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Georgia, Utah, Florida and Virginia Earn Semifinal Spots at National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship
By Hayley Wilson
Published on
Koiki Miyagi (left) and Vivian Lott are setting the tone for Team Georgia.
In record-breaking fashion, four teams secured semifinal spots heading into the final day of the 2024 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West.
Three of the top seeded teams reached or surpassed 60-under through all four 9-hole rounds over the course of two days. Team Georgia (Duluth) extended their day one lead and secured the No. 1 seed with a 67-under-par aggregate team score, now the lowest two-day score on Championship record. Team Georgia also had the lowest 9-hole round of this year’s tournament with a 20-under-par performance in the second round yesterday afternoon.
“Today was definitely a grind,” said Team Georgia Coach Patrick McCrary, PGA of America Associate. “The course was set up harder with some of those pins, and the wind was extremely tricky at times. So, we're happy to be where we are.”
McCrary remarked that partners Vivian Lott, 13, and Koiki Miyagi, 12, “really set the tone going out and shooting 7-under” in the morning round.
“Our goal is just to have fun and play well,” said Miyagi. “When Vivian missed her shot, I just hit a good shot, and when I missed it, she did well and we kind of got it together.”
Team Utah (Lehi) also held onto their No. 2 spot through today’s rounds, finishing at 65-under.
“One, they’re incredible putters, and two, they have incredible belief in themselves,” said Team Utah Coach Tele Wightman, PGA. “They're having so much fun … it's like they don't feel the pressure, they don't feel the cameras, they don't feel the moment, they just go and play. This is really fun.”
Team Utah might have had a little luck in the form of not one, but two holes-in-one carded this weekend.
On Day 2, Utah’s Drew Wilson, 13, holed out on No. 16 with the world watching. Wilson and his partner, Crue Harward, 13, went birdie, hole-in-one, birdie, eagle to close out the day. Yesterday, the team’s ace came from 12-year-old Emery Johnson, which landed at No. 2 on SportsCenter’s Top Plays.
When interviewed by ESPN’s Michael Collins following today’s rounds, Johnson and Wilson couldn’t be more complimentary of each other’s aces and couldn’t quite pick a winner between the two.
“We’ll find out on SportsCenter tonight,” joked Collins.
Florida, Virginia secure final two semifinal spots
Though neck-and-neck and leapfrogging throughout the day, Team Florida (Orlando)––who previously held the lowest recorded two-day score of 66-under––nabbed the No. 3 seed at 60-under.
“It was great to see them work together and stay composed under pressure, them leaning on their partners when it counted, really made all the difference in the world,” said Team Florida Coach Cori McAuliffe, LPGA. “I just really loved watching my players encourage and support each other.”
Team Virginia finished at 55-under, edging Team Texas (Austin) by 8 strokes to secure the No. 4 seed.
Andrew Reynolds of Team Virginia celebrates.
“The mindset into it was just trying to maintain what we did yesterday,” said Team Virginia Coach Scott Holmes, PGA. “Try to gain a few strokes on the leader just to make sure we stayed within the top four all day, not play ourselves out of contention.”
“I was kind of nervous about all the cameras, and I realized it doesn't really matter,” said Team Virginia’s Andrew Reynolds, 13, of his first experience playing on the national stage. “At the end of the day… just try your best.”
And, have some fun. After all, as Michael Collins shared, “It's amazing what great golf gets played when you're just having fun on the golf course.”
Tomorrow morning, the No. 1 and 4 seeds and the No. 2 and 3 seeds will compete to determine who advances to the Championship round, with live coverage on ESPN+ beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The two teams not advancing will play for third place.
The eight teams not competing in the Semifinals can participate in the Fields Ranch Roundup, a 9-hole, two-person scramble. This includes Team Texas in fifth at 47-under; Team Ohio (Dublin) in sixth at 42-under; Team Connecticut (Harwinton) in seventh at 42-under; Team California in eighth at 39-under; Team Illinois (Lemont) in ninth at 33-under; Team Minnesota in 10th at 29-under; Team Pennsylvania (Sewickley) in 11th at 27-under; and Team Kansas (Lenexa) in 12th at 13-under.
