Fitzgerald & Smith Come Out On Top At The Mizuno Aurora Junior Championship

Colorado PGA Junior Golf (COPGAJR) held its first Major Championship of the summer earlier this week at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora, Colorado. Both boys and girls showcased their unwavering resilience, battling it out for three straight days in tough conditions that tested their playing ability. Despite the challenging weather conditions, the players demonstrated their mental toughness, adding an extra layer of challenge to our Major Championship.

The tournaments started with a full field of 90 juniors, with 60 boys and 30 girls teeing it up on Monday. After play on day two, a cut was made that advanced 30 boys and 16 girls to the final round. Our boy's Champion was Johnathon Smith, shooting 75-75-76, totaling 226 for the three days. “The course played tougher,” stated Smith when discussing the course conditions. “I hit the ball really good, especially off the tee, just couldn’t really score and I just had to be patient and know that I was still in the tournament no matter what.” Smith attributes his mental game to what helped him this week. Smith stated that the key to his success was “staying in the moment, stay present, just not let anything hold me back. If I make a mistake, move on, be patient, and just stay in the tournament and know that I could still win.”

Our girls Champion was Scout Fitzgerald, shooting 74-85-75, totaling 234. “I like how far we played from. I have played this course tons and tons of times and never played it like it was this week.” Fitzgerald not only chipped in for a birdie on her final hole but also chipped in to win the playoff against Macy Kleve, who also finished the tournament with a three-day total of 234.

The COPGA Junior Golf team would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our partners for this event. Josh Knipp and Mizuno Golf provided all the wonderful tee gifts this week, along with backpacks for our two Major Champions. Thank you to Scott Walter, PGA, and the Winston Collection for gifting the two Champions with a custom Major Champion headcover! Thank you to Prime for providing Prime Hydration Drink on the course, NCSA College Recruiting for providing college recruiting services for our junior golfers, UCCS PGA PGM Golf Management, and Citywide Banks, a division of HTLF Bank. 


We extend our heartfelt thanks to Grant Jackson, PGA, golf course superintendent Eric Strasheim, GCSAA, and the entire golf course staff for hosting us at Murphy Creek Golf Course. Your dedication and hard work made this championship possible. The Colorado PGA’s next Junior Major will be the Colorado Junior PGA Championship hosted at Highland Meadows Golf Course on July 8-10.

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