The AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, presented by MusclePharm, started with three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin putting on a clinic at CommonGround Golf Course. Then AJGA competitors promptly went out the next day and made three holes-in-one in a single round.
It all seemed pretty hard to top.
Yet the inaugural tournament at CommonGround seemed to do just that on Thursday.
Reese Ramsey of Austin, Texas not only set a course record at CommonGround but he tied the low round in the 37-year history of the AJGA Thursday with a 10-under-par 61 that vaulted the 16-year-old to victory. (He’s pictured above receiving the trophy from CGA executive director Ed Mate.)
“It’s crazy that it actually happened,” he said. “I didn’t really expect that it would, but it did. It was just a special day and a special moment, so I’m going to savor it. It was a round I’ll never forget.”
Ramsey, who has verbally committed to play college golf at Texas A&M starting in 2017, came from eight strokes behind entering the final round to post his first AJGA victory. The high school junior-to-be made eight birdies to go along with an eagle on No. 11, where he sank a 15-foot putt.
Ramsey broke the course record by one at CommonGround, which opened in 2009. Nick Mason previously had the low competitive round, a 62 shot in a local mini-tour event in 2012.
As for the AJGA, it’s been around since 1978, and none of the luminaries who have played over the years — including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia — have had a better round on that junior circuit than Ramsey did on Thursday.
“Oh my gosh, that’s impressive,” AJ Ott (left) of Fort Collins said of Ramsey’s 61. “I’m going to go shake that kid’s hand. That’s pretty sweet.”
The Texan teed off more than two hours ahead of the second-round leaders and finished three-plus hours before them, considering there was a late-afternoon suspension of play for lightning. The closing 61 gave Ramsey a 9-under-par 204 total and a two-stroke victory over Sam Tidd of Meridian, Idaho.
On a day when three players shot 65 or lower, the two besides Ramsey tied for third place. Jackson Solem of Longmont, the day after posting a quintuple-bogey 9 on a hole, closed with a 65, while Joshua Gliege of Eagle, Idaho managed a 63. They shared third place at 207 with Ott (70 Thursday) and second-round leader Tripp Kinney of West Des Moines, Iowa (72).
In the girls competition, three-time Oklahoma state high school champion Sydney Youngblood, of Durant, prevailed by two strokes after being no worse than co-leader following the first two rounds.
Ramsey’s previous low round in tournament play was a 63. This week, he went 75-68-61. Does that mean if the tournament had been a four-rounder, he would have shot 54 on Friday? Just a thought.
Ramsey needed just 26 putts on Thursday and made more than his share of 10- and 15-footers. “Everything was kind of working my way,” he said.
So what does it mean to shoot a score that no one has beaten in AJGA history?
“It is just super cool,” he said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
As for the top Colorado finishers, Solem and Ott put together strong showings but each had a little feeling of “what if?”
Had Solem (left) made a par instead of a 9 on the par-4 13th hole Wednesday, he would have won by two. As it was, he lost a ball on the hole, left a shot in a bunker, then pitched out and three-putted.
“There’s nothing I can do about it now,” he said Thursday. “It was kind of a fluke thing. I haven’t had a 9 since I think I was 13. It’s been a while. It’s in the ‘would be nice’ category. But this is a good finish for my first AJGA. It’s definitely a confidence-booster going into the rest of the year.”
As for Ott, a 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier, he was on the heels of the leaders at 8 under par overall through 48 holes, but he went 2 over the rest of the way.
“I’ve been struggling a little lately, but I found something this week and it was nice to kind of feel in contention,” said the left-hander, who has committed to Colorado State. “But I’ve got to play better down the stretch.”
In the girls tournament, Youngblood (left) closed with an even-par 71 to post a 1-under-par 212 total. Placing second was a 13-year-old, Ellie Szeryk of Allen Texas, who shot a 73 Thursday for 214 overall. Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, who last month won her second straight Colorado high school championship, tied for third place with Bibilani Liu of Cupertino, Calif., at 216. Kupcho carded a 71 on Thursday and Liu a 72.
Youngblood, a 17-year-old who has committed to play college golf at the University of Oklahoma beginning in the fall of 2016, scored her first AJGA victory. She made two birdies and two bogeys in a steady final round. On Tuesday, she shot a 66, her low round ever.
“I’m really honored to be able to win an AJGA event,” said Youngblood, who ranks this win above any of her Oklahoma state high school titles. “The competition in these events is always really tough; all the players are amazing. It’s always a tight race. I’m blessed to have been able to come out on top. I’ve always had a blast playing AJGA.”
Kupcho (left) had a blemish-free scorecard through 14 holes with two birdies and a dozen pars. But her hopes of winning the first and last AJGA event she’ll play realistically ended with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16.
“I was playing great, but couldn’t keep it going,” the 2014 CWGA Player of the Year said. “But it was a great experience to be able to play against that kind of competition in my home state.”
The 2016 AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior will be played at Highlands Ranch Golf Club, which was designed by Irwin himself. Future sites are to be determined.
For scores from this week’s tournament, CLICK HERE.
