Firing two eagles in his final round, Carter Pendley of Dalton, Ga., soared to the championship of the American Junior Golf Association tournament at RiverWatch this past week, his first time hoisting a junior title.
He was joined on the podium by girls’ champion SiQuin Yu of China, now residing in Bradenton, Fla., who led wire-to-wire, making 13 birdies on her way to claiming a third AJGA title.
Pendley, a commit to the golf program at Clemson University, shot nine-under-par 207 on the challenging RiverWatch course posting days of 71 and 70 before breaking through for a 66 on the final day of the three-round event. His eagles on three and 18 helped him hold off second-place Rafe Reynolds by three strokes. For Pendley, he finally broke through after having six top-20 finishes in his four years in national junior golf. Pendley finished third this past year in the Georgia state high school championships.
Things were not so dramatic for Yu who had the tournament in hand from the first tee. Her five-under-par score left her five strokes ahead of second-place Lexanne Halama of Knoxville, with Yu the only girl shooting under par. Lynn Lim of Gallatin was third shooting three-over-par. Yu was ranked third nationally in the junior division. The 16-year-old, in addition to her titles, has eight top-10 finishes.
The lone DeKalb County entry, Isaac Walker ended up shooting 13-over-par, 21 strokes off the lead after posting scores of 79, 78 and an even par 72 on the final day of competition leaving him in 29th place. Fellow Tennessean, Alex Cobb of Brentwood shot a one-under-par 215 after being boosted by a six-under-par 66 in the final round. He has signed a letter of intent to play golf at UT Chattanooga.
There were 78 players age 12-19 entered in the 54-hole tournament which is part of the AJGA tour, including 13 Tennessee youths, along with golfers from 16 states and three countries. This year marked the second year RiverWatch has hosted the AJGA Junior. The course, which was designed by PGA professional Peter Jacobsen and architect Jim Hardy, sits above Center Hill Lake in Middle Tennessee. Along with hosting the AJGA, the course is also home to the SNEDS Tour at RiverWatch.
Of the 11 players committed to colleges in the 2018 tournament field, three of them are committed to schools in Tennessee. In the boys division, Bryson Morrell of Knoxville is committed to the University of Tennessee at Martin. In the girls division, two Tennesseans, Jayna Choi of Collierville and Lynn Lim of Gallatin are both committed to Vanderbilt University.
