Special Events Regional, State & National Tournaments

2001 NCGA Junior Amateur Ryan Thornberry & Rebecca Lai win at Richmond CC

Ryan Thornberry of Ceres came from behind to win the 72nd NCGA Junior mateur Championship at Richmond CC. Thornberry, who struggled with the wind, was one shot back of the leaders after the first 36 holes. "It's nice that I won this kind of tournament and it was nice to end the summer like this," said 17 year old Ryan. He had a streak of birdies on 9, 10, 11 and 12. His outstainding shots left him easy tap-ins putts. The key hole turned out to be #17 where Ryan made a 12-foot, downhill breaker putt to put him in the lead. Ryan finished with a 76-77-75=228 for this prestigious event. Rebecca Lai from San Francisco also came from behind shooting an 81 the final round. Lai was four strokes back of the leader after the first day. "This ranks on the top of my list of accomplishments," said Rebecca. "This tournament means a lot to me because it is a huge tournament." Rebecca made an eight-footer for birdie on the 9th hole which really helped her confidence going into the back nine. She also hit a 7-iron to 12 feet for her second birdie on the 16th. Rebecca posted an 85-81 to win the event by one shot. Ryan Thornberry and Rebecca Lai now go down in California golf history by winning this event. They join many well-known California amateurs champions and a host of professionals who have won this event. Congratulations to both Ryan and Rebecca.

2001 California State Junior Amateurs Laura Luethke wins girls' title. Ryan Thornberry takes third.

Girls California State: Laura Luethke from Clovis is the 52nd Girls State Junior Amateur Champion. The match play event is traditionally played at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, California. Fourteen year old Laura began her march to victory by qualifying for the Championship Flight with a 76. Her first match paired her against fellow North Team member, Jennifer Shipley. She won this match 6-5. In the quarterfinals she beat Carling Cho 1 up. Carling was a member of the South Team and, in fact, was the South Team member Laura lost to in the North/South Matches the previous Sunday. In the semifinals Laura beat another South Team member, Selanee Henderson. This match ended 3-1. In the finals she met Kim McCready, an outstanding JGANC golfer from Vacaville. The match was a close one, finally ending on the 18th hole 1 up. We're proud of our two JGANC gals making it to the finals. And congratulations Laura for your fine tournament play. Boys State Championship: Ryan Thornberry from Ceres posted a 73-68-73=214 which was the best Northern California could do at the California State Junior Boys' Championship held the PGA's Southern California Golf Club in Beaumont, California. The top two spots were taken by players from Southern California; Jay Choe with 207 and Mike Rim at 213. Forty JGANC boys were invited to this State event. Invitations were determined by points standing. These juniors traveled to 108 degree weather to compete in this annual event. For complete results see our Tournaments page.

2001 Girls USGA Northern California girls make strong statement in Kansas City...... "We can play!"

Allyson Harvie Goes to Quarterfinals. We sent eight girls to Kansas City. That alone is an honor. Three qualified for match play; Mika Takayame, Ki-Shui Liao and Allyson Harvie. Ki-Shui lost her opening match to Morgan Pressel from Boca Raton, Florida. Disappointed? Of course, but think about this. Fourteen year old Ki-Shui is one of the top 64 junior golfers in the nation. She certainly will be ready for next year. Mika Takayama won two matches and made it to the "sweet sixteen." She beat Amie Cochran of Torrance, California 7-6 and then beat Amy Wang of Kirkland, Washington 2-1. Mika, one of the top four girls in our association, should feel a sense of accomplishment. She now looks to another good showing at the Girls Junior Americas Cup Matches. Allyson Harvie made it to the quarterfinals. Allyson has been "on fire" this summer winning the JGANC/NCPGA Championships and being selected to the 2001 Girls North Team (where she won both her matches) and the Girls Junior Americas Cup. Allyson won her first match over Anna Grzebien from Narraganset, RI 5-4, then stunned nationally ranked Erica Blasberg from Corona, CA 4-2. Next step was beating Jane Park, La Crescenta, CA 2 up before falling to Morgan Pressel in the quarterfinals 2-1. We are proud of our JGANC girls. Special congratulations to Allyson for being one of the top eight girls in the nation. You all represented Northern California in fine fashion.

2001 Boys USGA Three JGANCers qualify for match play.

Spencer Levin Goes to Quarterfinals After a long flight to San Antonio, Texas only three of our members were to qualify for match play. Spencer Levin from Elk Grove, David Kim from Daly City and Alex Coe from Danville unpacked their bags to stay for awhile. The stay was short-lived for David and Alex. David lost his first match to Kevin Na from Diamond, CA 4-3 and Alex lost first match to James Lepp from Vancouver, Canada 6-5. Spencer began his march by winning the first match with Matthew Every, Daytona Beach, Florida 2 up, then went on to beat James Lepp who had eliminated Alex in the morning round. The "sweet 16" match was a more difficult one taking 19 holes to beat Joel Kraner from Dublin, OH. The quarterfinals match went 22 holes. Spencer lost this tough match which was a heartbreak. But it isn't too bad knowing you are one of the top eight in the nation. Nice going, Spencer and congratulations to all our boys who qualified for this outstanding event.

2001 Junior Advisors' Team Shoot-Out Popular Tournament hits mark again! Wild team dress makes this the fun event of the year. Click here to visit the 2001 Shoot Out Gallery.

Chris Donnelly and Danny Duncan Make a Winning Team What a way to end a summer season. Find a buddy and play the Junior Advisors' Team Shoot Out. This year it was played at Swenson Park GC in Stockton. Completely run by the JGANC Junior Advisors, teams come dressed in various team styles hoping to take home a prize. This year prizes for the best team outfits were golf packages from Bayonet/Blackhorse in Monterey, Rancho Canada in Carmel, Poplar Creek in San Mateo and Benbow Resort in Garberville. Prizes also included gift certificates to San Francisco restaurants with drivers and putters going to the long drive and the closest to the hole. There were 23 boxes (a dozen each) of golf balls given out as well. The event is played alternate shot and this year four teams shot 69 to vie for the coveted title. Winning their first overall was the team of Danny Duncan from Carmel and Chris Donnelly from Salinas. Danny, as a Junior Advisor, had worked long and hard on gathering great prizes for the event. It seemed it was fate (besides good golf) that led him and his partner to the title.

This page was last updated September 1, 2001

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