Junior Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners During Spring Series V Tournament at Bayonet & Black Horse
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (April 30, 2024) – The Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions during the Spring Series V Tournament at both Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Courses.
Sam Baumuller and Asterisk Talley both shot under-par and were victorious in their playoffs to win their respective Championship Flights, with Baumuller finishing at 4-under par and Talley at 3-under par. In the First Flight division, James Dahlen and Anna Le Nguyen also grabbed their first winners medal of the new season with James taking the Boys First Flight and Anna taking the Girls First Flight.
In the Boys Championship Flight, Sam Baumuller took control during round one as he carded a near perfect opening round of 3-under 69. Baumuller's opener included four birdies and just one bogey, a blemish on the scorecard that took place on the par-4 11th hole at Bayonet. Round two would have a different storyline with a similar result as Baumuller went on to card a 1-under 71 at Black Horse, including four birdies and three bogeys. This left Baumuller tied for 1st with Luke Brandler as the pair were level at 4-under par for the weekend. In order to force a playoff, Brandler needed to biride the 18th hole at Black Horse and he did just that! Baumuller and Brandler headed to hole one of Black Horse for their sudden death playoff to decide the tournament champion. Baumuller eventually came out victorious versus Brandler as he managed to execute an excellent greenside bunker shot, giving himself a chance at par on the playoff hole whereas Brandler found himself struggling to get out of his greenside bunker. This is Baumuller's first win of the 2023-2024 JTNC season, he finished the weekend with 8 bridies on the card, with rounds of 69-71.
The runner-up was awarded to Luke Brandler who carded rounds of 71-69 to earn his third medal of the season. Brandler finished with nine birdies over the 36-hole event, capping off an impressive weekend that saw him move to 5th on the JTNC Boys Player of the Year Rankings. Joshua Wang took third place after rounds of 77-67, winning in a card-off versus Adam Rohizam as the two were tied at 144 on the leaderboard. Fourth place in the Boys Championship Flight was subsequently awarded Adam Rohizam as his final round wasn't enough to beat out Joshua's impressive 67 in the card-off.
In the Girls Championship Flight, Asterisk Talley put together a second round comeback performance on Black Horse as she carded a 4-under 68, forcing a playoff between her and local superstar Nicole Iniakov. Talley and Iniakov were tied at 3-under par as the two headed to the 10th tee of Black Horse, with a 365-yard par-4 standing between one of them and a champions medal. Both players pummeled their drives down the 10th fairway with each player on either side of the fairway, setting up with a wedge in their hands as they both prepared for their approach shots. Iniakov would find the green in regulation but still had her work cut out with a long putt looming, Talley would take no time to settle this playoff as she stuck her approach shot to five feet of the hole with a look at birdie. In the end Talley wins with a birdie on the 10th hole playoff, earning her 28th win of all-time on the JTNC and her 9th of the 2023-2024 season. Talley is now just one win off the all-time record that stands at 29 and is currently held by Sabrina Iqbal, it is only a matter of time before we crown a new JTNC Girls record holder. Asterisk finished with a tournament tied high of six birdies to her name, with her sixth one coming at the most crucial time of the competition. Asterisk retains her status as 1st on the JTNC Girls Player of the Year Rankings.
Second place was awarded to Nicole Iniakov who saw her shoot round of 72-69 with five birdies over the 36-holes. This is Iniakov's first medal on the Junior Tour this season, earning her 200 points towards the Player of the Year Rankings. Third place went to Victoria Cui at 1-under par Victoria had rounds of 72-71 that featured six bridies, tying Asterisk for most birdies in the Girls Championship flight. Fourth place was awarded to Emma Wang as she shot rounds of 75-70, coming in at 1-over par for the tournament.
In the Boys First Flight, James Dhalen carded rounds of 78-77 to come in at 155. Dahlen made two crucial birdies during play of the final seven holes, triumphing in victory by two shots over his next closest competitor and tallying up an impressive total of seven birdies over the two days. This is Dahlen's first win on the Junior Tour for the 2023-2024 season, the talent from Felton will be looking to add to his medal collection in the coming months. Second place went to Ernie Singh who shot rounds of 77-80 for 157, carding one birdie over 36-hole event. Singh earns his sixth top-five finish for the 2023-2024 season, taking him to 14th on the Boys JTNC Player of the Year rankings. Liam Stephens took 3rd place at 17-over par, with rounds of 80-81 enough to earn him the final medal spot on the Boys First Flight leaderboard by one shot. Coming in fourth place with a score of 18-over 162 was Harry Ng.
In the Girls First Flight, Anna Le Nguyen came out on top after enduring the tough test of both Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Courses where she finished at 23-over par 167, with rounds of 82-85. Anna's highlight of the tournament was during play of round two on the Black Horse course, carding a birdie on the par-4 6th hole! A birdie at the sixth played a big role in her victory as she beat out Ananya Venkataraghaven with a two-shot buffer to secure her winners medal. Second place was awarded to Venkataraghaven, turning in rounds of 85-84 and finishing at 169 and two shots ahead of third place. Third place in the Girls First Flight went to Janae Reese Galo at 27-over par, with rounds of 86-87.