Kannapolis, NC (June 19, 2019) – The 2019 Carolinas Junior PGA Championship is complete at The Club at Irish Creek after two beautiful days of golf with many low rounds and incredible golf displayed by Carolinas juniors.

In the Boys division, two players went low in today’s round to surpass round one leaders to qualify for the National Junior Championship. The championship will take place at Keney Park Golf Course in Windsor, Connecticut, July 30-August 2. Zach Brown of Bermuda Run, NC shot 67 (-4) in today’s round to accompany his first round 68 to finish at 135 (-7) for the championship. “I knew I had to make putts to give myself a busy July,” said Brown; and he did just that. Joining him at the top of the leaderboard was Sai (Aaron) Pha of Bluffton, SC who tied the low boy’s round of the tournament shooting 65 (-6) in today’s round with only one bogey. Joined with his first round one-under, Pha finished tied with Brown to claim the two qualifying spots. After two playoff holes, Brown came out on top to claim the Boys Carolinas Junior PGA Championship title.

For the championship, four junior boys tied for the third-place spot only one-shot back from the leaders at 6-under par. Charlie Barr, Todd Moyer, Cameron Whitney, and Walker Isley turned in some good scores to secure those spots. Barr carded a 5-under in today’s round to jump up the leaderboard into his final position.

(left to right) Zach Brown & Sai (Aaron Pha)

Many under-par scores were posted over the two-day championship in the Girls division, showcasing some great talent. Two girls came out on top today to qualify for the Girls National Championship at Keney Park Golf Course in Windsor, Connecticut, July 9-12. Coming in with the low round of the entire championship is Anna Morgan who carded a nearly clean scorecard 64 (-7). Not only was this the low round of the tournament but is Morgan’s lowest round ever, surpassing her previous record of 67. Morgan had a lot of confidence going into today’s round: “I don’t know what it was but I would step over 40-foot putts and say ‘This is going in.” After qualifying and competing at the National Championship in 2017, Morgan had some fire under her as she reflected on her 2018 performance. “I missed qualifying last year by one shot, so I knew I needed to stay patient and make putts today.” Shooting 66 (-5) today and joining Morgan with a 36-hole total of 8-under par and qualifying for the National Championship is Nicole Adam of Pinehurst, NC. After two playoff holes, Adam, who will attend UNC Chapel Hill in the fall, came out on top as the Carolinas Champion.

(left to right) Anna Morgan & Nicole Adam

Congratulations to our four qualifiers! We can’t wait to cheer them on next month in the National Championships.
Zach Brown
Sai (Aaron) Pha
Nicole Adam
Anna Morgan

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A huge thank you to the tremendous staff and membership at The Club at Irish Creek for their support and hospitality this week.

The 44th Junior PGA Championship is open to the overall boy and girl Section Champion and Runner-up from each of the 41 PGA Sections, champions of the eight PGA Junior Series events, select national junior tournaments conducted throughout the year and special invitees who have not reached their 19th birthdays as of the final round of the championship. The Boys and Girls fields consist of 141 players in this year’s tournament.

The Junior PGA Championship has traditionally been a stepping-stone for many of today’s PGA and LPGA Tour professionals, as well as current collegiate stars. Past Junior PGA Championship competitors who have gone on to successful professional careers on tour include: Inbee Park, Luke Guthrie, Trevor Immelman, Cristie Kerr, Justin Leonard, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Grace Park, Dottie Pepper, Jordan Spieth, Lexi Thompson, David Toms, Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods.

 

About the PGA of America

Celebrating its Centennial, the PGA of America represents the very best in golf. For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGA.org, follow @PGAofAmerica on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

About the Carolinas PGA

Since its inception in 1923, the Carolinas PGA Section has been committed to nurturing and improving the quality of the game for the thousands of golfers using its member facilities.  Now the largest of the PGA’s forty-one sections, the Carolinas PGA Section of the Professional Golfers’ Association boasts nearly 2,000 professional members and represents more than 800 golf facilities within North and South Carolina as well as portions of southern Virginia. For more information, please contact Director of Marketing, Sally Morgan, PGA at smorgan@pgahq.com or visit www.carolinas.pga.com.