Winners Crowned at First Oregon Junior Golf Major of 2016
Medford, Ore. - This past weekend marked the beginning of the Oregon Junior Golf season at the Centennial Junior, held June 11-12 at Centennial Golf Course in Medford, Ore. The beginning of the season was greeted by many familiar faces and, of course, new talent!
The Boy’s Open Division was capped off by an exciting playoff between eventual winner Craig Ronne (Klamath Falls, Ore.) and the second place finisher Joe Torkelson (Lake Oswego, Ore.). The playoff lasted two holes ending with a Ronne par putt to clinch the first-place spot. Ronne’s victory in Medford comes after last year’s strong showing at Rogue Valley Country Club in the Southern Oregon Junior.
The Girl’s Open Division finished with an exciting round of eighteen from Ellie Slama (Salem, Ore.) and Madalyn Ardueser (Eugene, Ore.). The separation between the ladies was one stroke on the final day with Ardueser (-4) edging out Slama (-3). These two, along with many others in the division, will be very exciting to watch this year!
Andrew Jaroslow (Grants Pass, Ore.) put up a strong score of 81 on the second day to win the Junior Boys Division. His total score of 169 was enough to earn first and an invitation to the Tournament of Champions held in September.
The Girls Division featured the second playoff of the day between Aerin Song (Beaverton, Ore.) and Kirsten Reed (Medford, Ore.). Song would take the win after two holes for first place and the invitation.
Sam Krauss (Canby, Ore. - 149), Johnny Ward (Lake Oswego, Ore. - 151), and Jacob Tarkany (Bend, Ore. - 155) took one, two, and three in the Boys Division. All three had very strong showings this weekend, neither one posting a score over 80.
The Intermediate Boys Division featured two of the best final rounds of the tournament, with the winner, Scotty Kennon (Bandon, Ore.) posting a 69 (to go along with a first round 66) and second place finisher Mateo Fuenmayor (Beaverton, Ore.) posting a strong 67.
Baylee Hammericksen (Medford, Ore.) edged out Franca Polla (Portland, Ore.) by one stroke to win the Girls Intermediate Division. Franca posted a career best 75 on Sunday but that was not enough to take the win.
The Pee Wee Boys were represented by Grady Millar (Vancouver, Wash. - 8-9) at +15 and Elliot Lee (Tillamook, Ore. - 10-11) at +9 as winners of the tournament. The Pee Wee Girls were represented by Natalie Yen (West Linn, Ore. - 8-9) at +16 and Jacinda Lee (Camas, Wash. - 10-11) at +14.
For complete scores from the 2016 Centennial Junior, click here.
