News

Blanchard Wins First AGA Major of the Year at Aguila Golf Course

LAVEEN, Ariz. – Brian Blanchard needed a playoff, but brought home the first AGA Major title of the year Sunday at Aguila Golf Course, shooting -7 overall after a final round even-par 72 at the AGA Championship. Blanchard’s final round tally made up a three-shot deficit, forcing a playoff with 54-hole leader Bryan Hoops and Adam Walicki. He would make birdie on the first playoff hole to triumph in the blustery conditions at Aguila for his first AGA tournament victory, doing so in major fashion by carding rounds of 70-74-65-72.

Close up of Brian Blanchard holds his kachina trohpy in front of him with golf course in background

Blanchard, of Desert Forest Golf Club, and Kurt Watkins were the only players to card rounds of 65 in the competition, with Watkins coming in the first round and Blanchard’s in the third. Going low seemed to give Blanchard some much-needed momentum going into the final round, where he would eventually outlast two former AGA players of the year en route to victory.

 

Full AGA Championship Leaderboard: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3320756

RELATED: Watkins leads after R1 of AGA Championship

 

Another tournament highlight came from Mike Davidson on the drivable par-4 eighth hole, where he made an Albatross with a hole in one. Check out the video below.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Up next for the AGA:

News

Chris Thomas, Sean O’Donnell Win 2021 Club Team Championship

GILBERT – Chris Thomas and Sean O’Donnell took home a new trophy as the 2021 Club Team Championship champions after the pair from Arrowhead Country Club shot a 14-under 58 at Seville Golf and Country Club on Monday. It wasn’t without a fight though as 2020 champions, Carson Kemp and Garrison Campbell representing Longbow Golf Club finished just two strokes behind the leading pair. For Thomas and O’Donnell strong, consistent play – emphasized by a bogey-less front and back nine as well as eight consecutive back-nine birdies – propelled them to victory. With that, the pair end the 2021 AGA Championship season on a high note.

Link to full results: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3322355

ABOUT the Club Team Championship:
The Club Team Championship was formed in 1998 to celebrate the AGA’s 75th Anniversary and has proven to be one of the most popular events of the season. The format is a two-person scramble played at gross and net within flights. Partners must be from the same club and may be comprised of two men or one man and one woman. There is no limit to the number of teams a club can send to one of the qualifying tournaments that will be held in November.

News

Pikulthong Picks up Second AJGA Title at PING Heather Farr Classic

Anawin Pikulthong of Gilbert, Arizona secured his second American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) victory at the PING Heather Farr Classic at Longbow Golf Club on Sunday with a final-round 67. He finished the weekend 14-under after turning in rounds of 67-65-67 to defeat Scottsdale native Preston Summerhays.

“It means a lot to win this. It shows that all the hard work I’ve been putting in the past few months has paid off. This is a tough field so winning this shows that my game is in a good place,” the champion said.

The 16-year-old Arizona State verbal commit began the final three shots ahead of  Preston Summerhays, a 2021 Arizona State commit. Summerhays cut the lead to two after turning in a  2-under 33, his third consecutive bogey free round on the front nine – but the Hamilton Husky Pikulthong increased his lead to 5 after converting birdies on holes 11 and 12. Both junior golfer phenoms went on to birdie three more holes to finish their final rounds 4-under 67. Pikulthong tallied 18 birdies during the 54-hole tournament to clinch the victory by three shots over the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Champion.

This marks Pikulthong’s second AJGA victory in the last year since picking up the 2020 AJGA Thunderbird Junior All-Star title. He is currently ranked No. 26 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and ranked No. 1 in the World Rankings for the class of 2023 according to Junior Golf Scoreboard.  In additional to winning numerous individual junior titles, he helped lead the Hamilton Huskies to an AIA State Div. I Championship title in 2019.  After graduating in 2023 from Hamilton Prep, Pikulthong plans on advancing his golf career with the Arizona State Sun Devil Men’s Golf Team as the class of 2027.

For full results: Click Here