Thompson and Owens finish as top dawgs at UGA
Despite negative forecasts, the weather held strong for a successful University of Georgia Golf Course Junior Classic last weekend. As always, the UGA Golf Course was presented in fantastic condition with extremely fast greens. Many of the players commented on the difficulty of reading the bent grass greens on the tight UGA layout. Mac Thompson and Tori Owens certainly found a way to get the ball in the hole, as they were our overall male and female champions.
Leading the way in the female 12-14 division was Sabree Lefebvre of Tallahassee, FL. The 2023-grad posted rounds of 81 and 84 to finish three strokes ahead of second place. Kelli Scheck carded a strong final round of 80 to finish at +24 for the championship and finish in second place. Rounding out the top-three, with a two-day total of 176 was Genevieve Wu of Alpharetta, GA.
Tori Owens won the female 15-19 division and overall female championship at UGA. Owens shot 76 and 73 to finish at 149 and card a three-stroke victory. Owens, of Chatsworth, GA, made four birdies in an impressive final round of +1. Finishing second was the elder of the two Scheck sisters, Katie. Scheck, a 2021-grad out of Greensboro, GA, shot 75 and 77 to finish in second place. Finishing a further three strokes behind Scheck was third-place finisher Carson McKie. An excellent final round of 73 saw McKie climb five places up the leaderboard on Sunday.
Despite an opening 79, Will Baker fired back on Sunday with a five-under par 67 to take the male 12-13 division. Baker, of Statham, GA, made seven birdies on the final day and jumped from fifth place into the top spot. Finishing second in the division, and the only 2025-grad in the tournament, was John Daniel Culbreth. Playing far beyond his year, Culbreth carded impressively consistent rounds of 73 and 74 to finish at +3 for the event. Finishing third, in his final male 12-13 event, was Marshall Butler. A final round of 72 was a nice way for Butler to wave goodbye to the male 12-13 division and move on up to the much longer black tees and male 14-19 flight.
With perhaps the strongest SJGT male 14-15 division in quite some time, there were a number of very strong contenders for the title at UGA this weekend. Finishing out on top, thanks to a clutch birdie on the 36th hole, was Parker Bell of Tallahassee, FL. Bell carded rounds of 73 and 70 to finish at 143 and one stroke ahead of second place. Bell made four birdies in the final round and jumped into contention for the overall male championship late in the day. Finishing second was recent Vanderbilt-commit Gordon Sargent. The 2021-grad out of Birmingham, AL played very solid all weekend and posted rounds of 73 and 71 to finish second in a tightly-bunched division. Tied for third, but taking the trophy on the card playoff, was Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners, GA. Ford finished strong, with a final round 72 to add to his opening score of 73. Ford now has two top-three finishes in the last two events with the SJGT.
Mac Thompson held on to his opening round lead to take the male 16-19 and overall male championships. Thompson carded rounds of 67 and 75 to finish one stroke ahead of Beck Burnette and Parker Bell for the overall title. Thompson blitzed the first 18 holes and, despite not having his A-game on Sunday (by own admission), held on to his impressive lead. Finishing second, after rounds of 68 and 75 was Lee University-commit Beck Burnette. The Blairsville, GA, native played very well all weekend and could have easily stolen the show if it weren’t for a difficult hole at the par-3 16th on Sunday. Finishing third, watched by a strong number of family and friends, was Will Kahlstorf of Athens, GA. The hometown player posted rounds of 70 and 74 to finish at 144 and wrap up a great weekend.
Thank you, as always, to the UGA Golf Course for again hosting us so graciously. We love coming back to this venue and it shows the players feel the same way, with a field of 144. Please check out our Facebook page for pictures from the event.
