Junior Golf Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners at Holiday Series II Championship at Hunter Ranch Golf Course.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (December 10, 2023) – The Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions at the Holiday Series II Championship at Hunter Ranch Golf Course.
Lily Peng and Trenton Stuart both win their second tournaments of the 2023-2024 JTNC season during play of the Holiday Series II Championship at par-72 Hunter Ranch Golf Course.
In the Girls’ Championship, Lily Peng made a statement with her second win of the 2023-2024 season carding a first round of 2-under 70, and a spectacular second round of 4-under 68. Peng’s first round got off to a leisurely start after making bogey on the fourth hole, bringing her back to even par on the leaderboard. The remainder of the round would go according to plan as Peng carded four more birdies and a pair of bogeys finishing at 70, holding a first-place spot on the leaderboard. Peng’s second round displayed a stretch of holes that any golfer would envy, going 5-under through seven holes as she made 5 five birdies between holes 10 and 16. Her final round of 4-under 68 was plenty to beat out runner-up Asterisk Talley’s 2-under, 142. Lily stacked up 12 birdies over the weekend making this her 9thh top-five finish of the season on the Junior Tour. Victory at the Holiday Series II takes Lily top of the Girls Player of the Year Standings with 2,100 points, bettering Asterisk Talley’s total of 2,000 points.
Asterisk Talley earned a comfortable runners-up medal after two rounds of even par golf or better, carding rounds of 72-70 and making 8 birdies along the way. Talley’s highlight came on hole 10 during the second round of play where she nearly holed out for eagle from her fairway approach shot on the short par-4. Third Place was awarded to Gianna Singh of Elk Grove, shooting identical rounds of 74-74 to finish at 4-over par 148. Holiday Series II marks Gianna’s second medal of the season with her previous best performance coming at Fall Series IV, a tournament where Singh won her first event of the 2023-2024 season.
In the Boys Championship flight, Trenton Stuart carded rounds of 70-73 finishing with a total of 143. Stuart was off to a quick start during round one as he built a three-shot lead over his next closest competitors, carding four birdies over the opening 18 holes. Round two could not have started any better for the Folsom talent, going 2-under through the first ten holes and building a 5 shot lead going into the final eight holes. The remaining eight holes turned out to be a bit of a rocky ride as Stuart carded two bogeys and a double bogey as he fought off contenders Ayden Fynaut and Jack Sennott for the first-place medal. Ultimately, Stuart was rewarded for his fine play throughout the weekend, posting a final round 73 earning him a 2-shot victory over Ayden Fyanut. With his second win on the Junior Tour this season, this takes Trenton Stuart to the top of the Boys Player of the Year Standings with 1,203 points.
Second place went to Ayden Fynaut with rounds of 74-71 and a final tally that ended at 1-over par, 145 for the tournament. Ayden carded 10 birdies throughout the 36-holes, with his best stretch of play being done during round one as he bridied three in a row during play of holes 6, 7, and 8. Fynaut is ranked second on the 2023-2024 Boys Player of the Year Standings with 828 points. Third place ended in a tie between Jack Sennott and Kyler Heath as both players were level 2-over, 146, a card-off was needed to separate the pair and Jack Sennott came out on top with the lower second-round score of 70! Jack Sennott earned his first medal of the season as Kyler Heath was subsequently awarded fourth place. Fifth place saw a familiar pattern with Nathan Tarter and Elias Moncrief as the two ended up tied at 3-over, 147.
In the Boys’ First Flight Championship, Alexander Anderson finished off the weekend strong after posting a 71 after play of his second round, winning the Boys First Flight by one shot over Mark Boatman. Victory at Hunter Ranch marks Alexander second JTNC tournament wins in as many tries for the 2023-2024 season. Anderson encountered some difficulties throughout round one where he carded a five-over 77, coming up with just two birdies for the day alongside five bogeys and one double bogey. Round two would tell a different story as he would go on to birdie three out of the first four holes, playing in the final grouping for the Boys First Flight and ultimately carding an impressive five birdies to end the day as the Holiday II champion for his division.
Runner-up went to Mark Boatman who carded rounds of 76-73, coming up just shy of Anderson’s tally of 148. Third place subsequently went to Ernie Singh, earning a third medal for the season as well as his fifth top-five finish for the 2023-2024 JTNC season. Fourth Place ended in a tie at 160 between Michael Albanese and Carter Hayden, Albanese shot rounds of 81 and 79 while Hayden turned in repeat rounds of 80-80.
Media Contacts:
Kurtis Bettencourt
Northern California Golf Association