Californians Ricky Castillo and Serena Sepersky took home the division titles in the American Junior Golf Association’s PING Heather Farr Classic at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.
Castillo, of Yorba Linda, birdied three of his last seven holes and then beat William Mouw of Chino with a par on the first playoff hole to win the Boys Division title for the second time in three years.
“My mindset was to be aggressive,” said Castillo, a Pepperdine commit, who joined Paula Creamer (2003-04) as the only players to win twice in the tournament. “I had nothing to lose. It was the last day; it was the last five or six holes, so I had to be aggressive.
“I made a lot of good putts, had a lot of good swings so I was pleased.”
Castillo carded a score of 64-69-68—201, 12-under-par, while Mouw finished at 70-65-66—201.
Cameron Sisk of El Cajon was third at 71-71-64—206, followed by Yuki Moriyama of Japan at 72-69-68—209, while Derek Hitchner of Minneapolis totaled 70-68-72—210 to tie for fifth with Edwin Kuang of Murrieta, who inished at 71-71-68—210.
Jackson Rivera of Rancho Santa Fe was seventh at 73-67-71—211, while Tony Hendricks of Phoenix shot 69-71-72—212 to tie for eighth with Brian Stark of Kingsburg, who totaled 72-70-70—212, Charles Osborn of Reno, who finished at 69-71-72—212, and Kento Yamawaki of Japan, who wound up at 70-71-71— 212.
Sepersky, of Temeclua, finished second in the Girls Division last year, but won this time with a score of 71-74-71—216, while Kailie Vongsaga of Diamond Bar shot 76-70-71—217 to tie for second with Katherine Zhu of San Jose, who totaled 72-74-71—217, and Nicole Whiston of San Diego, who finished at 75- 68-74—217.
“I just tried to say pretty level headed,” said Sepersky, who has committed to UNLV. “I really didn’t even know where I was in the tournament. I took it one shot at a time. Just let the birdies fall and make the pars.”
Chase Gomez of Yorba Linda carded a score of 71-74-74—219 to tie for fifth with Haylin Harris of Carmel, Ind., who wound up at 72-70-77—219.
Ashley Menne of Surprise, Ariz., was seventh at 73-75-72—220, followed by Alex Melton of Covina at 69-73-79—221, while Catherine Park of Irvine shot 73-71-78—222 to tie for ninth with Anna Dong of China, who came in at 77- 72-73—222.
For complete results, visit https://www.ajga.org/microsite/index.asp?tn=2018016#GolfGenius
