J-Birds heading back to PGA Junior League National Championships

The J-Birds 17U All-Stars based out of Blaine won the PGA Junior League Region 9 Championship at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa Sept. 14-15, and will head back to the National Championship for the second year in a row. The 17U National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship will be held at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, Nov. 14-17.

On day one of competition, the J-Birds 17U All-Stars, led by coach David Branstad, PGA, and assistant coach Tony Serpico, finished tied with the Jester Park 17U All-Stars of Ames, Iowa, at 18-under-par. After the tiebreaker (total team aggregate score), the J-Birds were seeded first and Jester Park was second. Nebraska’s Miracle Hill 17U All-Stars were seeded third (+1) and The Ridge 17U All-Stars were fourth (+5).

On Sunday morning, the teams faced off in match play, with the J-Birds 17U All-Stars competing against The Ridge 17U All-Stars, who were seeded fourth. Second-seed Jester Park 17U All-Stars, based at Jester Park Golf Course in Granger, Iowa, faced third-seed, Miracle Hill. The J-Birds defeated The Ridge 17U All-Stars 8.5-0.5 to advance to the finals, while Jester Park advanced with a 7-5 win over Miracle Hill. The J-Birds 17U All-Stars defeated Jester Park 7.5 to 1.5 in the afternoon championship match to become regional champions.

Team members include Blaine’s Andrew Burstad, Austin Roloff, Ben Appelhof, Chase Birdwell and Collin Ramos, and Chanhassen’s Kieley Hanson.