Semifinals Set at 2026 17u PGA Jr. League Championship

The semifinals are set at the 2026 17u PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club, with four teams headed to match play. Team Utah (Lehi) claimed the top seed at 82-under, with Team Florida (Orlando), Team Texas (Austin) and Team Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) rounding out the top four. 

“I think our team is playing great,” said PGA of America Golf Professional Tele Wightman, who leads Team Utah. “We came to try and get that No. 1 seed, and the boys played great today. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.” 

Sunday’s semifinal rounds are a chance at redemption for Team Utah, who finished fourth in 2025 and was the runner up at the inaugural 17u Championship in 2023. After play was suspended on Day 1, eight teams completed their Friday qualifying rounds on Saturday morning. As a result, Wightman’s team entered the second day of qualifying rounds at 43-under, one shot behind Team Florida (-44). 

Team Utah’s Blake Brown, 16, was part of the fourth place team at last year’s Championship. He’s excited about another opportunity to claim the title. 

“We hit a lot of good shots, gave ourselves great looks, and then we finally got some putts to fall at the end of this, so that helped,” he said. “We’ve had the No. 1 seed in previous years, so hopefully we can stay strong tomorrow and do what we can to finish strong.” 

Team Florida finished second at 79-under, following a third-place finish at last year’s Championship. Coach Kaden Wrisner, PGA, is encouraging his players to take Sunday’s match-play semifinals one hole at a time. 

“Match play is going to be interesting, but we have to take it one shot at a time, one ball and one hole at a time,” Wrisner said. “We had a few ups and downs today, but if they keep their heads up, keep pushing and keep a positive attitude, they’ll be good.” 

Team Texas and Team Pennsylvania finished Day 2 tied at 70-under. Seeding was determined by the second tie-breaker, the Day 2 total team aggregate score. Team Texas (-41) edged Team Pennsylvania (-39) to claim the No. 3 seed.

“We steadily kept progressing and improving today,” said John Sosa, PGA Associate, Team Texas’ coach. “ I feel like the guys are trending nicely and they're feeling good, so I’m hoping that tomorrow a few more putts fall.” 

Team Pennsylvania’s Carson Higginbotham, 17, and Santino Toscano, 17, helped push their team into the semifinals with a -10 in their final nine holes, including six birdies and two eagles. 

“We made about a 40-footer for eagle on one, stuck it close on Hole No. 2, then made another 50 footer on No. 3 for birdies, and the putter just got hot from there, so it really just carried us through,” Higginbotham said. 

Troy Williams, PGA, Team Pennsylvania’s coach called it “the round of the tournament.” 

“To come out and shoot 21-under on this side was outstanding,” he said. “We really wanted to get back to match play after missing it the last couple of years, and our boys fought hard, and we're excited for tomorrow.”

Another highlight on Day 2 came from Team New Jersey (Haworth), who finished fifth with a 59-under. Roger Rice, 17, made his second lifetime hole-in-one on Hole No. 13, a 153-yard, par-3. Rice, a high school senior, said the moment and the time on the course with his teammates was the perfect cap to his PGA Jr. League career. 

“It's been an awesome experience playing with all my friends and guys back home and getting to play with them on a great course has been a joy,” he said. “I wish I’d played a little better, but the hole-in-one was a nice touch.”

Tomorrow morning, the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds and the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds will compete in match play to determine who advances to the Championship round. Semifinal matches will begin at 8:30 a.m. MT on Sunday, with the Championship match beginning around 1 p.m. MT. The two teams not advancing to the Championship match will compete for third and fourth place. Groups and starting times will be available here.

The eight teams not competing in the semifinals are invited to participate in the Twin Warriors Fiesta de Tamaya, a two-person event with prizes awarded for first and second place and closest to the hole. Team New Jersey finished fifth at 59-under, Team Connecticut was sixth at 56-under, Team Illinois was seventh at 53-under, Team California was in eighth with 51-under, Team Georgia finished ninth at 47-under, Team Kansas finished 10th at 44-under, Team Ohio finished 11th at 38-under and Team Gateway finished 12th with 37-under. 

For Championship scoring, news and more, visit PGA.com.