- Ricky Castillo of Yorda Linda, California, outdueled William Mouw to claim his second PING Heather Farr Classic title in three years. After dropping back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11, Castillo birdied three of his last seven holes to force a one-hole playoff in a thrilling finish on Easter Sunday.
- “My mindset was to be aggressive. I had nothing to lose. It was the last day; it was the last five or six holes, so I had to be aggressive,” Castillo explained. “I made a lot of good putts, had a lot of good swings so I was pleased.”
- With his victory today, Castillo joins Paula Creamer as the only two-time champion in the tournament’s history. Creamer won consecutive Girl’s Division titles in 2003 and 2004. Castillo ties Philip Francis (2006) for the second lowest 54-hole total at 12-under-par 201.
- Matching Castillo nearly shot-for-shot was William Mouw of Chino, California. Mouw followed his impressive 6-under-par 65 on Saturday with final round score of 5-under-par 66. The Rolex Junior All-American matched his second round with six birdies; however, bogeys on No. 13 and in the one-hole playoff decided the outcome of the event. This was Mouw’s second consecutive second place finish at the PING Heather Farr Classic. Last year, the Pepperdine University verbal commit finished two strokes behind champion Frankie Capan.
- Low round of the day honors go to Cameron Sisk of El Cajon, California. Sisk finished in solo third after shooting a final 7-under-par 64. The Arizona State University commit fired seven birdies, matching Castillo’s first round as the lowest of the tournament. Sisk ended the event at 7-under-par 206.
- Yuki Moriyama of Las Vegas, finished in solo fourth at 4-under-par 209 and Edwin Kuang of Murrieta, California, and Derek Hitchner of Minneapolis, ended T5 at 3-under-par 210.
- It was a year of redemption for Serena Sepersky of Temecula, California, as she claims her first victory with the AJGA. Sepersky placed second to Nicole Whiston in last year’s tournament where she finished six strokes back. This year was a different story. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas verbal commit shot an even-par 71 in her final round to give her a three-round total of 3-over-par 216.
- “I just tried to say pretty level headed,” Sepersky said. “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.”
- Three girls finished the tournament T2 including 2016 Girl’s Division champion Nicole Whiston. Whiston, who finished T2 at 4-over-par 217, had a shot to send Sunday’s final round into a playoff, however a par on the 54th hole left her one-stoke back of Sepersky.
- Also finishing T2 were Kailie Vongsaga of Diamond Bar, California, and Katherine Zhu of San Jose.
About PING
The tournament owner and title partner, PING, designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, putters and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 by the late Karsten Solheim. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's youngest son, John A. Solheim. PING game-improvement products can be found in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit ping.com.
About the AJGA
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-19) of more than 6,900 members from 50 states and 60 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
TaylorMade-adidas Golf became the AJGA’s National Sponsor in 2016 after more than 25 years of support. Rolex, which is in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2017, adidas joined the AJGA as a Premier Partner, serving as the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 910 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Zach Johnson, Justin Thomas, Stacy Lewis, Ariya Jutanugarn, Alison Lee, Lexi Thompson, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel.