Watts, Nguyen and Shwartz Win at Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational
Mont Belvieu – Kevin Watts wins the Boys 15-18 Division of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational at Eagle Pointe Golf Club. Lauren Nguyen wins the Girls 12-18 Division, while Jason Shwartz wins the Boys 14 & Under Division.
Leaderboard:
Boys 15-18
Girls 12-18
Boys 14 & Under
Champions: Colleyville’s Watts wins the Boys 15-18 Division by one stroke after posting rounds of 68-72 to get to 2-under overall. This is Watts’ first victory with the Legends Junior Tour as he improved on his runner-up finish at this event in 2019. Katy’s Nguyen won the Girls 12-18 Division after shooting consecutive rounds of even-par 71 at Eagle Pointe Golf Club. She added three more birdies in the final round bringing her total up to six for 36 holes. This is her second victory on the Legends Junior Tour in 2020. Bellaire’s Shwartz picks up his first victory with the LJT after shooting 3-under 68 in the final round. He accumulated seven birdies on Sunday to bring his total up to nine and finished three shots ahead of the field.
Top Finishers: Austin’s Shoichiro Kato and Spring’s Matthew Spaulding finished runner-up in the Boys 15-18 Division. Houston’s Tyler Gardner finished fourth, followed by The Woodlands’ Will Jordan in fifth and Beach City’s Grant Doggett in sixth. Jake Maggert and Preston Rouse tied for seventh in the division. Cedar Park’s Jiyu Han and San Antonio’s Julia Vollmer tied for second in the Girls 12-18 Division, while Katy’s Maelynn Kim and Frisco’s Sydney Williams tied for fourth. Austin’s Blake Burke and Dallas’ Brooks Harper tied for second in the Boys 14 & Under Division, while Houston’s Charlie Wylie and The Woodlands’ Finn Burkholder finished tied for fourth.
About the Texas Junior Golf Alliance: The Texas Junior Golf Alliance was formed in 2012 and offers junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. The alliance is made up of the Legends Junior Tour, the Southern Texas PGA, the Northern Texas PGA and the Houston Golf Association. The alliance allows players a chance to compete at all levels and to grow their games as they progress.
Weather: Temperatures started in the 60s but stayed in the low 70s throughout the afternoon in Mont Belvieu. The wind picked up on Sunday, staying around 10 miles per hour consistently and gusting upwards of 20 m.p.h.
Golf Course: Eagle Pointe Golf Club opened for play in 1999 and was designed by Rick Forester. The rolling hills and elevation changes make Eagle Pointe very different from most Houston area course. The fairways are surrounded by towering pine trees and the Cherry Point Gully weaves its way through the course, while the Old River is the boundary on several holes. The course stretches out to almost 7,000 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,500 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 5,900 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.
What’s next: The Legends Junior Tour season finishes up with the Jackie Burke Cup matches at The Clubs at Houston Oaks on Nov. 14-15. The Jackie Burke Cup features the top players from the LJT Player of the Year Standings competing against each other in 12-player teams based on their locations. The North Team looks to win its seventh straight this year and leads the overall series 8-7 over the South Team.
For more information on the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational, click here.