BROUSSARD, Louisiana- Ava Zhang of Lake Mary, Florida, secured her second AJGA title of the year and first invitational win. The 14-year-old carded an impressive 12-under-par 204 at the 1st Clubs for Kids Foundation Junior All-Star Invitational.
I feel pretty great. I just started playing AJGA this summer and throughout the whole summer I was trying my hardest to play well and get a win but it didn't really turn out great for me, so I'm just really proud of myself for hanging in there and getting this win.
Zhang started the round strong with a birdie on No.1 and never looked back. The Florida native went bogey-free and carded six birdies total during the final round to finish 6-under-par 66 on the day. She finished the tournament at 12-under-par 204, two shots clear of the runner-up.
At No. 254 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Zhang was looking to finish the year strong. She won one other AJGA event this year, with her first win at the TaylorMade Preview at Windham (Ages 12-15).
Esther Kwon of Los Angeles, California, earned runner-up honors after a tournament score of 10-under-par 206. Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Washington, finished third at 9-under-par 207. In fourth place, Aphrodite Deng of (Canada) Short Hills, New Jersey, finished at 8-under-par 208. Celina Yeo of London, Ontario, Canada, rounded out the top-5 girls at 6-under-par 210. Esther Kwon, Angela Zhang, and Celina Yeo all earned girls low final round honors with a 7-under-par 65.
In the Boys Division, Ronin Banerjee of Irvine, California, jumped up from behind to capture his first invitational win. The 2027 grad earned the low final round of the day with a 6-under-par 66.
I got into this tournament when I won the Stealth Junior All-Star and I've been working really hard to make sure I'm keeping my game in the right place. This field is amazing and I knew I had to play really really well to be able to win and I'm just so grateful that I did"
Banerjee started the round with two birdies on Nos.1-2. He made his only bogey of the day on the par 3 No. 3. He regained control of his round after birdies on No. 4 and No. 6. After making the turn, Banerjee went on a hot streak and carded three consecutive birdies on Nos. 10-12. The 14-year-old made his final birdie of the day on No.18 to finish the tournament at 9-under-par 207.
This event marks Banerjee's first invitational win and third AJGA win this summer. He won the Stealth Junior All-Star presented by TaylorMade and the SERI PAK Desert Junior presented by Bay Area Lyme Foundation. The 2027 grad is No. 60 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and earned a spot on the 2023 Junior All-Star Team.
Lucas Gimenez of Jacksonville, Florida, earned runner-up honors after a tournament score of 6-under-par 210. Chase Jerome of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, finished third at 5-under-par 211. Tied for fourth place at 4-under-par 212 was Richard Ding of Pleasanton, California, Sohan Patel of Weston, Florida, and John Markow of Ridgeland, Mississippi.