Making Their Mark

132 competitors teed it up at The Eagle Crest Junior Championship. The event took place at the Ridge Course in Redman, Oregon and the field was stacked. Finishing T2 at 7-under-par with scores of 71-69-69 was JGTA Bogor Junior Championship Hosted by Sentul Highlands Golf Club and ATI Ciputra Golfpreneur Junior World 2019 presented by AKI champion Kentaro Nanayama (2021) of Jakarta, Indonesia. Nanayama finished second on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit, earning Fully Exempt AJGA PBE Status essentially giving him the freedom to compete in any AJGA events he applies too.

Behind Nanayama at T7 with scores of 71-71-69 was Weilun Song (2020) of Harbin, China. Song competed in his first JGTA event this season, the Hong Kong Junior Classic at Clearwater Bay, where likewise he finished T7. Song finished T23 on this seasons JGTA Junior Order of Merit, earning him 4 AJGA stars, enough to gain entry into AJGA’s Eagle Crest Junior Championship.

On the Girl’s side, Yoonjeong Huh (2023) of (South Korea) Kailua-Kona, Hawaii finished T8, the best performance from a JGTA competitor in the event. Huh shot 75-70-73 in route to her Top-10 finish. Huh finished T11 on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit in the 2017-2018 season.

Just behind Huh was Yulin Chen (2021) of Guangzhou, China, firing 75-74-73 to finish T12. Chen had a breakout season on the JGTA this year and finished tenth on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit – earning the last spot on this year’s Junior All-Asia Team Honors.

The Windham Mountain Resort Junior All-Star has become a staple for JGTA competitors, having many players from Asia apply to gain entry to test their skills at Windham Country Club early in the AJGA summer season.

JGTA Junior Order of Merit Champion and Boy’s Player of the Year Pongsapak Laopakdee (2023) of Rayong, Thailand made a splash at his first-ever AJGA Qualifier, shooting a 6-under-par 66. He got off to a rough start in the event, but a final-round score of yet another 6-under-par 66 brought him back into the mix, finishing T4.

Charlene Chung (2023) of Hong Kong, SAR captured her best AJGA finish to date at Windham, 4^th place, with scores of 73-71-77. Chung finished 16^th this year on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit, with her best finish coming in The Southern Junior presented by Tradewinds Furnishing.

Just behind Chung was Bridget Ma, a new JGTA member this season, finishing in 6^th place with scores of 76-72-75.

The KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational took place at Blessings Golf Club, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, host of the 2019 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Championship.

Natachanok Tunwannarux (2023) of Bangkok, Thailand earned her first invite to an AJGA invitational event winning a Junior All-Star event last summer. Tunnwanarux is the first player ever to earn back to back JGTA Team All-Asia Honors – she finished 2nd on the 2017-2018 JGTA Junior Order of Merit Rankings and T6 on this seasons JGTA Junior Order of Merit Rankings.

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