Savannah Knox belts a drive during her win at Carlton Oaks.
SANTEE, Calif. – Savannah Knox overcame a two-shot deficit in the final round to come away with a two-shot victory in the Girls 15-18 division GJT West Region Fall season-opener at Carlton Oaks Country Club.
Knox fired rounds of 77-75—152 and solidified her victory with a birdie at the 16th hole.
First-round leader Wave Whitson, just 12 years old, surrendered her lead with a double bogey at the eighth then fell two shots behind with bogeys at the 11th and 13th holes. She managed to par each of the last four holes, but Knox was giving up no ground coming down to the finish.
Whitson finished alone in second with rounds of 75-79—154 while Isabella Salant took third with rounds of 79-76—155.
Yubin Huh shot 85-74—159 while Texie June Petchel (82-79—161) and Shannon Oh (82-79—161) tied for fifth place.
Angard rolls to four-shot win in Boys 16-18
Alex Angard went wire-to-wire with the lead and captured the Boys 16-18 division at Carlton Oaks by four shots over Corey Shaun and Kevin Cline.
Angard put together rounds of 69-71—140 and played from out front the entire event.
In his opening round, Angard played the last 10 holes in 4-under-par to open up a two-shot lead over Shaun. Shaun was able to make a run at Angard in the final round and when he birdied the par-5 13th had drawn even. But a bogey at 14 and Angard’s birdie at the 15th put Shaun behind again.
When Angard holed out for an eagle 2 at the 16th, Shaun was left with too much ground to make up and Angard would have his victory.
Shaun would claim sole possession of second place with rounds of 71-73—144 while Cline (76-70—146) and Matt Murphy (72-74—146) would share third place.
Otto Vanhatalo (74-73—147) and Jonah Holty (77-71—148) rounded out the top five.
Henderson finishes strong in Boys 13-15
Noah Henderson played the final six holes in 2-under-par to pull away for a four-shot victory over Zihao Jin in the Boys 13-15 division at Carlton Oaks.
Henderson finished with rounds of 69-72—141 in earning the victory, which was hard fought to the end. Through eight holes, Henderson had built a four shot lead over Jin, but that would evaporate completely over the next four holes.
Jin birdied the ninth and 10th holes then Henderson stumbled with bogeys at 11 and 12 to bring the match even. Henderson’s birdie at the 13th engineered a two-shot swing in his favor before a birdie at the 16th helped seal the deal.
Jin finished with rounds of 71-74—145 to take second place while Caleb Ramirez grabbed third place with rounds of 72-75—147.
Ranches tops Reyes in Girls 11-14
April Ranches’ final round 77 broke a deadlock with Calista Reyes in winning the Girls 11-14 division at Carlton Oaks.
Ranches and Reyes each fired 81 in the opening round then Reyes’ triple bogey to open the final round gave Ranches a lead she would never relinquish. Reyes would draw as close as one shot of the lead several times, but Ranches’ birdie at the 11th proved critical in providing a margin that Reyes could not overcome.
Ranches finished with rounds of 81-77—158 while Reyes finished alone in second at 81-79—160.
Alli Kim placed third at 87-78—165.
Gonzalez tops in Boys 11-12
Brendan Gonzalez fired rounds of 79-79—158 to earn a 3-shot victory over Riley Klingelberg in the Boys 11-12 division at Carlton Oaks.
Trailing Hazen Newman by one shot after the first round, Gonzalez birdied the opening hole of the final round to immediately grab a lead that he would hold onto the rest of the round.
Newman’s birdie at the ninth brought him back even with Gonzalez, but a run of 6-over-par on the next five holes by Newman would carry Gonzalez back into sole possession of the lead.
Klingelberg finished 81-80—161 for second place while Newman placed third at 78-84—152. Dylan Fritz (80-83—163) and Guy Clauss (82-82—164) rounded out the top five.
Fioroni dominates Boys 10-and-Under
Caden Fioroni shot 80-88-168 for a comfortable 16-shot victory in the Boys 10-and-under division at Carlton Oaks.
Fioroni built an 11-shot lead heading into the final round and wouldn’t let up, pushing the lead to 15 shots through just the first four holes.
Landon Elliot placed second with rounds of 91-93—184 while Johnny Campbell placed third at 93-96—189.