Southwestern Amateur: Leow, Banke lead Men, Whiston paces Women

June 16, 2021 | by Jordan Perez of AmateurGolf.com

Nicole Whiston (Tennessee Women's Golf photo)

The historic tournament is back with a new women's division

The long-awaited Southwestern Amateur has returned. The 2021 historic stop at the Desert Mountain Outlaw Course showcased the continued strength of the men's championship along with the tournament's new women's division. Wednesday’s first-round teed off with the men’s division and resulted in a runaway tie at eight-under between Arizona State sophomore James Leow and Arizona grad transfer Christian Banke. The in-state PAC-12 rivals fired incredible rounds of 63, with Leow pouring in six birdies on his back nine and Banke’s early eagle on the second hole jump-starting his round. The pair’s incredible first day left plenty to chase after, amounting to a five-stroke lead ahead of a three-way tie for second between Brandon Hoff, Tony Chen and Blake Lorenz. The Southwestern Amateur introduced its very first women’s division with a world-class field that also put up low scores in the triple digit desert heat. University of Tennessee junior Nicole Whiston took the solo lead mid-afternoon with a first round two-under 69, carding the only round under 70 on the women’s leaderboard. Ami Gianchandani and Ching-Tzu Chen are Whiston’s closest challengers, tied for second at 1-under 70. Gianchandani’s two eagles shone in her first round campaign. Round 2 of the 72-hole event gets underway Thursday.

Results: Southwestern Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	James Leow	, Singapore	700	63-70-69-70=272
2	Tucker Allen	Tolar, TX	500	70-71-67-67=275
T3	Keegan Bronnenberg	Muncie, IN	400	69-71-69-69=278
T3	Christian Banke	Danville, CA	400	63-72-70-73=278
T3	Ryan Eshleman	Vestavia Hills, AL	400	71-70-65-72=278

View full results for Southwestern Amateur

About the Southwestern Amateur

Southwestern Amateur: Leow, Banke lead Men, Whiston paces Women

The Southwestern Men's Amateur Golf Championship is a prestigious 72-hole stroke play competition open to top national-level amateurs holding a handicap index of 1.4 or better. Following the first 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 36 players...