galo earned fifth place with scores of 78-87 165.
Media Contacts:
Kurtis Bettencourt
Northern California Golf Association