Fayetteville, AR – Anna Huang of (Canada) Coto De Caza, California (2027), and Brady Rapp of Leawood, Kansas, (2026) won the 2023 Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational.
The Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational is one of the most unique events on the AJGA schedule. Past tournament champions have gone on to be very successful in the AJGA and beyond. Some notable past champions include Cindy Kou, Karl Villips, Noah Goodwin and Leigh Chien. In addition to its noteworthy winners, the Invitational is known for its host venue, Blessings Golf Club, which is home to the University of Arkansas Men’s and Women’s Golf Teams.
After the first round, both the Boys and the Girls Divisions had tight races at the top. Giuseppe Puebla and Rapp were tied for the lead at even-par 71. The Girls Division was also tied between last year's champion, Alice Ziyi Zhao, Huang and Honorine Nobuta Ferry all shooting 1-under-par 70.
Heading into the final round, both division leaders created separation from the field. Puebla took a three stroke lead after shooting 1-under-par 70 and Huang took a four stroke lead after shooting 3-under-par 68.
Huang had a rough start to her final round, bogeying two of her first five holes. However, she followed those two bogeys with eight consecutive pars before making a birdie on hole No 14. Huang finished up the last four holes with pars and finished with a tournament total of 3-under-par 210.
Huang is ranked No. 53 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. This is her first Invitational win and her second career AJGA win. She won the 2022 adidas Junior All-Star.
"My round started off chaotic, but I knew if I made a birdie or two I would hold the lead."
One stroke back in second was Aphrodite Deng of (Canada) Short Hills, N.J. (2028), at 2-under-par 211. Deng earned the low final-round award after finishing 2-under-par 69 for the day.
Eliana Saga of Stevenson Ranch, Calif. (2027), finished in third at 4-over-par 217.
Four girls were tied for fourth place at 6-over-par 219. Sofia Cherif Essakali of (Morocco) Orlando, Florida (2027), Shyla Brown of McKinney, Texas (2026), Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California (2027), and Ruihan Kendria Wang of (Canada) Bellevue, Washington (2027).
In the Boys Division, unlike Huang, Rapp went into the final round chasing the leaders. Rapp was three strokes back of Gimenez when teeing off. After a rollercoaster of a first six holes, which included three birdies and two bogeys, Rapp scored a par on eight straight holes. He would then go on to birdie both Nos. 15 and 16, a bogey on No. 17, and a par on No. 18 finishing the tournament at even-par 213.
Before this event, Rapp's highest AJGA finish was at the 2022 AJGA Preview at Shirkey. This was his first AJGA win and was his first Invitational tournament. He also has top-10 finishes at the 2022 Cameron McCormick Junior All-Star and the 2022 UHY St. Louis Junior.
"I just kept hitting fairways, greens and two putting, nothing much to it. Walking up to 18 green knowing I could win my first AJGA was the most nerve-racking part."
Giuseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach, Florida (2027) finished in second at 1-over-par 214. This was his second time finishing runner-up this year as he also finished second at the 2023 Moon Golf Junior All-Star.
In third place, shooting 3-over-par 216, was Zach Huang of Sammamish, Washington (2026). In fourth, shooting 5-over-par 218, was Connor Herrera of San Diego, California (2026).
In a tie for fourth at 8-over-par 221 was Sohan Patel of Weston, Florida (2027), Andre Miguel Saldivar Cantu of (Mexico) Monterrey (2026), and Payton Schmitt of Raleigh, North Carolina (2026).
Heading into the final round of the Girls vs. Boys Challenge, the girls led by 10 strokes and finished out the event with a 8 stroke lead over the boys. The girls top-four leaders finished at 17-under-par 835.