Anchored by three consecutive birdies to begin his round on Sunday, Connor Williams of Escondido outdueled defending champion Ryan Voois to capture the 2021 Southern California Junior Amateur Golf Championship at Morongo GC at Tukwet Canyon.
Williams carded an impressive eight-under 64 in the first round to build a two-stroke lead over Voois, who capped his Saturday round with an eagle on Hole No. 18 to give him sole possession of second place headed into Sunday.
“My gameplay was just to try and keep it in play all week,” Williams said. “My irons and wedges were pretty good, so just go from there. The greens were rolling good, so it was pretty easy to make putts.”
Williams ended his first round with birdies on three of his final four holes, then started his Sunday round with three consecutive birdies. Heading into the Hole No. 4 tee box, the 17-year-old had built a five-stroke lead.
“I was just trying to start off well so that I could pace myself the rest of the round. I hit the fairway on (all holes) and made a couple putts,” Williams said.
From there, he stayed consistent with mostly pars through the rest of his round to coast to the title, maintaining a lead of at least three strokes over Voois and Kyle An of Aliso Veijo, who were paired with Williams in the final round.
Two more birdies on Hole No. 12 and Hole No. 13 all but sealed the wire-to-wire victory for Williams, who finished 12-under 132 over 36 holes for his first state title.
"This was my first time playing in this tournament so I’m pretty stoked to get the win. I knew my game was in a good spot coming in here so I was glad that I was able to execute,” Williams said.
An enjoyed a back-nine surge that included four birdies. Finishing nine-under, he took home runner-up honors.
Ryan Arnold and Voois shared third place, finishing at eight-under. Rounding out the top five Park Hogan of Walnut shot 139.
Williams is the 7th SoCal Junior Amateur Boys Champion, this championship started in 2015 as a junior amateur boys and girls event run by the SCGA and SCPGA.