Eight Teams Qualify for 2024 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championships

On Sept. 14-15, 52 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. 10-13, and be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks. The 17u Championship is set for Nov. 14-17 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

On the 13u side, the Diamond Run All-Stars (Sewickley, Penn.) won Region 2; the Prestwick All-Stars (Woodbury, Minn.) captured Region 9; the River Place All-Stars (Austin, Texas) won Region 10; and the SDCL 1All-Stars (San Diego, Calif.) captured Region 12.

The four 17u teams headed to New Mexico are the Hot Shots All-Stars (Pittsburgh, Penn.) from Region 2; the J-Birds All-Stars (Blaine, Minn.) from Region 9; Brookhaven Teens 1 (Dallas, Texas) from Region 10; and the Santa Teresa All-Stars (San Jose, Calif.) from Region 12.

Below is a roundup of detailed recaps from the four Regional Championships that took place over Sept. 7-8, with final results, summaries and winning team photos included.

Drumlins Country Club welcomed 10 All-Star teams of junior golfers in two age divisions – 13u and 17u – representing the Central New York, Northeast New York, Tri-State and Western New York PGA Sections for two fun days of competition, Sept. 13-15, at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional.

The Diamond Run All-Stars from Sewickley, Penn., are making their first-ever appearance in the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship after defeating the AMGolf Academy All-Stars (Anders Mattson Golf Academy, Saratoga, N.Y.), 9 – 3 in match play Sunday (Sept. 15) afternoon. The Diamond Run All-Stars, led by Coach Adam Morrison, PGA, and Assistant Coach Tanner Houser, PGA Associate, will compete as Team Pennsylvania.

Diamond Run was the top seed after Saturday’s stroke play, shooting a -14, nine shots ahead of second place AMGolf Academy, led by Coach Anders Mattson, PGA, with a 5-under-par. The Hot Shots (Hot Shot Academy, Pittsburg, Penn.), coached by Troy Williams, PGA Associate, were the third seed with a +6, followed by WNY Team North with a +13 and the Corning All-Stars (New York), +14.

In semifinal play, the AMGolf All-Stars defeated the Hot Shot All-Stars 7 - 5, while Diamond Run defeated WNY Team North 10-5 – 1.5 to set up the Region 2 championship match. WNY Team North was made up of players from multiple facilities in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, including Pendleton Creek Golf Club, Transit Valley Country Club, Park Country Club and Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course. They are led by Coach Joe Bock, PGA, from Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course.

Teams not making the semifinals participated in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout. It was an all Corning All-Star field with Allie Lyon (11, Gillett, Penn.) and Delaney Abel (13, Corning, N.Y.) taking the championship with a 36. Teammates Lilah Carlson (12, Columbia Cross Roads, Penn.) and Johanna Yu (12, Painted Post, N.Y.), finished second with a 38. The Corning team is led by Coach Matthew Moretti, PGA Associate.

The Hot Shots All-Stars (Hot Shot Golf Academy, Pittsburg, Penn.) are headed to the 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship for the second consecutive year after defeating the Rolling Hills All-Stars (Rolling Fields Golf Club, Murrysville, Penn) 7.5 – 1.5 in match play Sunday afternoon. The Hot Shots, led by Coach Troy Williams, PGA Associate, and Assistant Coach Jason Higginbotham, will compete as Team Pennsylvania in the 17u Championship to be held at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, Nov. 14-17, 2024. The Hot Shots finished third last year in the inaugural 17u Championship.

The Hot Shots and Rolling Fields (Murrysville, Penn) entered match play as the top two seeds. These same two teams met in the finals of the Tri-State Section Championship in August, with the Hot Shots winning that championship 7.5 - 1.5 in match play, as well.  In Saturday’s qualifying round, the Hot Shots led all teams in stroke play with a -19, 14 shots ahead of Rolling Fields, led by Coach Dick Logan, PGA, with a -5. Glen Oak (East Amherst, N.Y.), was +7 at the end of Saturday’s play, followed by the Carlowden All-Stars (Carthage, N.Y.) with a +9 and the Foxhaven Brookrunners (Brookhaven Golf Course, Porters Corner, N.Y) with a +27.

The Hot Shots advanced to the championship match after a 7 – 2 win over the Carlowden All-Stars, led by Coach Matthew Russell, PGA Associate, Sunday morning, while the Rolling Fields All-Stars defeated Glen Oak All-Stars, led by Coach Anthony Schiro, PGA, and Assistant Coach Rob Krajewski, PGA, 6.5 – 2.5, in the other semi-final match.

Teams not making the semifinals participated in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout. It was an all Foxhaven Brookrunners All-Star field.  Carson Vavasour (16, Wilton, NY) and Vincent Lanzi (14, Amsterdam, NY) were the champions with a 41, while teammates Shealyn Vavasour (14, Wilton, NY) and Liam Crooks (15, Corinth, NY) were second with a 46. The Foxhaven Brookrunners are led by Coach Anthony Therrien, PGA.

Over the weekend, 10 All-Star teams of junior golfers representing Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska met at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa, for two fun and exciting days of competition Sept. 13-15 at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional Championship. Teams from three PGA Sections—Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska—participated in the weekend event.

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

Ultimately, Minnesota teams won both divisions and earned the right to represent their state at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West and New Mexico’s Twin Warriors Golf Club in October and November, respectively. 

The Prestwick 13u All-Stars will represent Team Minnesota in the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship to be held next month. Prestwick, based out of Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minnesota, defeated the BTCC Northern Lights 13u All-Stars 7-5 on Sunday afternoon to become the Region 9 champion. Coach Jack Ganzer, PGA of America Associate, leads the team. 

Prestwick advanced to the finals after solid play during Saturday’s stroke play and Sunday's match play semifinals. Day one (Saturday) of the Regional consisted of two, nine-hole rounds of stroke play qualifying for the teams, in which the top four seeds advanced to match play semifinals on Sunday. 

Shooting an impressive 20-under-par on Saturday, Minnesota’s BTCC Northern Lights 13u All-Stars led the field by nine strokes, garnering the top seed for Sunday’s semifinal play. The team, led by PGA of America Golf Professional Mitchell Mackedanz, is based at Bemidji Town and Country Club in Bemidji, Minnesota.

The Prestwick 13u All-Stars, claimed the second seed in Day 1’s stroke play qualifying, shooting 11-under-par. The Central Iowa 13u All-Stars, led by Coach Greg Dingel, PGA, and Assistant Coach Chad Callen, PGA, were seeded third (-7), while two Nebraska teams, the Capital City 13u All-Stars of Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Eastern Nebraska 13u All-Stars of Omaha, Nebraska, finished the qualifying round tied at 7-over-par. Eastern Nebraska claimed the fourth seed and advanced to semifinal play after a tiebreaker (aggregate team total score), using all four scores rather than just the top three.

The Capital City 13u All-Stars (+7) finished fifth, while the Roseau 13u All-Stars of Roseau, Nebraska, finished sixth (+28). 

In Sunday’s semifinal match play, the top-seeded BTCC Northern Lights faced the fourth seed, the Eastern Nebraska 13u All-Stars, led by Coach Alex Janssen, PGA, and Assistant Coach Jacob Wright, PGA. BTCC Northern Lights bested Eastern Nebraska 7-5. In the other semifinal match, the Prestwick 13u All-Stars defeated the Central Iowa All-Stars, 8.5-3.5, setting up the afternoon championship match between BTCC Northern Lights and Prestwick. 

All-Star teams that did not advance to the semifinals were given the chance to compete in the optional 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout. The Capital City 13u All-Stars and Roseau 13u All-Stars competed in the 13u Shootout, and both the winners and runners-up represented Capital City. Matthew Larreau, 13, and  Hailey Schlegelmilch, 11, both of Lincoln, Nebraska, shot 34 to win the Shootout, while Carter Scheel, 12, and Drake Noerrlinger, 11, also of Lincoln, were the runners-up with a score of 37.

Four 17u All-Star teams faced off at The Ridge Golf Club, vying for their chance to hoist the trophy at the 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, in November. 

On day one, Blaine, Minnesota’s J-Birds 17u All-Stars, led by Coach David Branstad, PGA, and Assistant Coach Tony Serpico, finished tied with the Jester Park 17u All-Stars of Ames, Iowa, at 18-under-par. After the tiebreaker (total team aggregate score), the J-Birds were seeded first and Jester Park, coached by Jeff Chiodo, PGA, and Assistant Coach Kurt Bloyer, were second. Nebraska’s Miracle Hill 17u All-Stars were seeded third (+1) and The Ridge 17u All-Stars were fourth (+5). 

On the morning of day 2, the teams faced off in match play, with the J-Birds 17u All-Stars, named for former PGA Coach Jay Norman who passed away unexpectedly in 2019, competing against The Ridge 17u All-Stars, who were seeded fourth. Second-seed Jester Park 17u All-Stars, based at Jester Park Golf Course in Granger, Iowa, faced third-seed, Miracle Hill. The J-Birds defeated The Ridge 17u All-Stars 8.5-0.5 to advance to the finals, while Jester Park advanced with a 7-5 win over Miracle Hill. The J-Birds 17u All-Stars defeated Jester Park 7.5 to 1.5 in the afternoon championship match to become Regional champions. 

For the second consecutive year, the J-Birds will represent Minnesota in the 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship, to be held Nov. 14-17 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

Forest Creek Golf Club in Round Rock, Texas, welcomed 16 all-star teams of junior golfers in two age divisions – 13u and 17u – representing the Southern Texas, Northern Texas, Colorado and Sun Country PGA Sections for two fun days of competition at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional.

The River Place All-Stars from River Place Country Club (Austin, Texas) defeated the No. 1 seed and defending national 13u champion, the Brookhaven Blue All-Stars of Farmers Branch, Texas, to advance to the National Car Rental 13u PGA Jr. League Championship. Led by Travis Rider, PGA, coach John Sosa and assistant coach Jim Terry, River Place will compete as Team Texas in their home state next month.

All eight of the teams in the Regional Championship shot under par in the qualifying round Saturday (Sept. 14), led by Brookhaven Blue with a -35, five shots ahead of eventual champion River Place with a -30. Brookhaven Red, led by coach Joey Anders, PGA, and Assistant Coach April Pyle, shot a -27 and Meadow Hills (Colorado Springs, Colo.) followed with  a -24. Those top four seeds advanced to the semifinals on Sunday. The Colorado Bombs (Club at Pradera, Aurora, Colo.) coached by Jason Witczak, PGA, finished fifth with a 12-under-par. The Ascend All-Stars from Houston, led by coach Nicholas Gerber, PGA Associate, finished sixth ( -10), followed by the Brookhaven White All-Stars and the Sandia All-Stars (Albuquerque, N.M.) coached by Nick Knee, PGA, with a -7.

In semifinal match play action, Brookhaven Blue defeated Meadow Hills, coached by Caine Fitzgerald, PGA, 8-4, while River Place defeated the Brookhaven Red All-Stars, 8-4.

Teams not making the semifinals participated in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout. Three teams finished tied at the end of the nine holes with a 31, but Kiara Harper (12, Rowlett, Texas) and Adira Navaranthinam (13, Irving, Texas) of Brookhaven White were named champions after winning the tiebreaker, which was their total score on last six holes with a 19. Their teammates, George Rivera (11, Dallas, Texas) and Brady Finnegan (13, Dallas, Texas) finished as runners-up with a 20 on their last six holes.

The Brookhaven Teens 1 17u All-Stars led by Coach Joey Anders, PGA, and Assistant Coach April Pyle, defeated the Meadow Hills 17u All-Stars (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 5.5 – 3.5 in match play and will represent Team Texas at the 17u Championship.

The top four teams advancing to Sunday’s semifinals were within six shots of each other after the qualifying stroke play rounds on Saturday. Brookhaven Teens 1 entered the day as the No. 3 seed with an 18-under-par round. Meadow Hills, led by coach Caine Fitzgerald, PGA, was the No. 1 seed with a 21-under par, followed by River Place 1 (Austin, Texas) with a -19. River Place 2 rounded out the top four after winning a tiebreaker with Brookhaven Teens 2 after they both finished with a -15. River Place 2 advanced to the semifinal with an aggregate score of 201 compared to Brookhaven’s 211. Desert Lake All-Stars (Alamogordo, New Mexico), led by Coach Grant Dalpes, PGA, finished sixth with a -6, followed by Crown White (Crown Colony Country Club, Lufkin, Texas) with a -1 and the Ascend All-Stars (Houston, Texas) with a +13.  The Ascend All-Stars are from the Ascend Golf Academy and led by coach Nicholas Gerber, PGA.

Meadow Hills, led by coach Caine Fitzgerald, PGA, defeated River Place 2 in the first semifinal, 5-4, while Brookhaven Teens 1 advanced to the championship match after winning a tiebreaker over River Place 1. With the match tied at 4.5, Brookhaven advanced with most holes won, 8-5. The River Place teams are led by Travis Rider, PGA,  Coach John Sosa, Assistant Coach Jim Terry.

Teams not making the semifinals participated in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout.  Delaney Neal, 16, and Andrew Bird, 14 (Crown Colony, Lufkin, Texas) won the shootout with a score of 32. Dyson Wright, 14, and Annelisia Herrera, 15 (Desert Lake, Alamogordo, NM) took second place with a 33. The Crown Colony team was led by Coach Cory Ryan, PGA.

Despite a championship match shortened by lightning delays, the SDCL #1 All-Stars of San Diego, led by Coach John Mason, PGA, and Assistant Coach Jackie DeWald-Mason, defeated their Northern California counterparts, the Santa Teresa Team 1 All-Stars of San Jose, 5-3. They will represent California in the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship Oct. 10-13 at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West, broadcast live on ESPN networks.

In Saturday’s stroke play qualifying rounds, SDCL #1 separated themselves from the pack at 26-under par to take the No. 1 seed. With both the Santa Teresa Team 1 13u All-Stars and the AZ All-Stars of Scottsdale at 22-under par, their seeds were determined by the first tiebreaker using the all four pairs’ scores. Santa Teresa Team 1 were seeded No. 2 with a combined score of 258, followed by the AZ All-Stars in the third seed with a 259. The Santa Teresa Team 2 13u All-Stars nabbed the final semifinal spot with a 13-under par performance.

In the semifinals on Sunday morning, No. 1 seed SDCL defeated No. 4 Santa Teresa Team 2 7.5-1.5, while No. 2 Santa Teresa Team 1 claimed victory over the No. 3 AZ All-Stars 6.5-5.5 to set up the championship match between the Southern and Northern California teams.

The four 13u All-Star teams not advancing to semifinals after scramble qualifying rounds could compete in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout on Sunday, which included the MV Team 1 13u All-Stars of Coto De Caza, California (-10); Redwood Empire 13u All-Stars of Santa Rosa, California (+9); Oahu Private League 1 13u All-Stars of Hawaii (+13); and the Troon North 13u All-Stars of Scottsdale, Arizona (+35). MV 1 teammates Preston Cheng, 12, of Irvine and Douglas Gaboya IV, 12, of Huntington Beach captured the shootout with a 31.

Coach Terry Sullivan, PGA, and Assistant Coach Matt Lloyd have successfully led a team of All-Star players from Santa Teresa Golf Club in San Jose, California, back to the second annual 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, Nov. 14-17.

In the championship match, The Santa Teresa Team 1 17u All-Stars defeated the Tucson Team 1 17u All-Stars, led by Coach Chris Dompier, PGA, and Assistant Coach Hank Ravenell, 5-4 just before the storms rolled in to punch their ticket to New Mexico.

Saturday’s scramble qualifying rounds saw four teams clustered at the top of the leaderboard with scores of 21-under par and 17-under par, therefore, match play seeding was ultimately determined by the first tiebreaker like the 13u division. Totaling the team’s 18-hole score utilizing all three pairs’ scores left Santa Teresa seeded No. 1 (185); Tucson Team 1 in the No. 2 spot (189); the Golden Knights 17u All-Stars of Las Vegas seeded No. 3 (192); and the Tucson 2 17u All-Stars seeded No. 4 (199).

In Sunday’s match play semifinals, the top-seeded Santa Teresa team defeated the No. 4 Tucson 2 team 7.5-1.5 to advance to the final round. The No. 2 Tucson team defeated the Golden Knights 5.5-3.5, which set up the championship match between Tucson 1 and Santa Teresa 1.

The four 17u All-Star teams that did not advance to the semifinals could opt to compete in a 9-hole, two-person scramble shootout on Sunday, which included the Bay View 17u All-Stars of Milpitas, California (-15); the Junior Sticks Golf 17u All-Stars of Escondido, California (-7); the Pat Diaz Blue Team 1 17u All-Stars of San Diego (+1); and the Honolulu CC League 17u All-Stars of Hawaii (+7). Junior Sticks teammates Michael Shane, 17, and Gavin Perez, 15, both of San Diego, won the shootout with a 32.