Page 58 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Magazine Winter 2022

FEATURE

On the boy’s side of Southern Nevada junior golf, while
there might be a talent discrepancy as compared to the girls,
there is still a pretty solid talent pool. This young talent is
often on display during Southern Nevada Golf Association
tournaments when the juniors go up against some of the top
older amateurs in Southern Nevada.

At the recent Las Vegas City Amateur played at Las Vegas
Golf Club, Mason Snyder finished tied for third and was the
SNJGA’s top performer. “I’m very happy to be able to get low
Junior at the City Am” says Snyder, a Loyola Marymount
commit. “Brett (Sodetz) obviously played really well the
first day and it made it hard to catch him. My putts wer-
en’t dropping either day so it made it hard to get the win.
But I still played solid golf. My junior career has been a lot
of fun. Recently, I won a few AJGA Opens that earned me
spots in some great invitationals around the country. I have
committed to a great college, LMU, and look forward to con-
tinuing to pursue my goal of being a top PGA Tour pro after Mason Snyder (Photo from Mason Snyder facebook paage)
college. I would also like to thank my coach Eric Meeks for
everything.””

Sodetz, the recent City Am champ, is a former SNJGA
member. Other top junior finishers in the City Am were
Leo Torres (T6), Andrew Hawk (T8), Ian Fritz (T13), Avery
Lazarski (T20), Darian Faust (T22), Thomas Chung (T22),
Grant Harvey (T30), Brad Bourn (T33), Troy Mason (T33),
Skylor Taylor (T33), Caden Gambini (T42), Kyle Guloy
(T50), Cormack Goecke (T50) and Vincent Kyle Forbes (62).

“I guess the first thing that comes to mind is how well the
juniors seem to play when they show up,” says Tim Brand,
SNGA director of rules and competitions. “The talent pool
for young golfers gets deeper and deeper. It forces these
players to learn how to play tournament golf at a high
level. It also helps them with course management and how
to avoid the ‘big mistake’ out there. The high-level juniors
come into our events and know that they have the ability
to go low at any course because they have done it before.
Because they have that confidence, they are not intimidated
by some of the older, more accomplished players.”

The top young male players in Southern Nevada besides
those top junior finishers in the City Amateur include Brett
Sawaia, David Llewelyn, Colton Cherry, Nicholas Kilgore,
Bradley Bourn and RJ Arone.

Most of the top players are members of the Southern Nevada
Junior Golf Association, which dates back to the 1970s.
It has produced high school, collegiate and professional
Ian Fritz

56 LAS VEGAS GOLF & LEISURE WINTER 2022 www.lasvegasgolfandleisure.com