Wang, Blackard Win Tour Championship
Grace Wang wasted no time getting her weekend of to a great start at the Tour Championship. After a par at the first hole at Kearney Hill Golf Links, she then rattled off nine birdies over her next 12 holes. After that torrid stretch, she added a birdie on the final hole to wrap up a first round 64. That tied the lowest round in GJT history. Grace then added back to back 71s over the next two days. Those rounds left her at 10 under par, 206, a new 54 hole GJT record. Ava Bunker played all three rounds at or below par en route to a second place finish at 211. Ashley Kirkland came in third place with a three round total of 215.
Peyton Blackard fired three straight rounds in the 60s to win yet another Tour Championship. This is the third Tour Championship victory for Peyton and his 14th victory overall, just one off the GJT record. He shot 69-69-68, which was good for a three shot margin. The win propelled him to another Golfweek Junior Tour Player of the Year honor as well. Peyton was as steady as can be all weekend. He put up 14 birdies against only 4 bogeys, with nothing worse. This win caps another remarkable season for him. Grey Goff finished in second place with a 209 total. Zac Radtke and Bradford Lacefield finished in a tie for third place at 210.
Harrison Zipfel came out of the gates hot this week and never let up. Harrison posted the low round of the day on Saturday with a for under par 68. He followed that up with a two under par 70 on Sunday and an even par 72 on Monday. No other player posted three straight rounds of even par or better, which allowed Harrison to walk away with a four stroke victory, his second this year. Brody Alexander finished the tournament in second place with a 214 total. Landon Snyder finished one shot back of that at 215. Weston Miller, who finished in a tie for fourth, had a hole-in-one on his 17th hole on Monday and then holed out for eagle on the final hole of the tournament.
Conner Ford racked up four birdies and an eagle in the first round of the Tour Championship on his way to a five under par 67. The four stroke lead he held after day one enabled him to relax and play at his own pace over the next two rounds. Conner fired a 71 in round two and a final round 69 to coast to a three shot win. It was the first win of Conner's GJT career in only his second start. His nine under 207 is one of the lowest 54 hole scores in GJT history. Luc Kelty finished the weekend in second place after a 210 total, Ethan White came in third place with a 217 total.
Eva Lim completed a comeback for the ages on Monday at Kearney Hill Golf Links. After shooting 79-75 over the first two days of the competition, Eva found herself in 7th place and seven shots back of the leader. She opened her final round with a birdie on 10, her first hole. She added five more birdies throughout the day and ended up shooting 69, the low round of her career. That low score helped her to a one stroke win and one of the largest comebacks in GJT history. Alyssa Zhang came in second place with a three day total of 224. Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble wound up in third place with a 226 total.
Other pictures from this weekend:
