July 10, 2018
Oakdale Golf and Country Club member Ryan Meyer has his first NCGA title.
Meyer shot a final round 4-under 68 Tuesday at par-72 Lake Merced GC to win both the overall title and Boys’ 16-18 division at the annual NCGA Junior Championship. Four players, including Meyer, had been tied for the lead after Monday’s first two rounds at even par 144.
Meyer had five birdies and just one bogey in the final to edge runner-up Caleb Shetler of San Jose CC by a stroke. Shetler, who entered the final round a stroke off the lead, had a 69.
Third place went to Garrett Boe at 217 following a 71.
Boys 14-15 Division
YOC Santa Teresa member John Heckel took the title, shooting a final round 75 to come in at 219, defeating runner-up Sebastian Iqbal of E-Club South Bay by four shots. Iqbal had a final round 74.
Heckel had entered the final round tied for the overall lead at even-par 144.
Girls Championship
YOC East Bay member Gia Feliciano came from a stroke back to win her first NCGA title.
Felciano followed up an opening round even-par 72 with a 73 to come in at 1-over 145, defeating runner-up Jaclyn Laha of Castlewood CC by three shots. Feliciano had three birdies and four bogeys in the final round, including a closing birdie on the 18th to seal the victory.
Laha posted four birdies in the second round, but was stung in part by a double-bogey on the par-4 13th. She’d shoot 73 to finish at 148.
Third place went to YOC East Bay member Mika Jin, who finished at 150 after a second round 79.
Boys 10-13 Championship
YOC Pleasanton member Chanhee Ryu went wire-to-wire, carding a second round 74 to come in at 8-over 152 for a seven shot win over co-runners-up Luke Montoya of Preserve GC and Jonathan Chen of YOC AT&T Pebble Beach.
Montoya had a second round 80, while Chen had an 81.
July 9, 2018
Boys’ 16-18 Championship
Four players–Trey Davis, Ryan Meyer, Garrett Boe and Ryan Grauman—all took a share of the 36-hole lead after posting matching scores of even par 144 in Monday’s first and second rounds.
Caleb Shetler was also in the mix after a 145.
Boys’ 14-15 Championship
John Heckel, a member at YOC Santa Teresa, jumped to a huge seven shot lead with a first day, 36-hole total of even par 144.
Girls’ Championship
YOC East Bay member Mika Jin is the one to catch early on after posting a first round 1-under 71. Jin, who’s in search of her first NCGA title, had four birdies to go against three bogeys.
Just a shot back at 72 is YOC East Bay member Gia Feliciano. Coming in with a 73, and alone in third place, is YOC member Jacqueline Lucena.
The Girls’ Championship will conclude with 18 holes on Tuesday.
Boys’ 10-13 Flight
Chanhee Ryu of YOC Pleasanton and Jonathan Chen of YOC AT&T Pebble Beach grabbed a share of the lead, with each posting first round scores of 6-over 78. Alone in third place, and just a stroke back at 79, is Preserve Golf Club member Luke Montoya.
Preview
The NCGA Junior Championship began in 1930 and carries with it a rich history of young champions including eventual PGA Tour players. Notable winners include Ken Venturi in 1949, Bobby Clampett in 1976 and Joel Kribel in 1993. Johnny Miller triumphed at The Olympic Club in 1963 and when Todd Miller claimed the title at Orinda in 1996 they became the only father-son champions. Eddie Fry holds the most wins, after claiming victories in 1941, 1942 and 1943. In 1983 the championship changed from match play to 54-holes stroke play. Since the format changed, the only player to win back-to-back championships is 1998 and 1999 winner Tom Johnson. Patrick Nagle holds the scoring record of 13-under-par 203 set in 2002 at Brookside CC. The only players to win back-to-back tournaments since the girls’ division began in 1982 are Jamille Jose (1988-1989) and Sabrina Iqbal (2015-2016). Haley Andreas holds the girls’ championship record with three-under-par 143 at Spyglass Hill in 2009. With his Boys’ win in 2016, Thomas Hutchison joined sister Samantha (2013) as a champion. The two are the only siblings to have won.
