80 compete, eight crowed in Topeka Junior Golf City Championship

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Some of the best young golfers in Topeka and the surrounding areas went toe-to-toe on the course on Tuesday.

The Topeka Junior Golf Association (TJGA) held its annual junior golf city championship at Western Hills golf course.

"It's very exciting and the game of golf is growing," junior golf director, and Washburn Rural head golf coach, Jared Goehring said. "Our numbers were up this year as far as registrations go with the tournament play... The game is at an all-time high and I think we're seeing that with the local golf courses here in town."

Goehring tells 27 News that the city play saw 80 young players hit the course, with ages ranging from 7-17.

Baldwin's Peyton Wright left with a first place finish in her age group for the fourth-straight year, shooting a 156 over two days.

"This year I've kind of taken a really big step, just playing in these Topeka tournaments has really helped me grow my golf game," Wright said. "Getting all that experience and playing 18 holes, now that I'm getting older we're playing 18 holes more often."

Other winners, by age group, include:

• 15-17 boys: James Kuta, 147
• 13-14 boys: Easton Moulin, 157
• 11-12 boys: Jase Head, 75 (9)
• 9-10 boys: Nikhil Rao, 76 (9)
• 8 & under boys: Mason Walker, 83 (9)
• 13-14 girls: Avenley Head, 93 (9)
• 12 & under girls: Rowan Martinek, 122 (9)

The numbers listed after names indicate total score after the two-day tournament, with notes for age groups which played less than 18 holes per round.