Cole Hammer of Houston, etched his name in history last week when he won the 116th Western Amateur Championship. Hammer didn’t waste any time asserting his dominance, setting the Sunset Ridge Country Club course record with his third-round 10-under-par 61. That helped propel Hammer to Co-Medalist honors in stroke-play competition at a tournament-record of 23-under-par 261. The University of Texas at Austin freshman carried that momentum to the championship match where he and Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, Texas, battled it out all the way until the end. Hammer ended up winning 1 up to become the sixth 18-year-old to ever win the championship. Being young has never stopped Hammer from shining on the big stage. At just 15-years-old he became the third youngest player to compete in the U.S Open. He is a three-time Rolex Junior All-American and is currently No. 28 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Megan Furtney of South Elgin, Illinois, earned a victory after sinking a 40-foot putt to get into the Girls Division playoff. Shooting a 3-under-par 210 at the Bass Pro Shops / Payne Stewart Junior Championship, Furtney’s 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 No. 18 gave her a chance at winning in a playoff. Furtney took advantage of the opportunity emerging with her second AJGA victory after defeating Casey Weidenfeld of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Makenzie Niblett of Austin, Texas. Furtney is currently No. 63 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is a 2016 Rolex Junior All-American.
Tyler Wilkes of Tampa, Florida, walked away with a victory at the Jim Bell Memorial Junior presented by PerryGolf after shooting a 6-under-par 210 to win by four strokes. He shot 5-under-par 67 in the first and second rounds and carded two eagles on the same par-5, No. 16. Wilkes totaled 11 birdies to earn himself his first AJGA victory and his second top-10 finish. The junior is a verbal commit to the University of Florida.
Jasmine Lew of Los Angeles, caught fire at the Enagic Junior Championship after carding 19 birdies and finishing with an 11-under-par 205. Averaging a score of 68 at the tournament, Lew earned her first AJGA victory and her fifth top-10 finish. Currently No. 219 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Lew won the Golfweek Northern California Junior Open earlier this year in April.