Victoria Allred has made the move to the top of the Carolinas Golf Association junior rankings.
A four-shot victory in the 45th annual Twin States Girls Championship in late July helped her climb the ladder and become the first Triad girl to be ranked No. 1 since Amber Littman in 2007.
Allred, a sophomore at Reagan High School in Pfafftown, has posted six top-10 finishes in 12 events that the CGA’s Tarheel Youth Golf Association uses for rankings.
She began her banner year with a win in the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour’s Pine Needles Open, an event that featured the state champions from Virginia and Maryland.
After a tie for third in the N.C. Junior Girls Championship in June, she notched her best-ever showing in an American Junior Golf Association event with a second-place finish in the Cleveland Healthcare Foundation Junior in Shelby.
That was a warm-up for the Twin States, played July 26-27 at the Governor’s Club in Chapel Hill.
It was her first-ever CGA title.
“It means a lot to me. I have worked really hard on my game this summer and it shows me that all my hard work has paid off,” Allred said.
The win earned Allred a spot on the Carolinas Girls Team for the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Challenge.
“I always wanted to make the Carolinas Junior Girls Team Matches and now I have. I can’t wait to play in them next year.”
Allred’s win in the Twin State featured a 2-under-par 70 in the second round that turned a six-shot deficit after day one into a four-shot win.
Her 75 in the first round left her in a four-way tie for second and trailing Emily Brooks of Chapel Hill by six shots.
But when Brooks found trouble on a couple of holes in the second round, Allred got hot. She had five birdies on her 37-33 card, including three in row starting at No. 12.
Brantley takes title at Dogwood State
SNOW HILL • Aug. 9-11 – Daniel Brantley of Asheboro fired three straight under-par rounds and walked off with his first CGA title, the Dogwood State Junior.
Brantley, a senior at Asheboro High School, opened the seventh annual event at Cutter Creek Golf Club with back-to-back 69s and followed with a solid 70 on Aug. 11 to wrap up a two-shot win.
Victor Wiggins of Gastonia, five shots off the pace after 36 holes, closed with a 67 to set the final margin.
Alex Nianouris of Salisbury (74-72-72) tied for fifth, Luke Haithcock of Burlington (72-67-80) was seventh and William Register of Burlington (74-74-72) tied for eighth.
In the girls division, Mariah Hopkins of Greensboro was the best Triad finisher with a tie for 10th. Her 78-75-84 was 11 shots off the pace of Raleigh’s Evelyn Dole (74-75-77).
Owen finishes second in Tanglewood AJGA event
CLEMMONS • Aug. 16-18 – Tanner Owen finished at 3-under-par 207 and claimed second place in Webb Simpson Junior Championship, an American Junior Golf Association tournament played at Tanglewood’s Champions Course https://www.playpokiesonline.org/pokies-tips.
Owen, a sophomore at Bishop McGuinness High, chased Dylan Harris of Southern Pines all three rounds. Harris, who will begin his collegiate career this fall at UNC-Wilmington, went wire-to-wire with 67-70-69. Owen shot 69-68-70.
Two other players posted top 10s: William Register of Burlington tied for sixth with 72-71-69 and Stanhope Johnson of Greensboro tied for eighth with 74-70-70.
Kristi Ingram wins TYGA Tournament of Champions
WINSTON-SALEM • Aug. 17-18 – Kristi Ingram of Winston-Salem closed her junior career with a win when she got past Isabella Rusher on the third playoff hole to capture the Tarheel Youth Golf Association’s Tournament of Champions at Pine Brook Country Club.
Ingram, the 4-A state champ from Mt. Tabor High School, will begin her collegiate career at Elon this fall.
A second-round 72 enabled Ingram to catch Rusher at 149 and force the playoff.
Lily Crane of Jamestown was third, five shots off the pace.
Johnson leads CGA team win
LYNCHBURG, Va. • Aug. 13-14 – A team composed of eight of the Carolinas best junior golfers won the 29th Virginias-Carolinas Junior Matches by three points during two days of competition at Boonsboro Country Club.
The 9.5 to 6.5 victory enabled the CGA team to capture the Vinny Giles Trophy for the first time since 2006. The Carolinas led by a single point after the first day of four-ball and foursome matches and then clinched the win with a 5-3 edge in singles on day two.
Greensboro’s Stanhope Johnson was the Carolinas’ leader, going undefeated in his three matches. He won 2 up in singles, teamed with Andrew Decker of Greenville, N.C. for a 2-and-1 win in alternate shot play and joined forces with Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C., for a 2-and-1 decision in best ball.