Encinitas Team Wins PGA Junior League Championship

Earlier this month, a team of young golfers from the Encinitas Ranch Golf Course won the PGA Junior League championships. These young players, all 13 or younger at the start of the 8–month season, represented Team California in the fifth ever PGA Junior League National Championships, and they walked away victorious.

The championships of the PGA Junior League were held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida at Walt Disney’s Palm Course from November 5th to November 8th. The weekend saw eight different teams competing for the national champion title. These eight teams were split into two different heats: the East and the West. Each team played 3 regional matches on Friday and Saturday. The best team from the East and the best team from the West advanced to Sunday’s finals. 

The two regional champions who competed in the PGA Junior League finals were Team Georgia, which was made up of players from Alpharetta, and Team California, which consisted of San Diego players.

Team San Diego’s success in the PGA Junior League championships is no small feat; before they made it to nationals, San Diego had to beat the scores of every other California team. From Southern California alone there are currently 78 teams playing in the PGA Junior League. For the past two years, the San Diego team has been narrowly defeated in their quest to compete at nationals by a Northern California team. This year, however, the pool of talented players from throughout North County San Diego fought their way to victory and earned their spot at nationals.

The PGA Junior League championship tournament uses a two–man scramble format. Essentially, players compete in groups of two. Only the best shot of each pair is counted towards the final score. The PGA Junior League uses this competition format because it takes the pressure off of the young players while simultaneously fostering a team spirit. Each match of the championship weekend was a head–to–head competition of 9 holes each. The final scoring for the Junior League championships is based on the number of matches won, tied and lost.

During the Junior League national championships, Team California defeated teams from Ohio, Illinois and Oklahoma in order to earn their spot in the finals. There, Team California faced off with Team Georgia in a dead–even match. Their win was ultimately decided by a 35–foot putt on the 9th hole of Walt Disney’s Palm Course. Made by Krando Nishiba, a freshmen at La Jolla Country Day, this putt was the deciding factor in the match when Team Georgia could not sink an answering putt. Nishiba has now aged out of the PGA Junior League; his winning putt will be his last with the Encinitas team.

The 2015 Team California was captained by PGA golf professional John Mason and assistant coach Jackie DeWald–Mason.

The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) is a men’s professional golf league that was established in 1916. The PGA prides itself on elevating the standards of professional golf and raising public interest in the game. An all–women version of the league, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), was founded in 1950.

PGA Junior League was formed in 2011 with teams competing in only four US cities: Atlanta, Tampa, Dallas and San Diego. As the years progressed, more and more teams from cities all over the world joined the PGA Junior League; currently over 2,500 teams compete throughout the nation. The purpose of the PGA Junior League is to encourage boys and girls under the age of 13 all over the country in the pursuit of golf. The PGA Junior League features head–to–head team competitions in a social, kid–friendly environment. What separates the PGA Junior League from other youth golf programs, however, is that each team is captained by a PGA or LPGA professional. The PGA Junior League has just completed its fifth year of junior competitions.

At the fifth annual PGA Junior League championships, Team Georgia came in second and Team New Jersey came in third. Other participants who competed in the championship weekend included Team Ohio, Team South Carolina, Team Illinois, Team Connecticut, and Team Oklahoma.

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