Junior Golf Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners at Spring Series VI Championship & First Flight Tournament I.
First Flight Tournament I Pairings/Results
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (May 17, 2024) –The 2023-2024 Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions Sunday during play of its single-day First Flight Tournament II at Del Monte Golf Course.
Julian Koelher shot 3-over par 75 and Irene Hur shot 9-over par 81 to win their respective divisions during the First Flight Tournament II event held in Monterey at the historic par-72 Del Monte Golf Course.
In the Boys’ First Flight Championship, Julian Koehler came out victorious picking up impressive back-to-back winners medals with his most recent victory coming at Spring Series VII the week prior. The key difference to Julian's win was his ability to stay composed during play of his final 10 holes, stringing together nine pars and just one bogey on his way to a back-nine score of 37. Julian beat out his closest competitor, Will Madsen, by just one shot after Madsen ran into some struggles during play of his final nine holes. Koehler ended the day with two crucial birdies that came on the 1st and 7th hole at Del Monte, with the latter being quite impressive considering it is the most difficult rated hole at this golf course. Koehler makes it two wins total for the 2023-2024 season, taking himself up the JTNC Boys Player of the Year Standings as he now sits at 17th overall.
Second place was awarded to Will Madsen after he carded a 4-over par 76, a front nine total of 39 and a back nine total of 37. Third place needed a card-off to separate Dev Malik and Kingston Lee as the pair were tied at 5-over par 77, Kingston Lee was the eventual recipient of the medal as back nine total of 39 was enough to see out Malik's 41. Dev Malik took fourth place with one birdie during play of the 3rd hole.
In the Girls’ First Flight Championship Irene Hur picked up her first win on the JTNC where she finished at 9-over par 81, carding two birdies which came at both the 5th and 7th holes respectively. Making two clutch birdies early on in the tournament proved to be the difference as Hur went on to win the vent by two shots over runner-up Megan Ikemiya, who finished at 11-over par 83. Hur looks to build on this win and keep the momentum going, with her previous best finish being a second place medal at the First Flight Tournament I earlier this season. Second place finisher Megan Ikemiya was off to a swift start after making birdie during play of the fist hole, ultimately unable to capitalize on this early spark as she finished comfortably in second place and two shots ahead of her nearest competitor on the leaderboard.
Third place went to Risa Mae Rodriguez of Elk Grove at 13-over par 85 with nine hole scores of 43-42. Fourth place went to Audrey Wu of Saratoga, carding a 16-over par 88 with a birdie on the 10th hole!
The next event on the JTNC calendar is the Spring Series VIII Championship at Rooster Run Golf Club on June 1st and 2nd.