Yuma's top juniors off to state championships

Six of Yuma's junior golfers have qualified for the PGA Antigua Tour's state championships on Aug. 5-6 at Antelope Hills Golf Course in Prescott.

Kody Fiser, Cameron Sharp, Grady Bourguignon, Collin Catron, Henry Canan and Mieke Canan each qualified for the two-day tournament by acquiring points in six of the Antigua Tour junior golf events played in Yuma, as well as other JGAA tournaments hosted throughout the state.

"Consistently over the last six years we've been sending five to eight kids and won 7 championships in different age divisions," Cocopah Golf Resort Head Pro Mark Croft said. "We had 80 kids total at our Antigua events this year, and that's down a little bit, but Richard Valenzuela and I are going to do some work to get that number up again."

Fiser and Sharp are both playing in the 10-under boys division. It will be their first experience playing in these state championships.

"I'm a really good driver," said Fiser, who has been playing golf since age 3 and won the junior events this summer at Desert Hills, Cocopah and the Foothills golf courses. "(Croft) taught me some things about my swing this summer to slow it down a little bit and change the grip for my hand."

Bourguignon, a past champion at this event, is making his sixth trip to the state championships, this year in the 13-14 boys division. In addition to playing in the local tournaments, he competed in six JGAA events this summer, including a win in Tucson City Junior Championship - Tucson Conquistadores on July 15-16 at Dell Urich Golf Course with rounds of 75 and 69.

Catron, who golfs for Yuma High, and Henry Canan, an Antelope Ram golfer, will be in the 15-18 boys division. Henry has played in eight JGAA events this year, his best finish (third) coming at the Tucson Conquistadores as well, while Catron has played in eight tournaments, placing sixth at the Southwest PGA National Jr. Championship.

Mieke Canan, the lone girl of the group, may have had the busiest summer of them all as well. A former state champion making her fifth trip to this event, Canan has played in 16 JGAA events this year with four wins and four other top-3 finishes, including a victory Friday in the Arizona Junior Match Play Championship.

"It's kind of a good and bad at the same time," said Mieke of her rigorous summer schedule. "I've got my swing down really good. but its kind of tiring to be in Phoenix so many days of the week and not sleep in my own bed."

Most of the players will play a practice round Monday before Tuesday's tournament gets under way. The 10-under age division will play nine holes each day, with the older divisions competing in a 36-hole event. Croft said the 36-hole facility at Antelope Hills will be a different challenge than the courses they play in Yuma.

"We really don't have anything like it," he said. "It's similar to Desert Hills in length, but its much more narrow with well-defined fairways and heavily lined with trees. It's not desert golf."