July 29, 2022 • Southern Texas PGA
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (July 28, 2022) – Eleven champions were named at the 2022 Chevrolet STPGA Junior Championship at The Woodlands Country Club (Palmer Course). Presented by Ahead, First Financial Bank, Sam Houston State University’s PGA Golf Management Program, Foresight Sports and HOW Water, this year’s field was one of the largest this annual event has seen, bringing in more than 260 junior golfers ages 6-18 from across Southern Texas.
This year’s Championship took place on Wednesday, July 27th – Thursday, July 28th. Over these two days, players in the Little Linksters program played a total of 18-holes on the Deacon Course and Junior Tour players competed over 36-holes on the King and General Courses.
In the Little Linksters Co-Ed 6-8 Division, Blake Ayuso of Cypress took home the win after leading the field by three strokes after Round One and finished the two days with a total score of 74 (+2).
Viktoria Germain of Houston secured the Little Linksters Girls 9-10 Division after being tied with Ellie Rieger of Brenham after their first nine holes. “My favorite part of playing this week was how hard the course was,” said Viktoria. Viktoria came out on top by one stroke after Round Two with a final score of 78 (+6).
The Little Linksters Boys 9-10 Division saw Chase Stebbins of Magnolia have an impressive Round Two with a score of 32 (-4), jumping four spots on the leaderboard. “I really enjoyed getting to play with my friends during this tournament,” said Chase.
Carolyn Liu of Katy took a commanding lead after Round One with four birdies and held on to claim the Little Linksters Girls 11-12 Division title and final score of 70 (-2).
In the Little Linksters Boys 11-12 Division, John Patrick Lynch of Austin took home his third Junior Championship win after making a birdie on his last hole and finishing the two days at 73 (+1). “It was great to make it to this event,” said John Patrick. “43 boys in this division and over 250 juniors making it to this event makes it really special to be a part of this tournament, and especially to win for a third year in a row is really special to me.”
With their wins today, Carolyn Liu and John Patrick Lynch have earned a spot compete for Team STPGA at the 2022 Texas Junior Cup Matches.
The Junior Tour Girls 11-12 Division saw Kaitlin Kiew of Bellaire claim this year’s title. Kaitlin trailed Jessie Lee of San Antonio by one stroke heading into Round Two and a birdie on the last hole sealed her win with a total score of 166 (+22).
Elliot Cope of Austin and Jace Beverly of Montgomery finished Round One tied at 71 (-1) but it was Elliot who came out on top of the Junior Tour Boys 11-12 Division after carding nine birdies over the two days. “I think my favorite part of this event was being able to play this nice of a course,” said Elliot. “It’s a privilege.”
Kaitlin and Elliot will join the rest of Team STPGA at the 2022 Texas Junior Cup Matches with their division wins today.
In the Junior Tour Girls 13-14 Division, Katelyn Allen of Montgomery held on to her two stroke lead from Round One to claim this year’s title. Katelyn finished the two days with a total score of 156 (+12).
Ryan Lee of College Station had an incredible two days at this year’s Championship with scores of 67-68 for a total of 135 (-9). “My favorite part of this year’s event was the experience,” said Ryan. “I learned how to play more conservative and smarter.” Ryan’s bogey-free Round Two helped him claim the Junior Tour Boys 13-14 Division title.
Mary Kerr of Friendswood was victorious in the Junior Tour Girls 15-18 Division after leading by five strokes at the end of Round One. “The atmosphere was so much fun at this year’s Championship,” said Mary. “I liked the carnival and having my friends caddie for me was so much fun.” Mary finished the two days leading the field by six strokes with a total score of 144 (E).
The Junior Tour Boys 15-18 Division finished in a playoff between James Devore of Porter and Bryan Sandoval of Edinburg with a final score of 142 (-2). After the first playoff hole, James came out on top with a par.
“This means a lot to me,” said James. “This is only my fourth time playing in this event, going all the way back to Little Linksters, and to finally win is just an honor. As the flagship event of the STPGA Junior Golf Program, it feels amazing and I look forward to doing this again.”
The Southern Texas PGA Junior Golf Program would like to thank PGA General Manager Paul Earnest, PGA Senior Head Professional Matt Nyren and the entire staff at The Woodlands Country Club (Palmer Course) for hosting such a great event.
To view the full results of the 2022 STPGA Junior Championship, please click the links below.
To view the full photo gallery from the event,
click here.
