Junior Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners During Fall Series VII Championship at Windsor Golf Club
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (October 15, 2024) – The Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions during the Fall Series VII Championship at Windsor Golf Club.
Samantha Chiou shot 2-under par 142 and Nathan Jewell shot 1-under par 143 to win their respective divisions during the Fall Series VII Championship at par-72 Windsor Golf Club.
In the Girls’ Championship, Samantha Chiou dominated in what is her third win of the 2024-2025 JTNC season in as many tries. Chiou, who is ranked 2nd on the current Girls JTNC Player of the Year standings, cruised to a comfortable victory winning her division by six shots over her next closest competitors. Samantha had rounds of 74-68 finishing the weekend at 142, carding nine birdies as she perfectly executed her shots around a tough course setup that included plenty of risk-and-reward plays throughout. Samantha's tournament highlight has to be her 4-under 68 during play of round two where she carded seven birdies and nine pars, this included a front nine total of 32!
Runner-up honors went to Madalynn Lee after her and Stevie Umali needed a card-off to see who would take the second place medal. Madalynn and Stevie were tied at 4-over 148, ultimately Madalynn triumphed in the card-off as she had the lower second round score of 70 versus Stevie's total of 73. Madalynn carded seven birdies over the weekend, with rounds of 78-70. Third place subsequently went to Stevie Umali who had rounds of 75-73, carding a total of four birdies on over the two day tournament. In fourth place was Anita Lumpongpoung at 6-over par 150, with rounds of 78-72.
Nathan Jewell earned his first winners medal of the 2024-2025 season thanks to rounds of 74-69 that saw him finish at 1-under par 143 for the two-day tournament. Jewell strung together seven birdies as his final round of 3-under par allowed him to to come out victorious over runner-up Ethan Cheng, Jewell won the tournament by one shot with a birdie on the 18th hole! Nathan is now ranked 12th on the Boys JTNC Player of the Year rankings, looking to build on this early season momentum as we head into the winter months.
Ethan Cheng was the eventual second place medalist finishing at 144 with rounds of 74-70, carding a respectable eight birdies over the 36-holes. Cheng's back-to-back birdies on holes 14 and 15 during round two were the the difference between a silver or a bronze medal as his consistent play gave him the edge over Alex Thu, beating him by just one shot. Third place went to Alex Thu after rounds of 71-74, finishing at 1-over par 143, this is Thu's first medal finish of the 2024-2025 JTNC season. Fourth place ended in a tie between Kaden Jones and Hayden Thill as the pair were level at 3-over par 147.
In the Boys First Flight, Elijah Shi wins his first tournament of the 2024-2025 JTNC season as he beats his next closest competitor by one shot. Elijah carded rounds of 79-77 to finish at 12-over 156, including four birdies throughout the weekend. Elijah's best stretch of golf came during round two as he made back-to-back birdies on holes #3 and #4, a par-4 and par-5 that allowed him to gain ground on a very competitive Boys First Flight field.
Runner-up honors were given to Dawson McWhorter at 13-over par 157, Dawson's bogey on the final hole of the competition robbed him of a card-off versus Shi for the champions medal. Nonetheless it was still a finish that was deserving of a spot on the podium, McWhorter ended with five brides and an eagle over the 36-holes with his eagle coming on the par-5 17th hole during play of round one. Third place ended in a three-way tie between Tighe Gobbett, Veer Bahl, and Matisse Stuan as the trio were all level at 14-over par 158. Ultimately the third place medal was awarded to Veer Bahl as he scored the lowest round for day two of the competition with a 5-over 77, Bahl carded two birdies over the weekend.