With an 8-under 134 coming into Thursday's final round of the Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Tournament, Ryan Thomas looked ready to cruise to a win in his first American Junior Golf Association open event.
Then mother nature threw him a curveball, and in the process, started curving his shots.
Thomas, a 17-year-old from Alameda, Calif., went out of bounds on the 14th hole while holding a four-stroke lead on Kaz Hoffman of Tiburon, Calif. That lead was cut to two strokes after that hole.
But Thomas held on and came away with the event trophy, and a can't-miss opportunity to have his picture taken in front of a giant inflatable cow representing a sponsor.
"The front nine wasn't that bad, but the wind picked up a little when I made the turn and it's hold on from there," Thomas said. "It completely changed the golf course. The whole week the golf course wasn't playing very difficult and the last nine holes started to play tough."
Thomas finished with an 8-under-par 205. Hoffman came in one stroke back at 206, and Erik Coover of Scottsdale, Ariz., finished in third at 207.
"Down that stretch every stroke counts. When you're in contention, there's a lot of pressure," he said.
Where Thomas fought the wind, Bishop Gorman's Johnny Pinjuv thrived in it. Bound for USC next fall, Pinjuv shot a seven-under 64 in Thursday's final round, the lowest round in the tournament.
Pinjuv shot a 79 in Tuesday's opening round and 73 on Wednesday for a final score of 216.
"I just tried to not think about the first few days," he said. "I played like it was a brand new tournament. I just forgot about the bad shots the first few days and started hitting some good ones."
David Hahn of Henderson was the top finishing local, scoring a 215 and finishing tied for 18th. Green Valley senior Adam Tebbs finished tied for 54th with a 229.
Bishop Gorman freshman In-Ah Park finished in fourth in the girls division, scoring 13-over 226 after shooting for par on Tuesday.
Melissa Mabanta of Phoenix won the girls competition with a 223. The only other local girls' competitor, Angelica Wright of Bishop Gorman, finished with a 243.
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