Bowen Ballis (American Junior Golf Association Photo)
Bowen Ballis of The Woodlands, Tex., shot a final-round 1-under 71 for a tournament total of 8-under 208 and his first Invitational win. Ballis claimed victory on his home course.
The AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods is one of the longest-running events on the AJGA schedule. Originally played in 1987, the tournament settled at The Club at Carlton Woods in 2009. The event has a storied past with champions such as Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, and Jordan Spieth.
"I’ve played this course a million times," Ballis said. "I know that if you hit the ball well, you can make a lot of birdies. I kept telling myself that my swing has felt good all week and all it takes is a few good swings to make it happen. After the early bogeys, I knew that there were birdies to come, and I just tried to stay in it mentally."
Ballis began the final round with a four-shot lead which quickly shrunk as players made moves in the favorable course conditions. Ballis relied on his resilience throughout the round, but especially following the front nine where he carded two bogeys and made the turn at 1-over-par 37.
Ballis rebounded on the back nine, carding birdies on Nos. 12 and 13. Going into the par-5 No. 17, he had a one-shot lead over Eric Yun of Menlo Park, California. Ballis reached the green in two and sealed his victory with a birdie before completing an incredible up-and-down on No. 18 to close out the win.
Coming into the event at No. 74 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, the high school senior has signed a National Letter of Intent with Vanderbilt University. He is playing in his second AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. The win is his third AJGA tournament victory.
"Obviously, any win on the AJGA is huge," Ballis said. "This tournament has one of the best fields in golf, and you get to see 72 of the best juniors in the world. That’s how it’s going to be in college too, in every tournament that you play there are good players everywhere. So just getting experience in these types of scenarios will help me down the road."
Eric Yun of Menlo Park, Calif., finished in solos second place at 6-under, Blades Brown of Nashville, Tenn., finished in solo third place at 5-under, Billy Davis of Spring Valley, Calif., finished in solo fourth place at 4-under and Luke Colton of Frisco, Tex., finished in solo fifth place at 2-under to round out the top five.
Blades Brown made history over the summer, finishing as co-medalist at the U.S. Amateur, becoming the youngest co-medalist ever.
Related: U.S. Amateur: Blades Brown shoots 64, races to tie with Zheng, Buchanan for co-medalist
Brown is ranked No. 130 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings.
View results for AJGA Boys Championship
ABOUT THE AJGA Boys Championship
One of the AJGA series of tournaments that
require an invitation to participate. Format is 54
holes of stroke play. For boys ages 12-18. Field
size is 78. Must be AJGA member.
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