Team Virginia Leads on Day One of the 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship

It’s an all-out battle for the top at the 2024 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship, with Team Virginia (Dulles) leading by two strokes (-28) at the end of Day One.

“I thought we came in today and started fast,” said PGA of America Golf Professional Scott Holmes, Team Virginia’s Coach. “We did what we needed to do and played a really strong back nine and followed it up with a strong front nine. So we’ll take the lead into tomorrow and just keep doing what we’re doing.”

Twelve All-Star teams of 72 junior golfers ages 14-17 have made their way to New Mexico this weekend, vying for their chance to hoist the trophy at Twin Warriors Golf Club. Twin Warriors, playing host for the second consecutive year, features championship-level golf routed around 20 ancient cultural sites with spectacular views of the Sandia Mountains.

Days one and two (Friday and Saturday) are played in a team aggregate, stroke play scramble, counting the top two of three team pair scores per nine holes. Sunday’s Semifinals and Championship matches are conducted in a match play format.

With the top nine teams separated by only seven strokes, the battle will continue on Day Two. Team Utah (Lehi) and Team Illinois (Lemont) finished the day locked in a tie for second at 26-under par.

“It looks like it’s going to be a battle tomorrow,” said PGA of America Golf Professional Tele Wightman, who coaches Team Utah. “Our goal coming in today was around 24-under for today, and we shot 26-under, so I’m more than thrilled.”

Kevin Weeks, PGA, Team Illinois’ coach, says his team’s plan for Day Two of stroke play qualifying is simple: just play their game.

“Our plan for tomorrow is really, really simple,” he said. “We’re just going to go out and play our game and play as good as we can, and then at the end of 36 holes, we’ll look at the scoreboard and see where we stand.”

Team New York (Farmingdale) rounds out the top four, shooting 25-under. Coach Megan Younkman, LPGA, says her team is looking forward to tomorrow, but proud of their Day One performance.

“We played really well today,” Younkman said. “We’re just really excited to be here. Coming into the final stretch today, they kept their attitudes really high and that’s a big part of playing well.”

Team New York’s Matthew DiFiore, 17, of Jericho, N.Y., and partner Sophia Li, 17, of New York, N.Y., played a strong front nine, helping to propel their team to a top four finish with five birdies and an eagle.

“We were able to hit some close shots,” DiFiore said. “I think we played pretty well. The hardest part is just getting here [to the Championship], and I’m looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and just getting to play and have fun.”

Team California (San Jose), who led the field at various points during the competition, finished Day One tied for seventh at 22-under par, but Maximus Choi, 14, of San Jose, Calif., will take home a memory all his own after acing Hole No. 13.

“I didn’t know it was a hole-in-one at first until I heard the parents cheering,” said Choi, who had notched two eagles in a row on Hole Nos. 11 and 12 before sinking the hole-in-one. “I was really riding a lot of momentum and got really excited. I yelled, ‘Let’s go!’ and I’m pretty sure the whole course heard it.”

On the remainder of the leaderboard, Team Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) and Team Texas (Farmers Branch) are tied for fifth at 24-under par; Team California (San Jose) and Team Minnesota (Blaine) are tied for seventh at 22-under par; Team Florida (Palm Beach Gardens) and Team Ohio (Bainbridge) are tied for ninth at 21-under par; Team North Carolina (Fuquay-Varina) sits in 11th at -16 and Kansas (Lenexa) is in 12th at -9.

Competition resumes tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. MT with two more 9-hole rounds of team aggregate stroke play. The top four teams will advance to the Semifinals on Sunday morning and play for a spot in the Championship Match on Sunday afternoon. The two teams that do not make the finals will compete for third and fourth place.

Visit the Championship Hub for more from Twin Warriors.