Eight Teams Punch Tickets to National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championships After Busy Weekend of Nationwide Regionals

On Sept. 2-3, 50 PGA Jr. League teams from across the country competed in Regional Championships, a part of the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship Season, with spots on the line for both the 13u and 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championships.

The 13u Championship will take place at Fields Ranch West at PGA Frisco in Texas, Oct. 4-8, and be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks. The inaugural 17u Championship is set for Nov. 16-19 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

Below is a roundup of recaps from the four Regional Championships that took place over the Labor Day weekend, with final results, summaries and winning team photos included.

Lyman Orchards welcomed 16 All-Star teams of junior golfers in two age divisions – 13u and 17u – representing the Connecticut, New England and Metropolitan PGA Sections for two fun days of competition at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional.

The Torrington Country Club (TCC) Thunder are headed to the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League 13u Championship after defeating host team Lyman Orchards Blue, 7.5-4.5, in match play Sunday (Sept. 3) afternoon. The TCC Thunder, led by PGA Coach Bob Sparks and assistant coach Jim Bunel, will compete as Team Connecticut at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West (Texas), Oct. 4-8, 2023.

The TCC Thunder and Lyman Orchards Blue were the only two of eight teams which shot under par in Saturday’s qualifying rounds. TCC Thunder entered semi-final action as the top seed after shooting a -28, 15 shots ahead of second-seeded Lyman Orchards Blue (-13). Norwood Country Club (Mass.) Select Gold recorded a +2, followed by Button Hole (Providence, R.I.) All-Stars (+6); City Parks (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, N.Y.) (+6); Rockland Country Club-Upstate 1 (Sparkill, N.Y.) (+7); Bethpage (Farmingdale, N.Y.) (+8); and FTMNY (First Tee Metropolitan New York) Mosholu Bronx (+13).

In semifinal action Sunday morning, TCC Thunder defeated City Parks, 9-3, while Lyman Orchards defeated Norwood Country Club Select Gold, 7.5-4.5, to set up the regional championship match.

Teams not making the semifinals participated in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout. Samuel Gao and Rikito Araki of FTMNY Mosholu Bronx captured the 13u title shooting a 33.

The Bethpage 17u All-Stars are headed to the inaugural PGA Jr. League 17u National Championship after defeating the Timby (Timberlin) All-Stars (Berlin, Conn.) 6.5-2.5 in match play Sunday (Sept. 3) afternoon at Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middleton, Conn. Bethpage, led by PGA Coach Justin Koff, will compete as Team New York in the inaugural 17u Championship.

Bethpage advanced to the championship match after a 7-2 win over City Parks (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, N.Y.) earlier in the day. The Timby All-Stars defeated FTMNY (First Tee Metropolitan New York) Mosholu Bronx, 5.5–3.5, in the other semi-final to advance to the championship match.

In Saturday’s qualifying round, Bethpage led all teams with a -19 in stroke play, six shots ahead of the Timby All-Stars with a -13. FTMNY Mosholu Bronx shot a -12, followed by City Parks (-9), Lyman Orchards Blue (-9), Lyman Orchards Orange (-8), Burlington Gold (-5) and Winchester (E).

As in the 13u division, teams not making the semifinals participated in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout. Grady Gall and Gavin Sicilian of Winchester 17u All-Stars won with a 33.

For final results, click here. (Note: An online scoring issue on the PGA Jr. League website appears to show the 1757 Masters seeded above the ANCC Park Stars in the 13u stroke play qualifying round. The 1757 Masters tied with the Eagles 1 team at -15 in the fifth seed.)

Over the holiday weekend, 15 All-Star teams of junior golfers from the Middle Atlantic, New Jersey and Philadelphia PGA Sections traveled to Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., for two fun and exciting days of competition at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional Championship. 

Split between two age divisions, eight 13u All-Star teams (players ages 10-13) and seven 17u All-Star teams (players ages 14-17) vied for the right to advance to their respective National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship this fall.

Ultimately, both age divisions were captured by All-Star teams representing 1757 Golf Club in Dulles, Virginia, led by PGA Coach Scott Holmes. Here’s how it unfolded.

Day one (Saturday) of the Regional consisted of two, nine-hole rounds of stroke play qualifying for the teams, in which the top four were seeded to advance to match play semi-finals on day two. 

The 1757 Legends All-Stars separated themselves from the pack by three strokes (-34), followed closely by the Haworth Country Club McIlroy All-Stars of New Jersey (-31). Seeded third were fellow New Jersey team the Fiddler’s Elbow #1 All-Stars (-26), followed by fourth seed ANCC Park Stars 13u All-Stars of Virginia (-17). 

In Sunday’s semi-final match play, the top-seeded 1757 Legends faced off against the fourth seed ANCC Park Stars, defeating them 7.5-4.5. The second seed Haworth team edged the third seed Fiddler’s Elbow 7-5 to advance to the championship match in the afternoon.

The 1757 Legends––one of four teams from 1757 Golf Club across both age divisions who reached the Regional stage––defeated the Haworth Country Club McIlroy 13u All-Stars from New Jersey 8-4 to earn their Championship berth. The team, who most recently represented Virginia on the national stage in 2018, will now represent their state in the 11th edition of the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship.

Meanwhile, the fifth through eighth seeded teams participated in a conciliatory stroke play shootout, which included two Virginian teams tied at no. 5, the 1757 Masters All-Stars (-15) and Eagles 1 All-Stars (-15); no. 7 Southern Delaware All-Stars (-6); and no. 8 First Tee All-Stars of Virginia (-3). 1757 Masters teammates Ethan Trobaugh and William Yoon, both 13, shot 31 for the win.

Saturday’s stroke play qualifying in the 17u division was near mirror-image of the 13u division seeding, with the 1757 Dragons sitting in the top seed (-22), followed closely by the Haworth CC Scheffler All-Stars in second (-19); the FT - West 9 Blue All-Stars third (-18); and the DuPont Diamonds All-Stars of Delaware in fourth (-16). 

In Sunday’s semi-final match play, the top-seeded 1757 Dragons defeated the fourth-seed DuPont Diamonds 7-2. The third-seed FT - West 9 Blue All-Stars edged their New Jersey second-seed counterparts from Haworth 5.5-3.5, advancing to the championship match. 

In the afternoon championship match, it was determined that the 1757 Dragons All-Stars are headed to the inaugural PGA Jr. League 17u National Championship to represent Virginia with their 7-2 victory over the FT - West 9 Blue All-Stars.

1757 Dragons team member Matthew Pack, 14, of Chantilly, Virginia, aced Hole No. 5 from 151 yards with his 8-iron while competing in the championship match. That’s one way to help your team qualify for the national stage!

As is customary in the 13u division, the lower-seeded teams participated in a conciliatory stroke play shootout: which included no. 5 seed SBGA Dyefenders of Maryland (-16); no. 6 seed 1757 Titans (-10); and the no. 7 SBGA Eagles (+2). 1757 Titans teammates Aidan Untrakul and Lauren Rodgers, both 16, shot 30 for the win.

In Summerfield, N.C., 12 All-Star teams of junior golfers met at Greensboro National Golf Club for two fun and exciting days of competition at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional. 

Seven 13u All-Star teams vied for the opportunity to represent their state at the 2023 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship.. After a solid 32-under-par performance in Saturday’s qualifying round (stroke play), the SCStars 13u led the field. 

Saturday’s qualifying saw the Sugarloaf 13u All-Stars seeded second (-29); the Spartanburg #1 13u All-Stars third (-23); and the Bluffton Oldfield 13u All-Stars fourth (-15). Bentwinds Country Club 13u All-Stars of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, finished fifth (-12); while the Chattanooga 1 13u All-Stars were seeded sixth (-10) and the Raleigh 2 13u All-Stars rounded out the seeding at seventh (-2). The top four seeds continued into semi-final action on Sunday. 

In Sunday’s semi-final match play, the top-seeded SC Stars faced off against the fourth-seed Bluffton Oldfield 13u All-Stars, defeating them 9-3. The second-seed Sugarloaf All-Stars edged the third-seed Spartanburg #1 13u All-Stars 8.5-3.5, advancing to the championship match. 

The SCStars, led by PGA Jr. League Coach Chip Ridley, PGA, defeated the Sugarloaf 13u All-Stars 7.5-4.5, to advance to the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship representing South Carolina.

The Tanglewood 17u All-Stars are headed to the inaugural PGA Jr. League 17u National Championship with their 6.5-2.5 win over the Middle Tennessee 1 17u All-Stars in Sunday’s Region 6 17u championship match. The 17u National Championship is set for Nov. 16-19 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. 

The Tanglewood 17u All-Stars led throughout the Labor Day weekend competition, earning the first seed after a 15-under-par performance in Saturday’s qualifying round (stroke play). The Middle Tennessee 1 17u All-Stars were seeded second (-9) after the qualifying round, followed by third seed Fayetteville A 17u All-Stars of North Carolina (-7) and fourth-seed Bentwinds Country Club 17u All-Stars of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina (-6). The final 17u All-Star team, the Braelinn 17u All-Stars of Peachtree City, Georgia, were seeded fifth (1) and did not advance to semi-final play. 

Sunday’s semi-final match play action saw the top-seeded Tanglewood 17u All-Stars take on the Fayetteville A 17u All-Stars, who were seeded third. Tanglewood edged Fayetteville 5-4 to advance to the championship match. The Middle Tennessee 1 17u All-Stars defeated the Bentwinds All-Stars 6-3 to face Tanglewood in the final. 

All 13u and 17u All-Star teams that did not advance to the semi-finals were given the chance to compete in the optional 9-hole, two-person scramble Raptor Shootout on Sunday. Sophia Cellini, 15, and James Corner, 15, of the Braelinn 17u All-Stars won the 17u division, shooting a two-under-par 32. Raleigh 2 13u All-Stars Colin McLeod, 13, and Ben Thompson, 11, won the 13u division, shooting five under par (31).

Seven All-Star teams of junior golfers from the Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska PGA Sections spent the holiday weekend competing for the top spot in the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Split between two age divisions, four 13u All-Star teams (players ages 10-13) and three 17u All-Star teams (players ages 14-17) vied for the right to advance to their respective National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship this fall.

Minnesota emerged victorious, with both the 13u and 17u divisions captured by the J-Birds of TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, led by PGA Coach David Branstad. The J-Birds are named in honor of their former PGA Coach Jay Norman, who unexpectedly passed away after leading the team to finish runner-up at the 2018 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship.

Both the J-Birds and the Eastern NE All-Stars went 20-under in round one Saturday, which consisted of two, nine-hole rounds of stroke play qualifying in order to seed for match play on day two. Iowa-based teams Ames/Marshalltown East All-Stars seeded third at 3-under, followed by NW Iowa All-Stars in the fourth seed at 3-over.

In semifinal action Sunday, the J-Birds defeated NW Iowa 9-3, while Eastern NE won 7.5-4.5 over Ames/Marshalltown East, setting things up for a championship match between the J-Birds and the Eastern NE All-Stars.

The J-Birds bested the Eastern NE All-Stars 8-4 to earn their return to the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West.

Similar to their league counterparts in the 13u division, the 17u J-Birds earned the top seed in Saturday’s stroke play qualifying at 13-under, followed by The Ridge All-Stars at 10-under and the Jester Park All-Stars at 8-under, both Iowa-based teams.

To determine who would face the J-Birds in the championship match, the two Iowa teams met in the semifinals Sunday morning. The Jester Park team advanced following their 5-4 defeat of The Ridge All-Stars.

With a 7.5-1.5 victory over the Jester Park All-Stars, the J-Birds punched their ticket to the inaugural PGA Jr. League 17u National Championship.