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Lutze & Meade Win Tour Championship
(Cameron Huss, Jack Lutze, Brock Hlinak)
(Madeline Koenig, Lorenza Martinez, Lexi Meade)
Jack Lutze of Brookfield and Lexi Meade of Eau Claire both put together two consistent rounds of golf this week to win their respective divisions at the Morgan Stanley Tour Championship, the final major event on the Wisconsin PGA Junior Foundation schedule this summer.
Lutze and Meade were both in the lead following the first round Wednesday and held on for victory.
Lutze opened with a round of 68 on Wednesday, which he said was his career-low score. He followed with a 1-under-par 71 Thursday to finish at 139 and win the boys competition by a single stroke over Brock Hlinak of Kaukauna, who shot 70-70–140. Cameron Huss of Kenosha finished third among boys (72-73–140).
Meade recorded rounds of 73-74–147 to win the girls title by six shots over Lorenza Martinez of Menomonee Falls (78-75) and Madeline Koenig of Wales (75-78), who tied for second at 153.
Afterward, both medalists said they felt extremely comfortable at this year’s Morgan Stanley Tour Championship venue, Washington County GC in Hartford. Meade said the course reminds her of her home course, Wild Ridge GC in Eau Claire, while Lutze admitted he has first-hand knowledge of Washington County.
“My advantage was that this was one of our home courses during the high school season, so I’ve played practice rounds here,” said Lutze, who played on the Marquette High School golf team that won the WIAA Division I title in June. “And we had a tournament here earlier in the year, and we had sectionals here.”
Lutze, 16, said he shot 74 in both of his high school tournament rounds this spring at Washington County GC, which he knew wasn’t his best effort either time.
“I knew if I just played my game and trusted my swing and my lines, that I would be OK,” he added.
Lutze, by his own admission, was better than just OK in the first round. Lutze was 1 over par through the first five holes, but he birdied the next two and was off to the races. He added three more birdies on the back nine to finish with that sterling 68. Thursday he recorded three more birdies, against two bogeys, to shoot his 71.
“Today, I didn’t hit it as well, but off the tee I wasn’t in trouble, so I was able to miss in the right spot and score with my (short game),” Lutze said.
Lutze needed every one of those birdies because Hlinak wasn’t going to just give away this tournament. Hlinak came into the Tour Championship as one of the hottest junior golfers in the state of Wisconsin. He finished third in the Wisconsin State Amateur Championship at Minocqua CC a week ago and earlier this week shot 65 to win a Wisconsin State Open qualifier at Ridgeway CC.
Lutze said the 17th hole was key in the final round. After landing his ball in the fairway off the tee, he had about 230 yards to the hole on the 533-yard par-5. “I knew the wind was with us, so I knew it would be helping quite a bit,” Lutze said. “I hit one of my best 4-irons I ever hit and it landed on the green.” Lutze missed his first putt but tapped in for birdie. Good thing, too, because Hlinak, playing his approach from much closer, also made birdie. Both players made par on 18 to preserve Lutze’s win.
Like Lutze, Meade set herself up to win on Thursday with her play down the stretch Wednesday. Meade stumbled out of the gate with five bogeys on the front nine in the first round, but she put four birdies on the board on the back. “My scores yesterday were interesting,” Meade said with a laugh. “I had a front-nine 41, and then I went 32 on the back. So I could tell by the second nine yesterday that I was starting to hit a groove and playing well. So that carried over to today, and I played consistently today and made a lot of pars.”
Meade said she was able to keep her momentum going Thursday because she made a bunch of 3- and 4-footers when she needed them, keeping her away from any big numbers. She made two birdies and four bogeys in the final round. “I just made a lot of good short putts to keep the momentum going,” she said. Thanks to their victories, Lutze and Meade also locked up spots on Team Wisconsin next summer when the Badger State competes once again in the Wisconsin-Minnesota Junior Cup Matches. The 22nd annual edition of the series will be played in Minnesota next season.
The Wisconsin State Open Championship, another tournament sponsored by Morgan Stanley, is scheduled for Aug. 20-22 at North Shore GC in Mena
(Augusta, GA – Sunday, April 7, 2024) Two young ladies represented Wisconsin at the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals. McKenna Nelson and Taytum Oswald are enjoying the grounds of Augusta National today during the Monday practice round. The coolest part? They both will be bringing hardware back home after stellar performances in their respective age divisions. 2024 marks a special year – it has been exactly one decade since the USGA, PGA of America and The Masters Tournament conceived a one-of-a-kind skills competition where boys and girls all over the country set out to advance through qualifying stages in hopes of competing at Augusta National during Masters week. What’s even more special? McKenna Nelson, the 2023 Wisconsin State Golf Association’s Player of the Year, is the first Wisconsin junior to be crowned Champion at the DCP Finals. For starters, her 262-yard-drive was amongst four golfers in her age group that shattered the previous record for longest drive at the Finals (251 yards). Next up: chipping – followed by putting on the 18th green. Chipping proved to be troublesome for a few competitors, including Nelson, but she was quick to bounce back. She put together a solid second chip and headed to the putting competition knowing she “wanted to put herself in a good place where she (thought) she could do it (win).” (Clip from Golf Channel’s Kira K. Dixon below). Long story short, she needed to land both the 15-footer and 30-footer within 3.5 feet. The 30-foot putt is first in the rotation – McKenna’s attempt fell within 2’7″ of the hole. The Beaver Dam native rolled the 15 -footer a mere 8″ from the cup to capture first place. A sigh of relief? Certainly. All the hard work paid off. She was just a few minutes away from the trophy ceremony. Taytum (Oswald) finished third overall in the Girls 10-11 age division. The Beloit native placed 3rd and 2nd, respectively, in the driving and chipping disciplines but fell short in putting. Her brother, Trey Oswald, caddied for her during the competition. For Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals results – click here.
The purpose of the WPGA Junior Foundation scholarship program is to assist graduating high school and college students in financing their college education. There are 2 separate scholarship forms. One is for graduating high school seniors and the other is for current college students. Please choose the appropriate one. In 2023, the WPGA Junior Foundation awarded 33 scholarships totaling $65,000. We anticipate awarding even more in 2024. All applications will be taken online. Please make sure you have your transcripts and letters of recommendations forms available to attach to your application online. High School Applicants - Click Here to apply online College Applicants - Click Here to apply online Deadline for both scholarship applications is April 24, 2024. #LendAHand Scholarship #LendAHand was created with the goal of helping those in need to get back on the golf course and playing in events throughout the state. We recognize the many financial hardships families continue to endure and we want to give back! Thanks to the help of our donors, we are able to offer accepted applicants up to $100 towards tournament registration fees. Apply here
Check out the Year in Review from our 2023 Junior season
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