AURORA — In the previous two years the CGA State Junior — one of the most prestigious junior golf championships held in Colorado — was conducted, the champions that emerged were hardly surprises.
Matthew Wilkinson and Katelyn Lehigh (2022) and Charlie Tucker and Brenna Higgins (2023) all had previously won state titles in high school golf and/or summer championships.
But for the third edition of the State Junior this June, the players lifting the trophy at CommonGround Golf Course were much less predictable. They certainly have been very good golfers, but their resumès were awaiting the exclamation points that their predecessors had.
However, over five days at CommonGround, Alex Lest of Littleton and Ashley Chang of Lone Tree proved to be the best among very formidable junior fields. So now they have that big-time statewide junior victory that they were previously lacking.
And Lest and Chang, after beating some of the best of the best in the state, were handsomely rewarded for their performances. Not only can they now say they’re state junior amateur champions, but in the process they earned berths in arguably the most prestigious boys and girls championships in the world: Lest in the U.S. Junior Amateur, and Chang in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. It’s the first year that CGA State Junior champions automatically landed those national berths.
Lest and Chang won two matches each for the second straight day on the final day. Things culminated with Lest’s 3-and-1 victory over Conner Scheich of Highlands Ranch in the boys finale, and Chang’s 3-and-2 win over her Rock Canyon High School teammate Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch in the girls title match.
In both cases, Lest and Chang were 1 down after the front nine but rallied for the titles. The bottom line for the championship was that sometimes the underdogs win — and in this case sweep the titles.
“I had made it into a handful of (state junior golf) majors, but I’ve never been able to come close, let alone come out on top,” Lest said. “This is like my first big thing.
“As soon as I started to win that first match, then the second one, I thought, ‘I can do this.’ Then it started to become more clear in my mind. It didn’t take too much to do this.”
As for Chang?
“I would definitely say this is the biggest thing (I’ve accomplished in golf),” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever won anything this big.”
Asked if she thought she had a chance to claim the title going into the week, Chang said, “No. I haven’t been playing very well, especially in the last couple of tournaments, so I was really happy I made it to match play overall considering I didn’t do very well during stroke play.”
The CGA State Junior features a format not unlike that used by the USGA national amateur championships, where two rounds of stroke play qualifying set the bracket for single-elimination match play. In the case of the CGA State Junior, the finalists ended up playing a grueling seven rounds of competitive golf in five days, including four rounds total on Wednesday and Thursday combined. And, mind you, all the competitors were walking and either carrying their own bag or pushing it.
Here are some details and reaction from both the boys and the girls action on the final day at CommonGround:
— BOYS: Lest, a 17-year-old senior-to-be at Columbine High School, defeated 2023 CGA State Junior runner-up Noah Richmond of Montrose in the round of 16 (1 up), marking the first of three consecutive matches for him that went the distance. The last of those was the semifinals, when the golfer from Raccoon Creek GC beat Elijah Johnson of Denver 2 up.
But Lest trailed for much of the final. In fact, after Scheich birdied the first hole to go 1 up, the two tied the next nine straight holes, with Lest making a 20-foot par save on No. 5 to keep the streak going.
But when Lest did start winning holes, he proved very formidable. He tied the match by draining a 25-foot birdie on No. 11 (a 505-yard par-4), then took the lead with a deuce from 6 feet on No. 12.
After both players made a bit of a mess on the par-4 13th — both carding a bogey — Scheich sank an 18-foot birdie on 14 to square the match again. But from then on, it was all Lest.
The golfer from Littleton won 15 with a par as Scheich pushed his tee shot right into the native grass. Then Lest went 2 up with a 7-foot birdie on 16. And he closed things out on 17 with a conceded par as Scheich couldn’t get up and down from a greenside bunker.
Asked his thinking when he was 1 down for so long, Lest said, “I thought ‘(When) one putt drops, here we go.’ Sooner or later, something was going to drop. I sort of just took off from there and continued to build off of it. I stayed solid.”
Lest cut his teeth in golf in PGA Jr. League, which utilizes a match-play format, so he felt right at home this week at CommonGround.
Now, Lest is the proud owner of a CGA State Junior title, coming out on top in a field that featured a couple of recent AJGA winners (Tyler Long and Miles Kuhl), last year’s State Junior runner-up (Richmond) and many other formidable players. And he joins a list of CGA junior state champions that includes Hale Irwin, Mark Hubbard, Mike Reid, Brandt Jobe and 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
“This has got to be by far one of the biggest things I’ve ever done,” said Lest, who failed to even make match play at this event in 2022 and ’23. “For gosh sake, a junior championship, that’s kind of huge. It’s very special.”
Adding to the accomplishment is earning a spot in the U.S. Junior Am after failing to qualify for that event last week.
“Oh gosh, I forgot about that,” he said when reminded of that USGA perk of winning. “It feels like redemption because I failed to qualify last week. But here I am.”
Meanwhile, Scheich has racked up quite a record in the CGA State Junior over the last two years, going to the semifinals in 2023 and the finals this year.
“It was a good week,” said the senior-to-be at Mountain Vista High School who plays out of Ravenna. “I played some good golf. Runner-up is a good accomplishment, but it does sting right now, wanting to win so bad. But I’m proud of myself for how I fought and how I handled myself. It’ll happen.”
So why has Scheich, a national Junior PGA Championship qualifier in 2023, fared so well in this event the last two years?
“I like the format, I like the tournament,” he said. “It’s probably my favorite one of the year. The course sets up well; I like how it plays for me. I like match play as well.”
— GIRLS: When it was all said and done, the girls competition at the CGA State Junior came down to a battle of the Ashleys. Or was it the Ashleighs? Well, you get the idea. Both finalists went by a first name that sounds the same.
Beyond that, Ashley Chang and Ashleigh Wilson know each other very well as they’re teammates on the Rock Canyon High School girls golf team. (For the record, Wilson finished second individually and Chang sixth at this year’s 5A state high school tournament. As for the other semifinalists, Higgins won her second straight 5A meet, while Addison Hines tied for third.)
While both of the Rock Canyon teammates obviously wanted to come out on top, they were happy for each other’s success during the week overall.
“I love to win, but I also love her,” Wilson said of Chang. “We get along great, and I’m super happy for her.”
Said Chang: “I wasn’t really worried about who would win because either way I would be happy.” But there’s also the fact that almost all top-level golfers have a competitive streak in them.
The title match went back and forth with each player holding the lead on the front nine. But Wilson, who recently qualified for the U.S. Girls’ Junior, went into the back nine with a 1-up advantage. But a two-putt birdie by Chang on No. 11 — which played as a par-5 for the girls — knotted the match. And Wilson paid the price for a balky putter the rest of the way.
Both players three-putted No. 12 for bogeys, then Wilson lost holes 13 and 15 when she three-putted for bogey again (and again). Then Chang closed things out on No. 16 with a conceded par as Wilson was having bunker problems around the green.
And with that, the 16-year-old Chang earned her state title — and the right to join Wilson as competitors from Colorado in the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
“I know there were a lot of good players (in the field) and I’ve never played against them before one on one, so it was really intimidating, especially against someone like (two-time 4A state champion) Logan Hale or my teammate Ashley,” Chang said. “I practice with (Wilson) a lot during high school season so I know how good she is. I’m really proud of myself because last year I got eliminated in the second match (at the CGA State Junior). I’m just happy I made it to today at all.”
Not only did Chang beat Wilson en route to the title, but she took down Hale, who went to the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior, in the quarterfinals, 1 up as Chang birdied the final hole.
“I was really intimidated by her,” Chang said of Hale, a University of Denver golf signee. “But when we started playing I realized that my game was good enough to beat her in that match and I started getting more confidence after beating her.”
Then Chang made it to the finals with a 3-and-2 victory over Hines in Thursday’s semifinals.
“I was really confident, especially in my short game (throughout match play), said Chang, who plays out of Lone Tree Golf Club. “If I just hit close enough to the green, I would be able to make some good shots from there.”
All in all it was a big week for the high school junior-to-be.
“Also, qualifying for the U.S. Girls’ Junior is a really big thing,” Chang said. “I’m still really in shock. But I’m really happy and I’m proud of myself for how hard I’ve worked this year to get where I am.”
As for Wilson, she made it a point of looking at the glass as half full, having advanced to the title match but knowing that her putting was problematic in the final.
“I’m really proud of myself,” said Wilson, winner of girls titles in the Colorado Junior PGA and the Colorado Junior Match Play last year. “I played good; she played great. I gave her a run. I’m not disappointed. I played really well. I would have liked to have a couple of more putts drop, but it was a battle out there. We were both hitting great shots, and she came out on top.
“I know I didn’t win today, but I’ve been playing great.”
Chang’s name will go on the CGA State Junior trophy, along with past CGA girls junior champions such as Jennifer Kupcho, Jill McGill, Lauren Howe and social media sensation Paige Spiranac.
Quarterfinals
Conner Scheich, Highlands Ranch, def. Kellen Ball, Windsor, 4 and 3
Henry Starr, Englewood, def. Charlie Doyle, Colorado Springs, 2 and 1
Elijah Johnson, Denver, def. Andre Dumonteil, Centennial, 1 up
Alex Lest, Littleton, def. Jesse Hand, Littleton, 1 up
Semifinals
Conner Scheich, Highlands Ranch, def. Henry Starr, Englewood, 2 up
Alex Lest, Littleton, def. Elijah Johnson, Denver, 2 up
Final
Alex Lest, Littleton, def. Conner Scheich, Highlands Ranch, 3 and 1
For all the boys results, CLICK HERE.
Ashleigh Wilson, Highlands Ranch, def. Macy Kleve, Windsor, 1 up
Brenna Higgins, Centennial, def. Zoe Bar-Or, Greenwood Village, 4 and 2
Addison Hines, Arvada, def. Isabella Scott, Castle Rock, 2 up
Ashley Chang, Lone Tree, def. Logan Hale, Erie, 1 up
Ashleigh Wilson, Highlands Ranch, def. Brenna Higgins, Centennial, 2 and 1
Ashley Chang, Lone Tree, def. Addison Hines, Arvada, 3 and 2
Ashley Chang, Lone Tree, def. Ashleigh Wilson, Highlands Ranch, 3 and 2
For all the girls results, CLICK HERE.
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About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com