For an event that in many respects he treated like “just another tournament for me,” Dillon Stewart certainly gave the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior a special performance this week.
In the fourth year of the tournament, the 17-year-old from Fort Collins became the first Coloradan to win the boys title. Last year, Hailey Schalk of Erie was the first in-state golfer regardless of gender to claim the Irwin Colorado Junior championship.
Not only did Stewart (left and below) earn his first AJGA victory, but he won with an exclamation mark. The Fossil Ridge High School senior-to-be shot a 6-under-par 66 in Thursday’s final round at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster to win the boys title by six strokes — four more than the previous boys record for the event.
“It’s kind of just another tournament, but it’s big in the fact that it boosts my confidence a lot,” Stewart said. “I can shoot some low numbers and make some putts and finish strong. The golf course really fit my eye this week.
“It’s pretty special (being the first Colorado boy to win) because we only have one AJGA tournament in the state. You feel like the younger kids, it might motivate them. Having Hale Irwin as the big role model for a whole bunch of Colorado golfers — because he’s probably the best one to come out of the state — it’s pretty special to me being the first one (to win).”
In-state players actually claimed the top two spots in the boys ranks on Thursday. Davis Bryant of Aurora, who had outdueled Stewart for the championships in the 5A state high school meet and the Colorado Junior PGA last year, was runner-up this time around as the tables were turned among the friendly rivals.
“That was nice actually,” Stewart said. “Me and Davis, we’re pretty neck and neck usually. Eisenhower (for the Colorado Junior PGA) and state, it was unfortunate that I was coming up on the losing end of that. So it was nice to put a low number up there when we play together. It felt good.”
Stewart — who has committed to play his college golf at Oklahoma State, which just won its 11th NCAA title — finished with a 10-under-par 206 total this week at Walnut Creek. That tied the tournament record relative to par for 54 holes.
Stewart, wearing an Oklahoma State shirt, bogeyed his first hole on Thursday after missing the green from the native grass. But he played his remaining 17 holes in a bogey-free 7 under par. And he finished things off by pitching to 6 inches for birdie on the 18th hole.
For the tournament, Stewart racked up 18 birdies in three rounds. In the first eight holes alone on Thursday, he drained birdie putts of 30, 18 and 12 feet, along with a couple of short ones.
Bryant (left), who will play for Colorado State University beginning in the fall, closed with a 70 for a 212 total, good for second place.
“I’m bummed I couldn’t challenge Dillon more, but the guy shoots a 66 and finishes at 10 under par, so you can’t really get mad about that,” said Bryant, the 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year, “He played well. He drove the ball well, made a lot of putts and didn’t really make any mistakes out there. He had one bogey and that was on the first hole.
“This is my last (AJGA event), and I wanted to finish it with a win,” added Bryant, who notched his second career runner-up showing in an AJGA tournament. “But when a guy shoots 66 on this hard of a golf course, you can’t really get mad. I’m discouraged but I’ll try to beat him next week at Eisenhower (Golf Club for this year’s Colorado Junior PGA).”
But for now, Stewart will relish this win as one of the best of his career.
“The AJGA is the biggest junior golf tour around,” he said. “Winning one of these tournaments will help a lot with the confidence. It’s kind of nice to have that one on your record.”
Grant Herrenbruck of Salina, Kan., set the competitive course record with an 8-under-par 64 on Thursday to tie for third place at 215 with Taehoon Song of South Korea and Buena Park, Calif.
Walker Franklin of Broomfield played his final 11 holes in 3 under par to shot 73 and tie for fifth place at even-par 216.
Grewal Runs Away With Girls Title: While no Coloradan prevailed this year in the girls competition, the winner on Thursday is no stranger to the spotlight. Champion Savannah Grewal (left) of Ontario, Canada won the 2017 Drive, Chip & Putt national title in the girls 14-15 category on the Golf Channel at Augusta National on the eve of the Masters.
But Thurday marked the first AJGA victory for Grewal, who is No. 70 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
“It feels great,” she said. “I felt really confident in my game heading into this event. I stayed calm, trusted myself and trusted my gameplan. It all worked out. Everything kind of came together here.
“I’ve come close to winning a couple of times, so I’ve kind of proven to myself that I know now that I have it in me to win. It feels really good. I’m happy.”
Grewal made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole Thursday to shoot a 3-under-par 69, which gave her a 1-under 215 total and a seven-stroke victory — the record margin for this event regardless of gender.
The 16-year-old, who has committed to play collegiately at Clemson, made four birdies and one bogey in the final round. She finished fourth in this event last year.
Thursday’s victory is big, but it doesn’t quite rank up there with winning the Drive, Chip & Putt national title on the 18th hole at Augusta National last year.
“The whole thing was incredible, a dream come true for me,” Grewal said, noting it was her first time competing in the event. “To win on the 18th green at Augusta is a pretty big deal, and also because I was the first Canadian to win. That felt really nice too.”
At Walnut Creek, Sara Camarena of Mexico City finished a distant second among the girls with a 222 total after closing with a 75.
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, the 2017 4A girls state high school champion, led the way for Coloradans by placing third at 223. She shot a 74 on Thursday despite a triple-bogey 7 on the eighth hole, where she thinned a 40-yard shot into the hazard. She then finished her round with 10 consecutive pars.
“It was intersting to say the least,” Lehigh said. “It was an adventure.”
Lehigh (left) led after the first day, but was happy with a third-place finish, by far her best in an AJGA event.
“I feel really good about it honestly, especially after that second day (a 79),” she said. “I ended with nine three-putts for the tournament. With that going on, I’m feeling really good about how I finished. This is by far the best finish I’ve had in an event like this.”
Meanwhile, Schalk tied for ninth place in her title defense, going 73-80-76 for a 229 total.
The Hale Irwin Colorado Junior is conducted annually by the American Junior Golf Association with the help of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and local volunteers from the CGA and JGAC.
For the scores for the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.
