[McKinney, TX | July 31-Aug 1] It took a last-chance victory to qualify her for the field, and a 37th hole to clinch the title, but as the sun sank into the sky at TPC Craig Ranch, Northwest HS junior Jacee Fields finally completed her summer by capturing the championship at the 2019 Elites Cup Invitational.
Fields earned the final spot in the girls division just the week before by winning a tournament at Cowboys Golf Club, and took that momentum into the 2nd annual Elites Cup event. A solid 2-over 74 on the 6,100-yard layout at Craig Ranch kept her in the hunt, but she still stood seven shots back of first-round leader Savannah Barber, who opened the tournament with a 3-under-par 69 in Round 1.
Starting the final round 2 groups ahead of the leaders, Fields was steady out of the gate, notching eight straight pars before rolling in a birdie at the par-5 9th hole. She then made 2 more birdies on holes 11 and 12 to get to 3-under for the day and 1-under for the tournament, but quickly gave them back with costly bogeys on 14 and 17.
On the reachable par-5 18th, Fields hit her second shot just right of the green and pitched on to about 5 feet, but when her birdie putt grazed the edge, it seemed like she had not done enough to challenge the leaders. But, as the final groups came in, Fields found herself tied for the lead at 1-over-par with Fort Worth’s Malisone Chanthapanya, who shot 69 in the final round, and the 2 headed back onto the course for a playoff.
In the playoff, Chanthapanya’s tee shot found a fairway bunker, and she was not able to hit the green, carding a bogey. Fields hit her approach shot to about 25 feet and calmly two-putted for the victory, her second in as many weeks.
In the Boys Division, Oklahoma commit Jace Summy went on a birdie barrage in the final round to blow the doors off the tournament, making seven birdies on day 2 en route to an impressive six-shot victory. Summy started the day off 1 shot behind first round leader Zach Kingsland, who opened the tournament with a 4-under 68. The two were paired with San Antonio sophomore Garrett Endicott, who stood just a shot back of Summy, and when Kingsland faltered on the front 9, Summy and Endicott took advantage.
Both boys made the turn at 2-under for the day, giving Summy a 1-shot lead heading into the back 9. There, however, he put it into overdrive, making a birdie on the par-4 10th hole to widen his lead, and the made 3 straight birdies on the final 3 holes to really put things out of reach.
Summy made only 1 bogey in the final round (and only 2 total bogeys for the tournament) to go along with his seven birdies, and his 69-66=135 total is one of the lowest 2-day tournament totals in recent history on the TJGT.
Finishing in second was Endicott, who shot 71 on the final day and finished the tournament at 3-under, and Kingsland and Shreveport native Payne Johnson finished T-3 at 2-under for the 2 days.
To view the full tournament leaderboard, click here.