2025 13u PGA Jr. League Championship: Team Ohio Takes Early Lead at -32

Team Ohio’s primary goals of having fun and staying present in their first 13u PGA Jr. League Championship appearance are paying off — the Columbus-based team leads the field following a 32-under par performance at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West.

Twelve, 10-player All-Star teams of golfers ages 10-13 are competing for the national title at the Home of the PGA of America, where the 13u Championship has been held since 2023. Days one and two (Tuesday and Wednesday) feature four, 9-hole rounds played in a team aggregate, stroke play scramble format, counting the top three of four pair scores per nine holes to determine seeding heading into semifinals on Thursday. For the fifth year, ESPN is broadcasting the Championship live on its platforms.

The early lead is especially meaningful for Team Ohio of Scioto Country Club, because they’re actively fundraising for the PGA REACH Southern Ohio Foundation. Every birdie at the Championship comes with a pledge of over $200 toward their cause, and the team counted 37 of them today.

“We had a great opening day for sure, and we’re proud to have an opportunity to use this platform to give back,” said Team Ohio Coach Chris Yoder, PGA. “This game has given us all so much, and to pay it forward means a lot to our team.”

Teammates and playing partners Lucas Massa, 13, and Maxwell Lattavo (pictured above), 11, carded 6- and 7-under 9-hole rounds today to lead the team.

“It went great,” said Massa, who walked away a winner in yesterday’s opening Skills Challenge with his 287-yard longest drive. “We played really well, made a lot of putts and had a lot of fun.”

Massa and Lattavo had eagles on Hole Nos. 8 and 18 today, thanks to their long-game, short-game opposing strengths.

“I chipped in for eagle on No. 8 with two hops and a roll,” said Lattavo. “Lucas hit a long iron to 30 feet on No. 18, and then I made the putt.”

“I was just really proud of the team today,” said Yoder. “We came into the round extremely prepared. What really made me most proud was how we handled that second nine after starting out well and hitting a little bit of a slow stretch. We had one pair make a double, but we've been preaching all year… It's not the score you shoot, it's how you respond and bounce back.

Team California of Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, also competing in the 13u Championship for the first time, finished the day in second at 30-under par.

“They played great,” said Team California Coach Jeff Allen, PGA. “They started off a little slow. On [Hole] No. 8, they started to pick up, and on the back nine they improved by I think four shots total. We talked about kind of mixing up who starts on putting, and that seemed to help with one of the pairs.”

Notably, 13-year-old partners Isabella Zhou and Inho Park turned their 4-under first nine into a team-leading 7-under performance in the second round.

“I feel like it was a really great day out on the course, because we had really good teamwork and collaboration and we sunk a lot of putts on the greens,” said Zhou. “Ironically, my putting wasn't that great in the practice rounds and a few days before that, and so I'm really glad to make a few putts today.”

On the remainder of the leaderboard, Team Texas (Austin) is in third at 27-under; Team Illinois (Lemont) in fourth at 26-under; Team Florida (Orlando) in fifth at 24-under; Team Pennsylvania (Sewickley) in sixth at 22-under; Team Oklahoma (Broken Arrow) in seventh at 21-under; Team North Carolina (Holly Springs) and Team Washington (Sammamish) is tied for eighth at 20-under; Team Virginia (Dulles) is 10th at 16-under; Team Connecticut (Berlin) in 11th at 11-under; and Team Kansas (Kansas City) in 12th at 5-under.

Day two begins Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. CT with two additional 9-hole rounds of team aggregate stroke play. The top four seeded teams will advance to the semifinals Thursday morning to determine who advances to the afternoon Championship match and who will play for third place.

Yesterday, the Championship’s celebratory kick-off featuring a Skills Challenge and a Welcome Party took place on property with ESPN cameras rolling. Team Pennsylvania took home the top prize at the Skills Challenge with 376 points. Madison Lee, 13, of Team Washington earned the girls’ longest drive with 251 yards, while Ohio’s Lucas Massa took home the longest drive title for the boys at 287 yards. Brody Tharp, 13, of Team Texas earned an award for a chip-in, while Team Washington’s Taikai Morimura, 13, took home the craziest shot award for his off-a-light-pole shot.

Continued broadcast coverage is as follows: