Junior Tour of Northern California Crowns Winners During Holiday Series III at Poppy Hills Golf Course
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (January 7, 2025) – The 2025-2026 Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC) hosted its thirteenth event of the season and crowned champions during the Holiday Series III Championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
Asterisk Talley and Drue Henry Sanchez both win their respective flights, with the course playing to a par-71 at Poppy Hills. The Boys division played to 6,524 yards while the Girls played to 5,942 yards.
In the Boy’s Championship flight, Drue Henry Sanchez wins his first tournament of the 2025-2026 Junior Tour season by two shots. Sanchez opened up the event with a dominating first round bogey-free 4-under 67, carding a front-nine 35 paired with a back-nine 32. Round two included more bogey's than Sanchez had in mind but steady play throughout the final round kept him atop the leaderboard. In total, Sanchez tallied up six birdies and turned in a final round of 1-over 72. Sanchez is now ranked 6th on the Boys JTNC Player of the Year standings and only 60 points outside of the top-five ranked boys in Northern California.
Runner-up needed a card-off between William Keszler and Nathan Tarter after the pair were tied at 1-under par 141. Ultimately, it was Keszler's second round 69 that earned him a second place medal versus Tarter's second round 71. Keszler carded rounds of 72-69 with a total of four birdies and one eagle, the eagle coming at the par-5 18th hole on the final day of the competition. Tarter took third place honors with rounds of 70-71, this included four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 9th hole during the final round as well! Fourth place went to Justin Hu of Saratoga at 1-over par 143, Justin turned in rounds of 73-70 and had a total of six birdies over the two day event.
In the Girls’ Championship flight, Asterisk Talley made her return to the Junior Tour of Northern California in the final tournament of the 2025 calendar year. Asterisk did not miss a beat as she immediately returned to her previous JTNC form, carding rounds of 68-67 to finish at 7-under par 135. Talley turned in scorecards which featured nine birdies, with her best stretch coming during round one as she made back-to-back-to-back birdies on holes 3, 4, and 5. Round two for Talley was nothing short of spectacular as she posted a bogey-free 67 with four birdies and fourteen pars to win the Girls division by twelve shots. Victory at Holiday Series III is Asterisk's first win for the 2025-2026 JTNC season.
Runner-up was awarded to Suri Zhang of Newark at 5-over par 147, marking Zhang's first medal of the 2025-2026 season. Suri posted rounds of 74-73 including four birdies in total. Suri is hoping to build on this momentum as she looks to improve on her 12th place ranking on the Girls Player of the Year standings. Third place needed a card-off between Lexi Lowe and Melody Chen after the two were tied at 11-over par 153, Lexi would take the third place medal with her lower second round of 76 versus Melody's 78. Melody Chen took fourth place after rounds of 75-78.