Junior Golf Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners at Summer Series I Championship at The Reserve at Spanos Park.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (June 14, 2023) –The 2023-2024 Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) crowned champions during the Summer Series I Championship at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.
Asterisk Talley and Eli Weidmann both win their respective flights during the Summer Series I Championship at The Reserve at Spanos Park to kick off the Junior Tour's Summer Series of tournaments.
In the Boy’s Championship flight, Eli Weidmann picked up his first winners medal on the Junior Tour for the 2023-2024 season via a playoff versus Ben Friedman as the pair were tied at 6-under par after 36-holes. The Murphy's talent posted rounds of 71-67 capping off his weekend with a total of eleven birdies over 36 holes. Wedimann would seal the championship in a sudden death playoff versus Friedman, holding off one of the top ranked Boys JTNC players to earn his second medal spot for the 2023-2024 season. Wedimann went on an absolute tear during play of his final nine holes where he made six birdies and just one bogey! Carding a back nine total of 31 which forced a playoff for the top spot. Wedimann is raked 14th on the Boys Player of the Year rankings with 579 points.
Subsequently, second place went to Ben Friedman who narrowly missed out via the playoff with Eli Wedimann. Friedman carded rounds of 68-70, including eight birdies and one eagle on the par-5 6th hole during play of the first round, this makes it six top-three finishes for Ben on the Junior Tour this season. Third place went to Ian Cheng of Roseville, coming in at 140 after rounds of 71-69, Cheng had a superb weekend carding a total of eight birdies as he makes it his first medal finish for the 2023-2024 season. Fourth place ended in a four way tie between Everest Williams, Jaxen Castillo, and Solomon Fong as the triad all ended with totals of 143, 1-under par.
In the Girls’ Championship flight, Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla set another record on the Junior Tour as she carded the lowest two day total in the history of the Junior Tour. Talley, fresh off an appearance at the 2024 Women's US Open at Lancaster Country Club, went on to feature at the Summer Series I event where she shot 15-under par over the 36 hole event! Talley set the field ablaze during round one as she stringed together nine birdies and just one bogey, ending the day at 8-under par 64 with her next closest competitor trailing by eight shots. Talley was just as relentless round two as she was during round one, Asterisk carded another outstanding round of 7-under par 65 to have a final total of 15-under par cementing her name into the history books of the Junior Tour. Asterisk racked up 17 birdies, yes you read that correctly, 17 birdies over the course of the 36 hole tournament. Asterisk takes her win total to twelve for the 2023-2024 season, making it 31 wins overall on the Junior Tour which also stands as the current record for the all-time Girls win list. Talley remains in 1st place in regards to the 2023-2024 Girls Player of the Year Standings.
Tavia Burgess placed second via card-off versus Sophia Lee after posting a 77-69 146, placing in the top three for the second time during the 2023-2024 JTNC season and earning a medal. Tavia carded a total of six birdies. Sophia Lee earned third place, missing out in the card-off as her second round total of 73 was not enough to match Tavia's second round total of 69. Sophia Lee also carded a total of six birdies. Fourth place went to Elizabeth Hang at 3-over par who posted rounds of 72-75.
In the Boys’ First Flight Championship, Kevin he had rounds of 74-69 to earn his second winners medal for the 2023-2024 season. This is Kevin's fourth time finishing in the top three, taking him up to 19th on the Boys Player of the Year Rankings with 495 points. Kevin's final round of 69, and eight birdies on the weekend, was the difference as this separated him from John Kirchenbauer who ended up four shots back at the end of the tournament. Kirchenbauer, from San Jose, shot 70-70 147 to earn second place and his first medal of the 2023-2024 season.
Third place ended in a tie between Julian Koehler and Thomas Graham as the pair were tied at 4-over par 148. The tie breaker is determined by who has the lower second round score which went to Julian Koehler as he carded a 70 compared to Graham's second round 78. Thomas Graham took 4th place with rounds of 70-78.
In the Girls’ First Flight Championship, Risa Mae Rodriguez wins first place with rounds of 78-88, triumphing over her next closest competitor by three shots. Risa accomplishes her first win of the 2023-2024 JTNC season, having previously placed in a medal spots in two prior tournaments this will help boost confidence in her game. Second place went to Victoria Hang, coming in at 80-82 and finishing one shot better than third place. Hang’s highlight came when she birdied hole #14 during round one of the Summer Series I championship. Janae Reese Galo took third place at 19-over par 163, with rounds of 80-83 and a total of two birdies over the weekend.