Ava Bunker hits a fairway shot on No. 1 in the final round of the AJGA Circle K Classic Hosted by Otter Creek Golf Course, Thursday, June 29, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Ava Bunker had her best round Thursday at the AJGA Circle K Junior Championship Hosted by Otter Creek.
The Edinburgh resident carded an even-par 72 and finished in seventh place with 7-over 223 for the three-day tournament.
For her round Thursday, Bunker had four birdies, 10 pars and four bogeys.
“It was a lot better,” Bunker said. “My putting was definitely a lot better, and everything all-around was good today.”
Xinyun Chu of Champaign, Illinois, won the girls tournament with a 5-under 211, which was one shot better than runner-up Athena Singh of Morehead, Kentucky.
Recent Columbus North graduate Willy Davis posted an 8-over 80 on Thursday, which put him in 47th place overall at 25-over 241 for the tournament.
Davis scored two birdies, a double-bogey and eight bogeys on his final round.
Davis Gochenouer of Dayton, Ohio won the boys tournament at 7-under 209, which was two shots better than James McNair of Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada, and Bradley Chill Jr. of Columbia Station, Ohio.
Even though it wasn’t the score he’d like to have, Davis still enjoyed the experience of playing at Otter Creek for the past three days. He will continue his playing career at DePauw next year.
“It was really fun,” Davis said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of good players here. It was good to be able to play with a couple of them each day and just be able to take away my own little tips that they do that can help me shoot better scores.”
Like just about any young, avid golfer, Bunker and Davis both have plenty of golf tournaments to go to for the duration of the summer. Bunker will play in the US Girls Junior Championship July 17-22 in Colorado.
“It’s always good because it’s local, everyone is cheering me on and always here to watch,” Bunker said. “It’s great because I also got to see and meet new friends.”
