DAVIS, W.Va. — A pair of rising high school seniors claimed WVGA Junior Amateur Championships Thursday at Canaan Valley Resort. Tommy Evans of Washington High School defended his title while Lexi Green of Capital High School won the girls division in a playoff.
Evans began the final round tied with Bridgeport’s Alex Randolph atop the leaderboard. His second birdie of the day came on the Par 3 16th hole, one of the most challenging holes on the course. The 10-foot putt gave him a two-stroke lead on Isaac Hutchison. Evans was able to close out the tournament with back-to-back pars.
“I was so excited. I lipped out putts all day. It was really a grind today. But that birdie on 16 helped me a lot mentally. I was stressing out pretty bad. But I am thankful that putt lipped in,” Evans said.
“I was checking the leaderboard all day. I am one of those guys that would rather look than not look. I knew [Hutchison] was coming.”
Evans, a WVU commit, made just one bogey in his final 24 holes of the 54-hole tournament.
“Coming into this week, I was really excited to play. I love this course. I love the people playing in the tournament. I didn’t play up to my standards for the second and the third day. But I rallied on the first to birdie five of the last six.”
Hutchison shot 68 on the final day to post 3-under and earn runner-up honors.
The girls championship needed an extra hole to settle the issue. Green used a par on the first playoff hole, the Par 5 17th, to hold off Wheeling’s Ellie West. Green was as many as three shots off the lead during her final round. But she made back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes, her 12th and 13th holes of the day to pull even atop the leaderboard.
“I just tried to stay in it. I knew I was in it so I just tried to stay calm and keep going because I knew I could do it,” Green said.
“It means a lot. I am proud that I did it. Last year, I came a few shots short. I am glad I pulled it off this year.”
Three divisions wrapped up their 36-hole competitions on Wednesday afternoon. Graydi Floyd of Daniels (10-over) posted a 1-shot victory in the Boys 13-14 division. Morgantown’s Andrew Grigsby finished one stroke back. Deacon Delaplain of Shanks (37-over) won the Boys 12-and-under division in a playoff over Bridgeport’s Maceo Ryan.
Valentina Aguilar of Elkins (15-over) won the Girls 14-and-under championship. Morgantown’s Sylvie Yao finished as runner-up.