American Junior Golf Association: Weekend round up

February 21, 2022 | by American Junior Golf Association

Jeffrey Guan poses with tournament host Adam Scott

Mahanth Chirravuri, Leigh Chien, Jeffrey Guan (above) and Frances Kim win AJGA titles on Monday

The American Junior Golf Association held three premier tournaments over the long weekend with the playing of the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods in the Woodlands, Texas, the UNIQLO / Adam Scott Junior Championship at River Ridge Golf Club in Oxnard, Calif. and the Mariah Stackhouse Girls Invitational at Stanford Golf Course.

Here are brief recaps of each of those events.

AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods; The Woodlands, Texas

Mahanth Chirravuri of Chandler, Arizona, won the 2022 AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods with a final score of 12-under-par 204. This is the first AJGA victory for the University of Southern California signee.

After holding the 36-hole lead, Chirravuri started his final round with a birdie on No. 1. He had a back-and-forth front nine, making the turn with three birdies and four bogeys. He then had four-consecutive pars before he started to heat up, finishing his final five holes with four birdies to card a 3-under-par 69.

Mahanth Chirravuri

The No. 57 player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Chirravuri hit key shots down the stretch to outlast Nicholas Gross of Downingtown, Pa., by one stroke.

Gross battled down the stretch, setting the pace for the leader group with four birdies on the back nine to challenge Chirravuri from the penultimate group. The difference came down to No. 18 where Gross finished with par at 11-under-par 205. Chirravuri stuck his second shot three feet from the hole and finished with a birdie to seal the victory.

Rounding out the top ten, Jeremy Chen of Taipei City, Taiwan, finished in tied for third in his AJGA Invitational debut with a score of 7-under-par 209. Eric Lee of Fullerton, California, notched his fourth AJGA Invitational top-10 finish sharing third place with Chen.

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.

* * * * *

Mariah Stackhouse Invitational; Stanford (Calif.) Golf Course

Leigh Chien of Irvine, California, wins the 2022 Mariah Stackhouse Girls Invitational with a score of even-par 213.

It would take one playoff hole to decide this year's champion. The reigning champion Michelle Liu, senior Sophie Zhang-Murphy, and eventual champion Leigh Chien went head-to-head in a close round all the way to the end.

Chien started her day off with a birdie on hole No. 1 and added two more on holes seven and eight. The 2024 graduate went on to have a steady back nine where a couple clutch putts down the stretch kept her alive. With a par on No. 18, Chien forced a playoff with the other two juniors Zhang-Murphy and Liu. With the two juniors yet to finish the playoff hole, Chien would go on to birdie and claim victory.

The 16-year-old captured her third invitational win after finishing runner-up at last year's event. This is her first invitational win since going back to back at the 2019 and 2020 KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational. In addition to her invitational wins, she also has a win at the Lockton Kansas City Junior presented by UHY. Chien's AJGA resume also includes eight top-10 finishes.

This two time Rolex Junior All-American is currently ranked No. 17 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.

Michelle Liu of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Sophie Zhang-Murphy of Saratoga, California, would finish T2 at even-par 213. Liu backed up her win last year with another solid performance. The No. 9 junior in the Rolex AJGA Rankings would add to her career top-5 total which is now at five. Zhang-Murphy completed her highest career finish at an invitational. The Princeton commit now has 12 top-10 career AJGA finishes.

Anna Davis of Spring Valley, California, finished in fourth at 3-over-par 216. Five juniors finished T5. Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, California, Jasmine Koo of Cerritos, California, Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, California, Olivia Duan of Cupertino, California, and Ashley Yun of West Covina, California, all finished 4-over-par 217.

Three juniors rounded out the top-10. Kiara Romero of San Jose, California, Avery Zweig of McKinney, Texas, and Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Washington, would all finish the tournament at 5-over-par-218.

UNIQLO / Adam Scott Junior Championships; River Ridge Golf Club; Oxnard, Calif.

It's only fitting that Jeffrey Guan of Bexley, Australia chose the UNIQLO / Adam Scott Junior Championships for his first AJGA event. The fact he won the tournament hosted by one of Australia's favorite sons is nothing short of remarkable.

Bexley, ranked 198th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, fired a final round 68 to finish at 12-under 204, which was good for an eight-shot win over Collin Hodgkinson of Beaverton, Ore. Bexley fired rounds of 69-67-68 to claim his first AJGA win.

Frances Kim of Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., a 2020 Rolex All-American who is ranked 106th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, won the Girls' Division with a 1-over score of 217 on rounds of (1-over-par 217). Elise Lee of Irvine, Calif. finished two back at 3-over 219.

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