Watkins, O’Keefe and Miller Win at Lanny Wadkins Junior Champsionship
Briefly: Matthew Watkins of Heath wins the Boys 15-18 Division at 6-under 138 overall. Farah O’Keefe of Austin wins the Girls 12-18 Division by one shot, while Nathan Miller of Dallas wins the Boys 14 & Under Division.
Leaderboard:
Boys 15-18 Division
Girls 12-18
Boys 14 & Under
Winners: Matthew Watkins recorded rounds of 70-68 to win the Boys 15-18 Division by two shots. Watkins recorded 10 birdies over two days and played the front nine at 6-under par for the event. Farah O’Keefe birdied 18 on the final day to win by one in the Girls 12-18 Division. With her win, O’Keefe earns and exemptions in the Volunteers of America Classis Girl’s Match Play Championship on September 4-6 at Old American Golf Club. Nathan Miller posted rounds of 70-71 to earn his first LJT victory in the Boys 14 & Under Division. He tallied nine birdies over the two days to secure a six-shot victory.
In Contention: Crowell’s Seth Bearden finished in solo second at 4-under 140, thanks to a final round score of 3-under 69, which included three birdies and an eagle. Plano’s Matthew Comegys used two eagles in is final six holes to finish the tournament in solo third at 3-under 141. Playing up in the Boys 15-18 Division, Frisco’s Davis Ovard tied for fourth with Temple’s Daniel Moon at 1-under 143. Alise Knudson of Dallas finished runner up in the Girls 12-18 Division at 7-over 151. Delaney Martin of Boerne and Magnolia’s Halle Whitney finished tied for third at 8-over 152. Rounding out the top five is Houston’s Allyn Stephens at 9-over 153. The Woodlands’ Finn Burkholder used a final round 69 to finish second in the Boys 14 & Under Division at 3-over 147. Rhett O’Rear of Plano finishes in third at 7-over 151. Brooks Harper of Dallas and Allen’s Elijah Estonilo rounded out the top five at 9-over 153 and 10-over 154 respectively.
Golf Course: Brookhaven Country Club features three unique courses that were designed by Byron Nelson and Press Maxwell in 1958. The Masters Course is hosting the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship for the second straight year and stretches out to 6,900 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,500 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 6,000 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.
Weather: After a cool and cloudy morning, temperatures crept up above 94 degrees with blue skies and mild winds.
Tournament Format: The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke-play event for players ages 12-19 that have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The event is divided into three divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 14 & Under and Girls 12-18.
Tournament Exemptions: All players that finish in the top half of each division will earn points towards the LJT Player of the Year Standings. The event is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek.
Next Up: The Legends Junior Tour heads to Hurricane Creek Country Club for the Collegiate Preview on July 6-7. Qualifying for the Texas Junior Amateur Boys Division is currently underway throughout the state.
For more information on the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here. To see all the scores from Brookhaven Country Club, click here.