This past weekend marked the beginning of a new era on the TJGT with the debut of the Elite Mini-Tour, which played alongside the big tour at Bear Creek GC. With both the Fall Junior Preview and the Elite Mini-tour Kickoff being played August 23rd and 24th at Bear Creek, the TJGT took another step forward in further establishing itself as the place to play competitive junior golf. With Nationally-ranked events for boys and girls ages 8-18 there isn’t a better value in junior golf anywhere.
Although the first Elite Mini-Tour event was shortened to 27 holes due to some nasty weather that moved in on Saturday, that didn’t mean there was a shortage of great golf! Kudos to Daniel Martinez for making the first ever eagle on the EMT when he eagled the opening hole on Sunday. We also had the same playoff excitement that we see on the big tour with Stephen Culin defeating Mason Greenberg on second playoff hole to snag second place in the Boys 10-11. Congrats to Jeffrey Miller for taking top honors in that age group. In the 12-13 Boys our good friend Johnny Jones took the top spot and in the Boys 8-9 Mr. Martinez rode his eagle all the way to a final round 77 and the title by 15 shots over P.J. Schmitz. 
The next mini-tour event at Cottonwood Creek in Waco Sept 6th & 7th will mark the first invitational for the mini tour event.
On to the big tour. The Fall Junior Preview was played on the Bear Creek East Course with the Boys 16-18 playing 6,690 yards, the Boys 12-15 playing 6,264 yards and all Girls playing 5,570 yards on this tight and challenging layout. Not to be outdone by the debut of the EMT, these golfers showed why the TJGT is simply the best. Here’s how things shaped up on the course:
Boys 16-18
1. Connor Ribble 73-70-143
2. Zachary Collings 76-70-146
3. Riley Goff 76-72-148 (won a two-hole playoff with a birdie)
Boys 12-15
1. Andrew Wright 81-77-158
2. Vincent Whaley 80-81-161 (won a four-hole playoff with a par)
3. Major Monzingo 83-78-161
Girls 16-18
1. Chelsey Cothran 75-78-153
2. Christina Cantu 74-81-155
3. April McCoy 78-80-158 (won a two-hole playoff with a birdie)
Girls 12-15
1. Maggie Neece 87-87-174
2. Maty Monzingo 95-80-175
3. J’Lynn Vacek 88-89-177
A special TJGT thanks to all of the parents, players and staff for making this another great weekend of golf. Make sure to check out the full-field scores and upcoming events including the Baylor Country Invitational September 6th and 7th.
