Hand & Lee Triumph at the 2024 Mizuno Colorado PGA Junior Invitational!
October 20th - Colorado Springs, Co. - The Colorado PGA Junior Golf (COPGA JR) electrified the weekend of October 19-20 with its thrilling final Major Championship of the 2024 season at the stunning Kissing Camels Golf Club in Colorado Springs. The event drew the top 38 boys and 20 girls from the 2024 COPGA JR Cup Series Points List, all vying for the prestigious Mizuno Colorado PGA Junior Invitational Trophy, valuable COPGA POY Points, AJGA Points, JGS rankings, and, of course, bragging rights heading into the offseason. In Cup Tour style, as they stepped onto the property, players were greeted with exciting gifts, and a welcome dinner on Friday night, setting the stage for an unforgettable competition.
The weather presented an intriguing challenge over the weekend. Saturday started with light sprinkles as players teed off on the North and West courses. As the round progressed, a thick fog rolled in, obscuring landing areas and adding an element of unpredictability to the game. With visibility diminishing, play was suspended to allow time for the fog to clear. After an hour-and-a-half delay, players returned to find blue skies and sunshine. By the end of the first round, Jesse Hand emerged as the leader with the only score under par for the day, finishing at 69. Ash Edwards followed closely in second place at even par (72), while Henry Starr held third with a score of 1-over par (73). In the girls’ division, Sophia Lee led with a score of 2-over par (74), with Maddie Makino trailing just behind at 77.
Sunday’s final round came quickly, bringing another day of blue skies and some wind later in the day. For the final round, players would play a different nine-hole course, the West and South courses, for the day. This change in course setup added a new dimension to the game and kept the competition exciting. As the day went along, spectators saw movement on the leaderboard, leaving us with an exciting final day to this Major Championship.
Despite several players finishing with under-par rounds, Jesse Hand secured his wire-to-wire victory and was crowned the Mizuno Colorado PGA Junior Invitational Boys Champion. Hand completed the event with scores of 69 and 74, totaling 143. On the girls' side, Sophia Lee maintained her lead, finishing with a five-shot victory, recording scores of 74 and 76 for a combined total of 150 to claim the Girls' Championship.
For Hand, this was his first Colorado PGA Jr Major victory; for Lee, this was her second as she won the Aurora Junior Championship in 2023. Lee felt that being aggressive this weekend was the key to her success. “It might not always work out, but at least you’re giving yourself a chance,” stated Lee. As for Hand, putting was his key to success. “I did not have my A-game either day, really. I made a lot of good putts on day one and today a lot of really good par saves,” said Hand.
“Just a lot. This was the first real win I have had all year other than some one-day wins in the high school season or qualifier stuff for AJGA. So, it was good to pull through. I’ve been so close all year. Like top 5 or top 10 every single tournament that I’ve played. It was really good to finally break through and win one,” said Hand.
“My putter was really good, and everything really felt solid, and it was a nice way to close out the season,” stated Lee.
The COPGA JR Golf team would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our partners for their support of this major championship. A special thanks to Josh Knipp and Mizuno Golf for providing jackets and scorecard holders for all the players, as well as two backpacks for our champions. We also appreciate Scott Walter, PGA, and the Winston Collection for gifting our two champions with custom Major Champion headcovers! Additionally, thank you to Prime Sports Drink for keeping our players hydrated with healthy options, NCSA College Recruiting for offering valuable recruiting services to our junior golfers, and UCCS PGA PGM Golf Management for their support.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Director of Golf Rich Parker, PGA, golf course superintendent Nick Lang, the staff, and the Kissing Camels Golf Club Membership for hosting our event. Their dedication and hard work made this championship possible.
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