Serena Sepersky of Temecula (L) and Adam Matteson of San Diego
(SCGA photo)
BEAUMONT, CA (October 22, 2017) - In what was the third playing of the Southern California Junior Amateur Championship, blustery conditions at Morongo GC at Tukwet Canyon tested the young golfers, with red numbers hard to come by in both the girls and boys divisions.
In the girls division, Serena Sepersky of Temecula held off a hard-charging field to win by 3 strokes. Serena took advantage of normal conditions during an opening round 2-under 70 in which she carded four birdies, including three in the final five holes.
Battling serious winds on day two, Serena plotted her way around the course, trying to minimize major errors. The result was a 3-shot victory at 3-over par 147.
“It feels amazing, although it’s still sinking in a little bit,” said Serena. “I think tomorrow I’ll be really happy and realize that I actually did something with my life!”
Jadan Gonzalez of Glendora finished runner-up at 6-over par and Bella Setio of San Marino finished in third place at 7-over par. 2015 Champ Angelina Kim finished in a tie for fourth place at 8-over par.
With her win, Serena earns a spot in the 2018 SCGA Women's Amateur Championship, which will be held in August at Valencia CC.
Over in the boys division, Adam Matteson cruised to a 4-shot victory. Sitting in second place after the first round, Adam was able to turn on the jets to the tune of four birdies in very difficult conditions.
“I played a lot of controlled shots,” said Matteson, a San Diego resident. “I took more club and hit it a little softer in order to control the flight.”
Adam’s 2-under 70 in the final round was one of only two rounds under par for the entire field, which included 104 competitors for 36 holes of play over two days.
Ryan Smith of Carlsbad and Edwin Kuang of Murrieta finished in a tie for second place at 1-under.
With the win, Adam earns a spot in the 2018 SCGA Amateur Championship, which will be held at La Jolla CC in July. He also earned an exemption to the 2018 California Amateur Championship, which will be held in June at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
ABOUT THE
SCGA Junior Amateur
The Southern California Junior Amateur Golf
Championship is co-
hosted by the SCGA and the SCPGA. Started in
2015, this
championship was created to determine the best
junior golfers in
Southern California. The boys championship is open
to Southern
California male amateur golfers with an established
USGA
Handicap Index of 5.4 or below who are 18 years of
age or
younger. The girls championship is open to Southern
California
female amateur golfers with an established USGA
Handicap Index
of 9.4 or below who are 18 years of age or younger.
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