The all-star team from Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore, Calif., raced out to an early lead in the tournament, held November 19-21 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. This is the second PGA Junior League National Championship title for a team from Las Positas, which also finished second in 2013.
Team California emerged victorious over Team Georgia 8-4, in the 2016 PGA Junior League Golf National Championship presented by National Car Rental on November 19-21 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The All-Star team from Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore, Calif., raced out to an early lead Monday morning and never looked back. This is the second PGA Junior League National Championship title for a team from Las Positas (2012), which also finished second in 2013.
“These kids fight,” said Team California Captain Jeff DeBenedetti, PGA Director of Golf at Las Positas. “They grind. They go after it.”
Team Georgia, who lost in a heartbreaking playoff against Team California (San Diego) last year, played with good spirit Monday, despite knowing they had lost match early on.
“The kids played great [throughout the championship],” said Team Georgia Captain Tom Joyce, Jr., PGA Director of Player Development at Crooked Creek Club in Alpharetta. “We had a game plan going into it. The first couple of days we made putts. Today, we couldn’t get the putts we needed to fall.”
The state of California has had teams win the PGA Junior League Golf National Championship in four of the five years of competition. Teams representing the states of Georgia and California have made it to the finals all five years, with Georgia winning in 2013.
“I’m just proud of them,” said Georgia Captain Joyce. “If you look at the overall accomplishment of it, especially for us to have six kids return from last year and make it to back-to-back national championships, it’s an experience they will take away forever.”
Team Ohio edged Team New Jersey 6.5 to 5.5 in the third-place match. Team Connecticut beat Team Texas 8 to 4 in the fifth-place match, while Team Alabama won the seventh-place match 7 to 5 over Team Illinois.
“Golf is really a special game,” said PGA President Paul Levy during the Awards Ceremony. “The winner is the game of golf.”
The eight teams were comprised of 80 top junior players from across America, each winning their Regional competition to advance to the PGA Junior League Golf National Championship presented by National Car Rental. A record of 36,000 boys and girls participated in PGA Junior League Golf in 2016.
“It’s incredible what you accomplished the last four days,” said Golf Channel’s Ryan Burr, who emceed the awards. “These kids have a chance to be significant…Being significant can last a lifetime.”
PGA of America, Grayhawk Golf Club and National Car Rental have partnered with Golf Channel to air a two-hour, primetime special of the 2016 PGA Junior League Golf National Championship presented by National Car Rental on November 29, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
2016 National Champion: Team California
Las Positas Golf Course Livermore, Calif.
Captain: Jeff DeBenedetti, PGA
Coach: Becky Chin, LPGA
Ian Gilligan, 13 – Corte Madera, Calif.
Darren Pang, 13 – San Ramon, Calif.
Drew Kim, 13 – Pleasanton, Calif.
Anay Roge, 14 – San Ramon, Calif.
Aidan Tran, 12 – Fresno, Calif.
Ethan Jaehn, 12 – Freemont, Calif.
Jacob Ponce, 12 – San Ramon, Calif.
Austin Tran, 14 – Fresno, Calif.
Alice Liu, 12 – Pleasanton, Calif.
Madison Wu, 13 – Dublin, Calif.
2016 Runner-Up: Team Georgia
Crooked Creek Club Alpharetta, Ga.
Captain: Tom Joyce Jr., PGA
Coach: Terry Peacock
Myles Jones, 14 – Suwanee, GA
Will Morlan, 14 – Alpharetta, GA
Bruce Murphy, 13 – Johns Creek, GA
Carter Loflin, 13 – Duluth, GA
Michael Dotson, 14 – Cumming, GA
Jake Peacock, 13 – Milton, GA
Ethan Gao, 11 – Alpharetta, GA
Charles Kyle, 13 – Atlanta, GA
Ryan Davidson, 13 – Flowery Branch, GA
Deven Patel, 13 – Johns Creek, GA
1st Place – Team California (Livermore)
2nd Place – Team Georgia (Alpharetta)
3rd Place – Team Ohio (Columbia Station)
4th Place – Team New Jersey (Hillsborough)
5th Place – Team Connecticut (Cromwell)
6th Place – Team Texas (Cedar Park)
7th Place – Team Alabama (Huntsville)
8th Place – Team Illinois (Lemont)
For complete coverage of the PGA Junior League Golf National Championship presented by National Car Rental, visit PGAJLG.com.
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