Jake Welch of Highlands Ranch is a golfer who happens to also be quite adept at wrestling. In fact, the Valor Christian senior-to-be finished third in the 170-pound weight class at the 4A state high school wrestling tournament earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Welch figuratively used his grappling skills to wrestle away the boys title in the Colorado Junior Amateur from Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, who threw down the gauntlet in the final round by shooting a 5-under-par 31 on the front nine and a 6-under-par 66 overall at Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton.
So what did Welch, playing four groups behind Stewart on Wednesday, do in response?
He just posted his best tournament round ever — for the second straight day — by shooting a 66 of his own to overtake Stewart on the back nine and claim the boys championship.
“This week is actually the first time I’ve broken 70 in a tournament,” the 17-year-old said. “To come out and shoot 68 yesterday and 66 today was phenomenal.”
On the girls side, Katie Berrian of Castle Rock did some nifty final-round work of her own to claim the trophy. The 16-year-old rebounded from a second-round 82 with an even-par 72 to emerge from a tightly-packed leaderboard to earn the victory.
“This is one of my biggest wins definitely, especially since it was a three-day tournament. And it was a major championship,” Berrian noted. “I feel really accomplished, and I’m going to celebrate my accomplishment. Now I’m really confident, so I can go into more tournaments feeling like, ‘I did that, so I can do it again.'”
In both the cases of Berrian and Welch, Wednesday marked their first major titles in Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado events. (The champions are pictured together above.)
Welch’s 68-66 in the final two rounds netted him a 10-under-par 206 total and the victory, which he called the biggest of his young career. And to make it even more impressive, Wednesday’s 66 came despite being 2 over par after three holes of the final round. That means he went 8 under par for his last 15 holes.
“On hole 7, my playing partner said, ‘Dillon shot 5 under on the front.’ I was like, ‘Oh Jeez, I’ve got to start making some more birdies,'” said Welch (left). “I had birdied three in a row (4-6) and I birdied No. 8. When I came to the back nine, I knew I was one or two down to Dillon at that point. I told myself to ‘keep hitting good shots. You’re playing well and you’re hitting good putts.'”
Welch, the younger brother of 2015 Colorado Boys Junior Player of the Year Coby Welch, finished the day with nine birdies and three bogeys. And he birdied 16 from 5 feet and 18 from 8 feet following an awkward bunker shot — all after Stewart was finished to break a tie and account for the final margin of victory.
Stewart (bottom), winner of the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior last month, likewise went 68-66 the last two rounds at Todd Creek, checking in at 208 for second place. The future Oklahoma State golfer was 7 under par for the day through 14 holes, but took a double bogey on No. 15 after hitting his second shot into the hazard in front of the green following an errant tee shot into the native grass right of the fairway.
“I played solid and gave myself an opportunity to win,” said Stewart, who will play in the U.S. Junior Amateur next week. “You can’t complain when somebody backs up your 66 with another 66. There’s nothing you can say.”
Welch said he plans on playing college golf — brother Coby is doing so at the University of Northern Colorado — but doesn’t know where yet.
“This will hopefully help” with offers, he said.
Asked if he likes golf or wrestling better, Welch said, “I definitely prefer golf. I’m pretty good at wrestling because we started when we were younger. My dad (Tim) is the head wrestling coach (at Valor). But I definitely think golf is more fun.”
First-round leader TJ Shehee of Mead shared third place at 210 with Ryan Liao of Littleton as both fired 69s on Wednesday.
In the girls tournament, Berrian (left) was two behind entering the final day. But after going 2 over par on the front nine, she played the back in a bogey-free 2 under par, making birdies on 14 and 16. The 16-year-old, who placed third in the 5A girls state high school tournament in May, finished with a 10-over-par 226 total after going 72-82-72.
“Yesterday my alignment was off,” said Berrian, a former 11-13 Colorado Junior Series Champion. “I made a little tweak in my setup. Today on the range I put an alignment stick down, picked a target and dialed it in. It helped me. I was back on the pins today just like the first day.
“I was really focused on my game. I never gave up, even on the front nine where I was 2 over, which wasn’t what I was looking for. But I stayed focused and was patient. I waited for my birdies and I got them, finishing 2 under on the back.
“It was to my advantage that I wasn’t in the final group so that I could focus on me and what I was doing rather than where I was on the leaderboard. I focused yesterday on where I was on the leaderboard and that didn’t really work for me.”
Down the stretch on Wednesday, Berrian birdied the 16th hole, then sank a 10-foot par save on 17 after being over the green. And a 3 1/2-foot par putt on 18 proved crucial as well.
Josie Baker (left) of Sherman Oaks, Calif., a JGAC member who will play her college golf at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland starting in the fall, went 3 over par in four holes Wednesday starting on No. 10 to lose her grip on the lead. She birdied No. 18 to close with a 75, which left her a stroke back of Berrian at 227.
“I definitely have mixed feelings,” said Baker, whose parents are from Colorado and who lives in the Centennial State for a couple of months during the summer. “I thought I played pretty solid all three days. To string together three rounds in the mid-70s is always a pretty good tournment. But obviously I’m disappointed. Today I didn’t hit the ball my best. Obviously, I would have liked to have won. Katie played a great round.”
Marie Jordaan of Lakewood, who shared the lead with Baker and Meghan Vogt of Broomfield after two rounds, finished third at 229 after a final-round 77.
For the scores from the Colorado Junior Amateur, click BOYS, GIRLS.
