Team Oklahoma places seventh at PGA Jr. League Championship in Scottsdale

Photo: SCOTTSDALE, AZ – OCTOBER 06: Team Oklahoma reacts during a practice round of the 2022 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club. (Photo by Chris Coduto/PGA of America)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Oct. 8, 2022) – Team Oklahoma went into the 2022 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship with high hopes of bettering its third-place finish in 2021, but had a case of the lip-outs.

“We hit the ball well but lipped out so many putts it was unreal,” said coach Amanda Fisher. “We did play better the second day but kind of dug a hole for ourselves the first day.

Oklahoma shot 16-under in the four two-person scamble format the first day and 24-under the second day, but the 40-under total was six short of what was needed to make the four-team semifinals, as Illinois, North Carolnia, Florida and California advanced and North Carolina eventually won.

Fisher, reached Sunday evening, said the team of 11-, 12- and 13-year olds was disappointed, but bounced back quickly and were having a high time in the hotel pool and fishing Sunday evening.

The Oklahoma team consisted of Ainslie Stanford III, Chase Hughes, Emerson Majma, Evyn Cannon, Porter Hart,  Austin Anderson, Christopher Crawford and Jacob Newsom. Coaches were Amanda Fisher and Nick Hughes.

The team won a couple of honors in the skills contest. Hart won the long drive contest for thos 11 and under, while Cannon twice hit the flag with pitch shots from 72 yards.

Majma and Newsom are the only 13-year-olds on the squad so the other six will likely form the nucleus of a team that will give it another go in 2024.

Day 2 Standings
For team rosters, click here. 

1: Team Illinois (Lemont), -50
2: Team North Carolina (Charlotte), -49
3: Team California (Encinitas), -47
4: Team Florida (Orlando), -46
5: Team Utah (Lehi), -42
6: Team Texas (Farmers Branch), -41
7: Team Oklahoma (Broken Arrow), -40
8: Team Minnesota (Blaine), -33
9: Team Connecticut (Torrington), -32
10: Team New Jersey (Haworth), -31
11: Team Pennsylvania (West Mifflin), -25
12: Team New York (Saratoga Springs), -3

LETTING THE KIDS TAKE THE REINS
PGA Secretary and Mesa, Arizona resident Don Rea Jr., PGA, had some fun with his starter duties, when he let 8-year-old Jonathan Castellanos take over the microphone on the first tee to announce his brothers, Florida teammates 11-year-old Jeremy and 13-year-old Joshua Castellanos. Click here to see the photo.

A STELLAR DISPLAY OF SKILL…
The Championship kicked off with the Skills Challenge Thursday (Oct. 6), during which players rotated through fun stations involving both golf and non-golf activities. Winners included:

• Team Illinois – Skills Challenge Champions
• Davis Wotnosky, Team North Carolina – Boys Square Tees Longest Drive – 290 Yards
• Hayden Knapp, Team New York – Girls Circle Tees Longest Drive – 227 Yards
• Porter Hart, Team Oklahoma – Boys Circle Tees Longest Drive – 241 Yards
• Evyn Cannon, Team Oklahoma – Highlight Award – Closest to the Hole Station Performance

WITH A SURPRISE PANEL OF STARS
Special guests at the National Car Rental Welcome Party on Thursday (Oct. 6) included a panel moderated by ESPN’s Michael Collins and CBS’ Colt Knost with Team Utah dad and two-time U.S. Ryder Cup member Tony Finau; PGA Jr. League Ambassador and 2014 U.S. Women’s Open Champion Michelle Wie West; and World Amateur No. 1 and 2022 NCAA Division I Champion Rose Zhang.