The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Tour season opened this weekend, with the boys event featuring a major comeback and the girls tournament a wire-to-wire champion.
Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction rallied from an eight-stroke deficit going into the final round to win the boys tourney by one at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
And Hailey Schalk of Erie, the 2016 Colorado Junior Match Play champion, wasn’t seriously challenged in posting an eight-stroke victory in the girls competition. (The two winners are pictured.)
Olkowski, brother of 2016 JGAC Tour Championship winner Trevor Olkowski, rebounded from a first-round 77 to card a 1-over-par 72 on Sunday, giving him a two-day total of 7-over 149. Canon, 16, notched four birdies in round 2, offset by three bogeys and a double bogey.
Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs, who led after an opening-round 69, tied for second at 150 following an 81 on Sunday. Particularly costly was a quadruple-bogey 7 on his 17th hole Sunday. Also sharing second place was University of Colorado-bound Cole Krantz of Windsor, who closed with a 71, the low score on Sunday.
In the girls tournament, the 15-year-old Schalk carded back-to-back rounds of 74 for a 6-over-par 148 total. On Sunday, she overcame a triple-bogey 8 with three birdies, and added three bogeys.
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland finished second at 156 after a second-round 77. Amisha Singh of Greenwood Village took third place at 157 after closing with an 80.
The tournament in Colorado Springs marked the beginning of the “spring points chase”. The top three boys and top three girls in the points standings after three spring Tour events will earn spots in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by Transamerica that’s being hosted by Walnut Creek Golf Preserve (the former Heritage at Westmoor) June 6-8.
For scores from this weekend’s JGAC Tour event, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS.
JGAC Series Opener at Pueblo CC: Meanwhile, the first JGAC Series event of 2017 also concluded on Sunday — in this case at Pueblo Country Club.
The winners for the various age/gender divisions were: Mario Dino of Denver (boys 14-18), Katelyn Lehigh of Loveland (girls 14-18), Matai Naqica of Centennial (boys 11-13), Sofia Choi of Littleton (girls 11-13), Andre Dumonteil of Centennial and Kaden Devenport of Windsor (boys 6-10), and Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch (girls 6-10).
For all the scores from Pueblo Country Club, CLICK HERE.
