Ben Zimmerman was quick to high-five playing partner Jack Castiglia after the latter made the first hole-in-one of his life on Wednesday,
“He’s a really nice guy,” Zimmerman later said of Castiglia. (Zimmerman, in blue, is pictured at left congratulating Castiglia.)
Still, the ace didn’t make Zimmerman’s goal of winning the CJGA 10 & Under Junior Series Championship any easier. Indeed, the shot tied the two players for the lead in the event held at the Boulder Country Club’s Les Fowler Par-3 Course.
After Castiglia’s “1”, “I was kind of thinking, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing,'” said Zimmerman, a nine-year-old who plays out of Denver Country Club. “‘You don’t have to make any big adjustment or have to do any crazy shot. You just have to keep doing what you’re doing.'”
The result was that Zimmerman made two clutch 10-foot par putts in the final three holes to claim the boys division title by two strokes. Earlier, another nine-year-old, Amisha Singh of South Suburban Family Sports (pictured at left), earned the girls championship by four shots after trailing by two with seven holes remaining.
All in all, it was an eventful day in the final Junior Series Championship of the 2011 CJGA season.
Castiglia, who was also a runner-up in this event last year, came into the 12th hole trailing Zimmerman by two. But that changed in a hurry when Castiglia hit a pitching wedge on the 86-yard hole to the center of the green and the ball spun hard left into the cup.
“Right when I hit it, it felt good,” he said. “Then when it went in, it felt like a dream.”
Zimmerman and Castiglia matched scores the following three holes, leaving things tied going into No. 16. Both players fell short of that green, but Zimmerman got up and down for par while Castiglia settled for a bogey. After both players made bogey on 17, Zimmerman finished things off with a one-putt par on the 220-yard par-3 18th.
“I felt bad for Jack Castiglia,” Zimmerman said. “He got a hole-in-one. That was really good, but I like the way I recovered from that.”
Competing largely against players a year older, Zimmerman (pictured at left) was happy to land the title at his age.
“I haven’t won anything bigger than this,” said Zimmerman, who first picked up a golf club at age 3. “I was aiming to win this, and that’s just one of my goals. I’m glad that I achieved it. That will help me push myself to do things next year. It also meant a lot to me because it showed me that I can hang in with the older guys.”
Zimmerman made two early birdies in his round and carded a 6-over-par 60 total. Castiglia finished second at 62, while Jackson Klutznick of Denver Country Club took third at 66 after a 1-over 28 on his final nine holes.
In the girls competition, Singh recorded a 13-over-par 67 total, finishing four ahead of both Amy Chitkoksoong of CommonGround Golf Course and Caroline Jordaan of Cherry Hills Country Club.
Chitkoksoong, a runner-up in this event last year, was two ahead with seven holes left, but she struggled down the stretch. And Singh’s four pars on the back nine helped her claim the championship.
“I really didn’t think I would win it,” Singh said. “This is the biggest tournament I’ve won. It makes me feel really happy.”
Appropriately enough, Singh’s dad is named Vijay, and he does play some golf. But unlike the former No. 1-ranked player in the world, Amisha’s father was born in India rather than in Fiji.
“A lot of people ask for his signature,” Amisha said with a smile.
The 10 & Under tournament was the third and last Junior Series Championship of the year for the CJGA. Ethan Freeman and Taylor Dorans won the 14-18 titles, while AJ Ott and Sydney Merchant prevailed in the 11-13 tournament.
CJGA 10 & Under Junior Series Championship
At Par-54 Les Fowler Course at Boulder CC
BOYS
Ben Zimmerman, Denver Country Club, 30-30–60
Jack Castiglia, Fossil Trace Golf Club, 32-30–62
Jackson Klutznick, Denver Country Club, 38-28–66
Cade Kilkenny, South Suburban Family Sports Center, 35-32–67
Justin Sneed, Evergreen Golf Course, 34-33–67
Henry Rock, Coal Creek Mens Golf Club, 35-33–68
Jake Welch, Links, 33-36–69
James Ringsby, Denver Country Club, 35-34–69
John Marble, Raccoon Creek , 36-35–71
Zachary Snow, Lakewood Country Club, 40-33–73
Trey Whitehead, Deer Creek Golf Club, 36-39–75
Christian Agelopoulos, Family Sports Golf Course, 41-35–76
Fischer Matthews, Haymaker Golf Course, 39-37–76
Freddie Ingham, Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel, 36-40–76
Will McCormick, Denver Country Club, 44-35–79
Levi Wyrick, Highland Meadows Golf Course, 40-40–80
Zaden Gomez, Indian Tree Golf Course, 35-45–80
Christopher Kennedy, Meadow Hills Golf Course, 42-40–82
Riley Rottschafer, South Suburban, 42-43–85
Luke Wright, Broken Tee Englewood, WD
GIRLS
Amisha Singh, Family Sports, 34-33–67
Amy Chitkoksoong, CommonGround Golf Course, 33-38–71
Caroline Jordaan, Cherry Hills Country Club, 38-33–71
Jenna Chun, Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel, 47-38–85
Katie Berrian, The Country Club at Castle Pines, 38-48–86
Marie Jordaan, Cherry Hills Country Club, 38-48–86
Lindsey Benson, Valley CC Wga, 42-45–87
Shannan Ireland, Blackstone Country Club, 53-55–108
Sophie Troyer, CommonGround Golf Course, 66-63–129
