Pongsapak Laopakdee of Rayong, Thailand, won the Boys Division trophy at the Junior Golf Tour of Asia Hong Kong Junior Classic. Laopakdee’s first-round 1-under-par 69 got him into a three-way tie for second and only one stroke back of the leader. In the final round, the 13-year-old would drain a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to capture the title by one stroke. Laopakdee, who was on the JGTA’s 2017-2018 All-Asia Team, ended the tournament at 1-under-par 139. In his only AJGA event, Laopakdee finished T10 at the 2018 Windham Mountain Resort Junior All-Star.
Chloe Chan of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, took home the Girls Division title at the Hong Kong Junior Classic with a tournament total of even-par 140. Chan carded a 1-under-par 69 to take the first-round lead by one stroke. Her second-round 1-over-par 71 was enough to hold on and earn the victory by three strokes and become the first JGTA champion from Hong Kong. Chan played in two events during the 2018 AJGA season with her career-best finish of eighth coming at the 2018 ACDS Junior Championship presented by Live View Golf. Chan opened 2019 with a fourth-place finish at the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship.
Kiko Francisco Coelho of Lisbon, Portugal, won the Atlantic Youth Trophy by five strokes after shooting a 6-under-par 210 for the tournament. Coelho started out hot, carding eight birdies in his first-round 6-under-par 66 that included a string of four consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-16. He continued his good play into the second round where he shot a 2-under-par 70. His strong first and second round helped him to victory despite a 2-over-par 74 in the final round. Currently No. 109 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Coelho has two runner-up finishes and six top-5 finishes in his AJGA career.
Hailey Jones of Dallas, Texas, won the Texas Golf Association Texas Girls’ Invitational in dominant fashion, winning by 11 strokes. She ended the first round with a share of the lead after an even-par 72. Her second-round 3-under-par 69 included three birdies and zero bogeys and gave her the lead. She capped off the tournament with a 1-over-par 73 to get to 2-under-par 214 for the tournament. The Oklahoma State University verbal commit has four AJGA wins and is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American.