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SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. – It was a full circle moment for Team Utah (Lehi) on the ninth green when Ryder Huish drained the putt that clinched the 2026 17u PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club.
Huish, who has been a part of Team Utah Coach Tele Wightman’s PGA Jr. League program for years, was a member of the 2021 13u PGA Jr. League Championship team.
“In that 13u Championship, it was Ryder’s pairing that got us the win, and his pairing finished it off for this one, too,” Wightman said. “And it’s his birthday today, so it is a really awesome, fitting finish.”
By the time inclement weather rolled in, Team Utah had already accumulated enough points for the win, defeating Team Florida (Orlando) 7.5 to 4.5 to win the title. In the third-place match, Team Texas (Austin) bested No. 4 seed Team Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) 9-3.
The 2026 17u Championship was redemption for Team Utah, who placed fourth at the 2025 17u Championship after claiming the No. 1 seed in qualifying rounds.
“This core group has been playing together for five years,” Wightman said. “They played unbelievable golf today — just the resilience, the grit, the putting. There have been a lot of highs and tough losses, but to come out on top is amazing. I’m just so happy for my team.”
SANTA ANA PUEBLO, NM – OCTOBER 22: Charlie Rome hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during a practice round at the 2026 17u PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club on Thursday, October 22, 2026 in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. (Photo by Sam Wasson/PGA of America)
Team Utah’s Jordan Ofahengaue, 16, also played on the 2021 13u Championship team when he was 11 years old.
“This is just a blessing,” Ofahengaue said. “We’re all really great friends, and it was a blessing to get to come out and play one more year together. Our team has been looking for this for the past five years, and this is just a great add-on for the year.”
Team Utah advanced to the championship match with a 8.5 to 3.5 win over fourth-seeded Team Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) in the morning semifinals.
Team Florida’s coach, Kaden Wrisner, PGA Associate, a former PGA Jr. League player himself and a first-time head coach at the Championship, was proud of his team’s performance throughout the weekend.
“When it comes to match play, anything could happen, and the other team was just dropping a lot more putts than we were,” he said. “My team still played very well. I’m extremely proud of them to get to this point and the opportunity I had as the head coach for the first time. It’s definitely something I will never forget.”
Jeronimo Esteve, 17, of Team Florida, was proud to make it to the 17u Championship as a first-year PGA Jr. League player. While the second-place finish was a little disappointing, the experience was unforgettable.
“I think we deserved a little more, especially with how we felt coming in,” he said. “It was a lot of fun and our team really played great. We missed a couple we should have made, but we lost to a great team.”
SANTA ANA PUEBLO, NM – OCTOBER 22: Alia Brazeau hits her shot on the 12th hole during a practice round at the 2026 17u PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club on Thursday, October 22, 2026 in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. (Photo by Sam Wasson/PGA of America)
Team Texas coach, John Sosa, PGA Associate, said his team switched things up going into the consolation match, which made all the difference.
“We didn’t quite make that first match, but we did make it into the third place match,” he said. “We changed up some things up in the afternoon and created a little different vibe, and they came out blistering it.”
The final leaderboard saw Team New Jersey (Haworth) finish fifth; Team Connecticut (Middlefield) claim sixth; Team Illinois (Schaumburg) in seventh; Team California (Los Angeles) place eighth; Team Georgia (Newnan) finish ninth; Team Kansas (Leawood) in 10th; Team Ohio (Columbus) finish 11th; and Team Gateway (Quincy, Ill.) place 12th.
The eight teams not competing in the semifinals could participate in the Twin Warriors Fiesta de Tamaya, a two-person event with prizes awarded for first and second place. Team Ohio’s Emmet Lattavo, 14, and Christian Yoder, 15, won with an 8-under par (28). Team Georgia’s Stockton Hay, 17, and Noah Robinson, 17, were the runners up with a 7-under (29) after a scorecard playoff. To make the moment even sweeter, Robinson hit his first hole-in-one on Hole No. 13, a 153-yard par-3.
“I just grabbed my 50 wedge, just hit it kind of soft and the wind was kind of into me, so I hit it a little further than I would normally,” Robinson said. “It landed like 2 feet behind and spun back in.”
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