The Pure Insurance Championship on the PGA Tour Champions is a special event, in that veteran pros are paired with standout junior golfers from the First Tee program on the Monterey Peninsula.
Amateur Alyssa Stewart had a week to remember, teamed up with fellow Texas Justin Leonard and hit golf’s magic number, a 59, during the second round at Spyglass in a fourball format.
Stewart, ranked 241st in the Golfweek/Sagarin girls junior golf rankings, led by four in the girls division after 36 holes and went on to win by eight shots over Alaythia Hinds.
“She’s awesome,” Leonard said Saturday afternoon. “She’s made two eagles in the last two days and a bunch of birdies.”
The 17-year-old is a high school junior from Mansfield, Texas, and is committed to play college golf at Houston Christian. Leonard sounds like he enjoyed being a mentor during this tournament.
“I’m not reading every putt and everything, but helping her with a little yardage or a decision here or there,” he said. “It’s fun. And it’s, look, she’s a great golfer, and she’s a better person and just a really fun personality to be around.”
Brayden Casolari, who was paired with Brian Gay, finished 21 under and won the boys division by a shot over Garrett Harrison, Sebastian Velazquez and Andre Follmer.
There were 80 First Tee members from 45 U.S. chapters competing in the event at the start of the week. The top 24 – 12 boys and 12 girls – advanced to Sunday.
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