2018 RDGA Junior, Sub-Junior and Pee Wee Championship Titles Decided at Ontario CC
Aiden Spampinato of Locust Hill Country Club captured the 2018 RDGA Junior Championship title at Ontario Country Club on August 2 by a 1-up margin over past RDGA Junior champion Jason Lohwater in the championship match.
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CLICK HERE for the FINAL RESULTS from the 2018 RDGA Junior Championships
CLICK HERE for a PHOTO GALLERY from the 2018 RDGA Junior Championships
CLICK HERE for a post-tournament INTERVIEW with 2018 Champion Aiden Spampinato
CLICK HERE for a feature article on tournament host ONTARIO COUNTRY CLUB
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The 2018 RDGA Junior Championships concluded on August 2 at Ontario Country Club. The three-day Junior, Sub-Junior and Pee Wee Championships featured six sepatate competitions - including individual championships for Junior (ages 15 to 18), Sub-Junior (12 to 14) and Pee Wee (7 to 11) divisions for both boys and girls.
Winning the overall RDGA Boys Junior title (ages 15-18) was Aiden Spampinato, 16, from Ravenwood Golf Club who defeated Jason Lohwater, 17, by a 1-up decision in an exciting final match.
The two finalists - Spampinato and Lohwater - are both products of the Locust Hill Country Club junior program and have played with and against each other many times.
In the Junior Championship final match at Ontario, Lohwater, the 2016 RDGA Junior Champion, opened with three birdies on the first four holes to take a 3-up lead - but saw his lead evaporate just as quickly with four consecutive bogeys.
Spampinato held a 1-up lead at the turn - and although Lohwater pulled even again a hole later, Spampinato took the lead again with a birdie on the 12th hole and never looked back, winning by a 1-up margin in regulation play.
"It was pretty special out there today, we're really good friends," Spampinato said of Lohwater. "This is definitely the biggest title I've won so far."
For Spampinato, the 2018 RDGA Junior Boys Championship title also includes a spot in the 2019 North & South Junior Amateur in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
CLICK HERE for the match play bracket results from the 2018 RDGA Boys Junior Championship.
 2018 RDGA Boys Sub Junior Champion Jeremy Edmunds
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In the RDGA Boys Sub Junior Championship, (12-14), Jeremy Edmunds - another product of the Locust Hill Country Club junior program - defeated RDGA Junior eClub member Joshua Bradley for the RDGA Sub Junior Championship title.
In a rematch of the final round of the 2015 RDGA Pee Wee Championship in which Edmunds narrowly defeated Bradley, Edmunds again claimed a close victory, winning the 2018 RDGA Sub Junior Boys Championship by a 4-and-2 decision.
In the semi-final matches, Edmunds defeated Matt Carpentier by a 4-and-3 decision, while Bradley got past Tyler Stark, 7-and-6 in the other semi-final match.
CLICK HERE for the match play bracket results from
the 2018 RDGA Boys Sub Junior Championship.
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In the RDGA Girls Junior Championship (15-18) - which featured 36 holes of stroke play competition over two days - Jenny Simonsen of the RDGA Junior eClub claimed the 2018 RDGA Girls Junior title with rounds of 79-83 for a 162 total.
Simonsen, 18, who lives in Tennesee with her family, is spending the summer in the Rochester area with friends of the family.
Michaela Eichas, a member of the Deerfield Golf Association and last year's RDGA Girls Sub Junior Champion, was the runner-up with scores of 92-84--176.
CLICK HERE for final results from the
2018 RDGA Girls Junior Championship.
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 2018 RDGA Girls Junior Champion Jenny Simonsen
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 2018 RDGA Girls Sub Junior Champion Raina Hoffmann
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In the competitive RDGA Girls Sub Junior Championship (12-14) - which featured 27 holes of stroke play competition over three days - Raina Hoffmann of the RDGA Junior eClub won the title with scores of 49-46-46 for a 141 total.
Hoffmann, 14, added the Sub Junior title to her resume after having also won the RDGA Girls Pee Wee title in 2015.
Sophia Cellura, 12, of Brook-Lea Country Club was the runner-up in her first year in the Sub Junior division with scores of 51-53-55 for a 159 total.
CLICK HERE for final results from the
2018 RDGA Girls Sub Junior Championship.
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In the RDGA Girls Pee Wee Championship (7-11) - which featured 18 holes of stroke play over two days - 9-year-old Lauren Garcin of Oak Hill Country Club posted scores of 60-57 for a 117 total to win the Championship.
Finishing in second place was Tatiana Tutko, an RDGA Junior eClub member, who psted 9-hole scores of 70-62 for a 132 total.
CLICK HERE for complete results from the
2018 RDGA Girls Pee Wee Championship.
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 2018 RDGA Girls Pee Wee Champion Lauren Garcin.
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 2018 Boys Pee Wee Champion Tacoma Ames,
left, with runner-up Barrett Paolini, right.
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And, in the RDGA Boys Pee Wee Championship - which featured 18 holes of stroke play over two days - Junior eClub member Tacoma Ames, 10, posted scores of 38-39 for a 77 total to win the Championship.
Finishing runner-up was 10-year-old Barrett Paolini from Ridgemont Country Club, with scores of 41-40 for a total of 81.
CLICK HERE for complete results from the
2018 RDGA Boys Pee Wee Championship.
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The Rochester District Golf Association thanks Ontario Country Club owner Mike Lawler, as well as the staff and membership for their hospitality to the RDGA and Junior Championship competitors all week - and a special thanks to club manager Melissa Mancine and superintendent Matt Mancine for their assistence throughout the Championship.
With most of the 2018 RDGA Junior tournament schedule now complete, the final performance points for the season will be tallied - with the top 6 point winners in both the Boys Junior and Boys Sub-Junior divisions earning invitations to compete in the annual Interdistrict Junior Championship, to be hosted by Geneva Country Club on August 24. The Interdistrict features 18 holes of stroke play between teams from the Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo Districts.
CLICK HERE for the 2018 points standings for the RDGA Junior and Sub-Junior divisions
CLICK HERE for more information about the 2018 Interdistrict Junior Championship