Hofferkamp, Ahn and O’Donnell Win James A. Ragan Memorial
Briefly: Austin Hofferkamp fired a 5-under 67 and won the Boys 15-18 Division of the James A. Ragan Memorial at Lozano Golf Center. Adrienne Ahn completed her wire-to-wire victory in the Girls Division after shooting an even par 72 to win by three strokes. Tripp O’Donnell shot 4-under in the final round to win the Boys 14 & Under Division.
Winners: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Austin Hofferkamp of The Woodlands played solid golf over 2 days posting the low round each day of the event. His 9-under total was 3 shots better than his closest competitor. In the Girls Division, Dallas’s Adrienne Ahn claimed her second LJT victory by shooting rounds of 74-72 to finish at 2-over par overall. Ahn’s final round included 16 pars and never gave the others an opening to catch her as she completed her 3 shot victory. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Trip O’Donnell of Houston captured his first LJT victory by shooting 4-under 68, finishing the tournament at 1-over par and a two stroke victory. O’Donnell started the day in a tie for 4th, 5 strokes behind the first round leader Ryan Lee.
Top Finishers: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Richmond’s Eli Walker Campbell finished in second at 6-under par overall. Campbell overcame an early double bogey on the 2nd hole and posted 7 birdies in his final round 68. Four players tied for third place at 3-under par 141 including Fair Oaks Ranch’s Phoenix Guerra, Portland’s Hayden Hardwick, Plano’s Rhett O’Rear and The Hill’s Conner Smith. In the Girls Division, Emma Koch of Victoria and Leya Glazer of Dallas finished tied for second at 5-over. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Austin’s Dylan Knox finished second at 3-over par while Selma’s Aadi Parmer and College Station’s Ryan Lee tied for third at 7-over par.
Player of the Years Points: Austin Hofferkamp, Adrienne Ahn, and Trip O’Donnell all earned 500 points in the Player of the Year Point Race. Points are awarded at each tournament to the top half of each age division.
Weather: The temperatures in Corpus Christi reached the upper 80s under cloudy skies. A north wind was present throughout the day with gusts up to 20 miles per hour.
Course: Lozano Golf Center is hosting the James A. Ragan Memorial for the first time. Lozano Golf Center, named after its original owner Gabe Lozano, is home to an 18 Hole, Par 72 Championship Golf Course measuring 7,027 yards from the professional tees, and a 9 Hole, Par 30 Executive Course measuring 1,947 yards. Lozano GC is traditionally known the most popular among all golf facilities in Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas. The course was built by Leon Howard in 1965 and renovated in 1983 by Finger Dye Spann, Inc. It’s a long course that plays to 7,000 yards and features water on most holes. The fairways provide wide landing areas which helps when the wind is blowing hard off the Gulf. Recent renovations have drastically improved the overall conditions the golf course and facilities. Lozano Golf center is owned by the City of Corpus Christi, and managed by Foresight Golf.
About James: James Ragan started playing on the LJT in 2008 and recorded three top-25 finishes. The Corpus Christi native won the 2010 Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic and earned a spot in the Jackie Burke Cup Matches. He would go on to win the LJT’s first Sportsmanship Award and the next year the award was named after him. Ragan was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in 2006, which is a rare type of pediatric cancer. He founded “Triumph Over Kid Cancer” which is an organization that has raised more than $3 million dollars for pediatric cancer research. James passed away in 2014 but TOKC has kept going with the help of the Ragan family.
About TOKC: Founded by James Ragan in 2007, Triumph Over Kid Cancer is dedicated to improving the lives of children with cancer by raising their spirits, raising the public’s awareness and funding research to improve the treatment and survivability of pediatric cancers.
What’s Next: The Legends Junior Tour heads east for the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational at Sulpher Springs Country Club on Oct. 22-23. The invitational will be the final event of the 2022 LJT season with player of the year awards and Jackie Burke Cup roster spots on the line.
For more information on the James A. Ragan Memorial, click here. To see all the scores from the event, click here.