News

MANLIUS, N.Y. – The 84th NYS Boys’ and 63rd NYS Girls’ 18U Junior Amateur Golf Championships tee off at Cavalry Club starting on Tuesday. This is the Club’s first time hosting an NYSGA junior title, and last held a NYS Championship in 2019.

For the third year, these championships are designated USGA Exemption Events.

The winners of each tournament will be awarded exemptions into the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur (July 20-25 at Saucon Valley Country Club) and U.S. Girls’ Junior (July 13-18 at Old Chatham Golf Club) championships, respectively, later this summer. The top-5 finishers in the Boys' 18U Junior Championship will also earn an exemption into the 103rd NYS Men's Amateur Championship at Glens Falls Country Club, July 7-9. 

Related: The Field / Course Photos / Past Winners (Boys) / Past Winners (Girls) 

FAST FACTS

Dates: June 30 - July 1, 2026

Field Size: 156 players (112 Boys, 44 Girls)

Format: 54 holes, individual stroke play

• There is a cut after 18 holes in each division to:
• Girls' 18U - Low 24 & Ties
• Boys' 18U - Low 42 & Ties

Last Year's Championship:

Nobody could keep up with now Loyola College player Liam Moloney, the only player to fire all three rounds in red figures during the 2025 NYS Boys’ 18U Junior at McGregor Links Country Club. The player from Golf Club at Mansion Ridge captured the 83rd NYS Boys’ 18U Junior crown by five strokes. He totaled 7-under 203 for the tournament including a pair of 67s on the final day. Recap Story

In the battle that forced an extra hole, the Met Area’s Phung sisters both finished the 54-hole championship tied at 9-under par. The NYS Girls’ 18U Junior was decided in a playoff at McGregor Links CC. Older sister, Amelie Phung prevailed over Alexandra Phung, and became the 62nd NYS Girls’ 18U Junior Champion. Recap Story

PAR AND YARDAGE

Cavalry Club will be set up at 6,648 yards for the Boys’ 18U Division and 5,739 yards for the Girls’ 18U Division. The yardage for each round of the championship will vary due to course setup and conditions.

COURSE DESIGN

Joe Lee and Dick Wilson helped the golf course debut in 1965. The property was originally used as a US Army training ground for horses and troops. The clubhouse has now replaced the stables and Limestone Creek gorgeously runs through the course.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The 84th NYS Boys’ Junior Amateur Field contains four NYSGA champions:

Connor Jackson,17, of East Aurora CC, won the 2023 NYS Boys’ 14U Junior Amateur at Lake Placid Club, going 74-71 (+3) to win by three strokes. He was runner-up in last year’s Boy’s 18U Junior Championship. Jackson also claimed the BDGA Sub-Junior Stroke Play Championship in the same season, eventually taking home the BDGA’s Sub-Junior Player of the Year Honors. He was also runner-up in the 2022 BDGA Junior Match Play Championship.

Tanner LaTorre, 16, of NYSGA eClub - Capital Region, was the 2024 Boys’ 14U Junior Amateur champion. In November, he was named the Capital Region Golf Association’s Boy’s 18U Player of the Year. Earlier that year, he won the International Junior Masters. In 2024, as a sophomore, he became the first golfer from Ichabod Crane HS to win the NYSPHSAA Section II championship. He also competed in the 2022 Drive, Chip and Putt competition, making history with his brother, Mason, as the first pair of brothers to compete in the event together. He is committed to play collegiate golf at University of Rhode Island.

Francisco Cupp, 15, of Saratoga Golf & Polo Club, is the reigning Boy’s 14U Junior Amateur champion. With rounds of 68 & 75 (-1), he claimed victory at Eagle Crest Golf Club last year by one stroke. In May, he won the Capital Region Golf Association Tri-County Match Play Championship at Colonie G&CC. He will compete in the 103rd NYS Men’s Amateur and Glens Falls and is a member of Team New York.

Jacob Olearczyk, 18, of NYSGA eClub - Central NY, is a two-time Boy’s 14U Junior Amateur champion, winning in 2022 and 2021. He also competed in the 2023 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship. Olearczyk plays collegiate golf at LeMoyne.

The 63rd NYS Girls’ Junior Amateur Field contains three NYSGA champions:

Hayden Knapp, 16, of Glens Falls Country Club, is the reigning NYS Women’s Amateur champion. A member of Team New York, she also won the 2026 NYSPHSAA Girls Golf Championships. Knapp is ranked 293rd in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. In 2025 and 2024, she was named the Times Union Albany Girls Golfer of the Year.

Alexandra Phung, 15, of the Metropolitan PGA Junior Golf Club, captured the 2023 Girls’ 14U Junior Amateur Championship. She is one of four Drive, Chip and Putt competitors to have ever won multiple national championships. She won the Girls 10-11 title in 2023 and this year notched the Girls 12-13 crown in what was her record-tying fourth National Finals appearance (2019, 2021, 2023, 2025). She was runner-up in last year’s 18U Junior Amateur to her sister, Amelie.

Natalie Wasik, 14, of Lockport Town & CC, is a two-time defending champion of the Girls’ 14U State Championship. In May she won the All Catholic State Championship while breaking the low-score record for the tournament. Last summer, she also won the US Kids Canadian Invitation. Wasik is a member of Team New York.

Other Players to Watch in the Boys’ 18U Field: 

Blaise Brixner, 18, of Binghamton CC, recently won the CNY PGA’s Junior AIM Championship. He finished in T9 at the 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Golf Championships, posting a two-over score for the event. Additionally, he won the STAC (Southern Tier Athletic Conference) championship in October 2023. Also came in 7th at Mark Twain GC in the Bernard’s Custom Logo Junior Open, and 6th place at the Junior PGA Championship Qualifier at Timber Banks GC.

Sean Roddy, 18, of Pinehaven Country Club, plays collegiate golf at Merrimack College. A recent graduate of Guilderland HS, he placed 13th in the NYSPHSAA boys championships last year with a score of seven over for the 2 days. He finished 14th at the 2024 18U Junior Amateur Championship. He was named PGA NENY Player of the Year in 2024.

Josh Yan, 18, of Trump National GC Hudson Valley, currently ranked 319th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, has one AJGA win to his name, which he achieved in the 2024 AJGA Junior at Huntsville. He recently placed third in the NYSPHAA Boys Golf Championships. In last year’s championship he tied for 12th place. Yan is committed to play Division I golf at St. John's University.

Ethan Yao, 15, of Youth On Course - MGA, currently ranked 330th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and finished second at last year’s AJGA Junior All-Star at York. Yao has three wins this year in the MET PGA Junior Tour. He currently boasts the best handicap in the field.

Brayden Sentz, 16, of Timber Banks GC & Marina, tied for 12th at the NYSPHAA Boys Golf Championships. In the PGA NENY Series, he has two third place finishes and a runner up in his only three events in 2026. Last year he was the Boys 16-18 player of year with five wins in eight events.

Danny Wehle, 18, of Oak Hill CC, finished third in last year’s event going five-under in his final two rounds combined. He is ranked 377th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is committed to play golf at University of North Florida.

Cole Jones, 18, of East Aurora CC, is a two-time defending BDGA Junior Stroke Play champion. He was a member of the inaugural Team New York roster and will play golf at University of Ohio.

Other Players to Watch in the Girls’ 18U Field:

Delaney Abel, 15, of Corning Country Club, recently tied for third place in the 2026 NYSPHSAA Girls' Golf Championships. Additionally, she was T1 at the NYS Federation golf championship in 2025. She finished T5 at the New York State Girls 18U Junior Championship in 2024. Abel won the Section IV title as a 7th grader in 2023 and was recognized as girls’ co-golfer of the year in the Southern Tier Report All-Star Team. She is also a member of Team New York.

Nina Choe, 17, of Pelham Country Club, ranked 50th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. She won the 2025 NYSPHSAA Girls' Golf Championships, shooting -6 for the tournament to win by 7 strokes. Choe also won the K.J. Choi Foundation Junior Championship that same year. She has three top-five finishes in this tournament. Choe is a member of Team New York and is committed to golf at UC Davis.

Rachel O’Rourke, 16, of Teugega CC, boasts eight CNY PGA wins, including five in 2024. Recently she won the Section III NYSPHSAA Individual Girls Golf title and finished second at the NYSPHSAA Girls' Golf Championships. O’Rourke is a member of Team New York.

Maria Glavin, 15, of Van Schaick Island CC, ranked 227th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. She was named the 2025 Girls 13-15 Player of the Year by the NENY PGA. Glavin has appeared in 39 NENY Series events and has won all but six of them, never finishing worse than second. She finished tied for eighth at the 2026 NYSPHSAA Girls' Golf Championships.

Yasmina Oralkhan, 16, of MGA eClub – New York City, is coming off a win in the MET PGA Junior Tour Eisenhower White tournament in May. Oralkhan also had six MET PGA Junior Tour wins in nine starts along with two AJGA tournament wins in 2025. She is the 189th ranked player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and a member of Team New York.

Daniella Elizabeth Sutor, 18, of MET PGA Junior Golf Club, tied for seventh in last year’s event and came in ninth place in the NYS Women's Amateur Championship in 2024. She has won the APS Junior Tour (Slovakia), Youth Region Tour (Czech Republic), and the Ill Winter Cup (Hungary).

Reagan Paolini, 14, of Irondequoit CC, is the reigning RDGA Girls Junior Player of the Year. She was runner up at the Section V Girls High School Championship in 2025.

Team New York Athletes in the Field

Boys
Francisco Cupp, Graham Erickson, Thomas Goodelle, Cole Jones, Tanner LaTorre, John Lazzaro, Drew Mancini, Patrick O’Connor, Tom Ruhanen, Brayden Sentz, Brayden Thomas, Josh Yan

Girls
Delaney Abel, Maddie Chang, Nina Choe, Maria Glavin, Hayden Knapp, Yasima Oralkhan, Rachel O’Rourke, Alexandra Phung, Daniella Sutor, Natalie Wasik

Youngest Competitors in the Field

Boys
13 - Brayden Thomas
14 - Dylan Suchak

Girls
13 - Taerin Lee
14 - Reagan Paolini
14 - Nina Dahl

PREVIOUS NYSGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT CAVALRY CLUB

1971 NYS Men’s Amateur Championship, 1994 NYS Women's Senior Amateur Championship, 2019 NYS Men’s Senior Amateur Championship

ABOUT THE CAVALRY CLUB

Designed by Joe Lee and Dick Wilson, the Cavalry Golf Club opened to instant acclaim on June 26, 1965. In place of the old horse barns, stood a sparkling new club house and nestled in the sweeping curve of Limestone Creek, an 18-hole golf course was carved into the rolling countryside at a place where, at one time, the troopers and their mounts had prepared to go to war. Enlightened leadership, spearheaded by old troopers from Company C, played a key role in the club’s development, as has the active participation of the associate membership since.

The Cavalry Club has proudly upheld a tradition of exceptional golf, camaraderie, and community. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the golf course—known for its historic layout, challenging design, and scenic beauty. Over the decades, Cavalry has grown and evolved, but our commitment to the game and to each other remains as strong as ever.