Defending ANWA champion Davis takes Sage Valley Junior Invitational

Champions Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) and Anna DAVIS (USA) during third round Junior Invitational 2023, Sage Valley, Granateville, Georgia, USA. Photo…

Champions Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) and Anna DAVIS (USA) during third round Junior Invitational 2023, Sage Valley, Granateville, Georgia, USA. Photo Credit: Matthew Harris / Sage Valley GC

by: John Hart

Posted: Mar 18, 2023 / 07:38 PM EDT

Updated: Mar 18, 2023 / 07:38 PM EDT

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (WJBF) – Anna Davis and Aldrich Potgieter led wire-to-wire to claim the 2023 Junior Invitational titles on Saturday at Sage Valley Golf Club.

Davis, from Spring Valley, Califorinia, finished the tournament at 7 under-par to defeat runner-up Nika Ito of Japan by two shots after carding a final-round 70 on Saturday. Ito, who fired a final-round 67, which tied for the low round of the day, challenged Davis until the very end, holing out for eagle on the par-4 17^th to move Davis’ lead to one with two holes to play. However, Davis chipped in for birdie on the 17^th green to push her lead back to the winning margin of two shots heading to the 18^th hole.

Davis becomes the first wire-to-wire winner for the Girls tournament, which began in 2022.

“I went into the week wanting to win, thinking I was going to win,” said Davis after the final round. “I’ve always had high expectations for myself.”

Potgieter, from South Africa, finished at 13 under-par, 10 strokes better than second-place duo Aaron Pounds and Byungho Lee. Potgieter’s margin of victory is the highest in the tournament’s history, surpassing Nick Reach’s eight-shot win over Patrick Rodgers in the inaugural year of the event in 2011, and is only the third outright wire-to-wire winner, joining Reach and Austin Eckroat in 2016.

“Yeah, it was awesome week and I really enjoyed it,” Potgieter said of his Junior Invitational debut. “Today was a good a round. I struggled for a stretch, the par-five fourth I missed a five-footer or something for birdie and then missed one on five. So that was kind of a disappointing break, but I knew that the back nine had a lot of opportunities and still having to play three par fives, I was still confident enough to put a good score on the board.”

Two awards were also awarded to players for their accomplishments outside of the course. Aaron Pounds was awarded the Paul S. Simon Boys Character Award and Paula Martin was given the Dr. Joe Bowden Girls Character Award.

According to a news release from the tournament, it is recognized by Golfweek as the No. 1 junior event in golf. For more information, click here.

The Sage Valley Junior Invitational contributed to this story.