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Boys and Girls Junior America’s Cup: Utah’s Carter Papke in top 10 at Soldier Hollow
As the host team of the 52nd Junior America’s Cup, Utah hardly could have asked for a better start in Tuesday’s first round at Soldier Hollow Golf Course. The Utahns’ finish was not quite as good.
In the format that counts three of four players’ scores in each of the three rounds, the Utah Junior Golf Association’s Boys team used Carter Papke’s 1-over-par 73, Parker Bunn’s 76 and Jaxon Erickson’s 77 (Lance Loughton posted a 78) on the Gold Course. That’s good for a tie for seventh place among 18 Boys teams from associations in the western United States, Canada and Mexico.
Papke is tied for eighth individually. Playing for Wyoming, former Herriman High School golfer Ryker Lind of Evanston made four birdies in shooting a 72 and is tied for fifth, three strokes behind co-leaders Matthew Diehl of Southern California and Connor Herrera of San Diego. Wyoming and Alberta are tied with Utah in the team competition; San Diego is the leader.
In the 45th Girls JAC, being played on the Silver Course, Utah is 14th. The hosts counted Saydie Wagner’s 76, Ashley Lam’s 79 and Kate Walker’s 82 (Aadyn Long had an 85). The Girls individual leader is Oregon’s Melanee Udom at 67.
Bunn, who played for Utah’s winning JAC Boys team in 2022, typified the hosts’ up-and-down round Tuesday. The graduate of Bonneville High, who’s headed to Oklahoma State, teed off in the first group of the day. He eagled the par-5 No. 2 and was 4 under through seven holes. Bunn triple-bogeyed the par-4 No. 9 to make the turn at even par and added two bogeys and a double bogey on No. 18 to finish with a 76.

UJGA Boys Team Utah: (L-R) Parker Bunn, Lance Laughton, Carter Papke and Jaxon Erickson. (Photo: Fairways Media/Triston Hartfiel)
Papke, a Timpanogos High graduate, made four birdies in posting Utah’s best score. He bogeyed No. 18 to end up over par. Erickson was 1 over on the front nine, before making a double bogey and two bogeys on the back nine.
Utah’s girls also would have liked to finish stronger. Wagner, of Lone Peak High School, bogeyed the last two holes. Lam, a Skyline graduate who will play for Westminster University, was 2 over through 13 and bogeyed the last five holes.

UJGA Girls Team Utah (L-R) Berlin Long, Saydie Wagner, Ashley Lam, Kate Walker and Coach Kareen Larson. (Photo: Fairways Media/Randy Dodson)
For the first time in the event’s 52-year history, the Junior America’s Cup is staging both Boys and Girls competition at one venue. In the rotation that has evolved, Utah was due to host the Boys tournament in 2024 and the UJGA’s turn for the Girls event was coming up in a few years. UJGA Executive Director Jeff Thurman and the Board of Trustees proposed this consolidation of their efforts, while maximizing the 36-hole Soldier Hollow.
In 2022, Bunn joined Boston Bracken, Cooper Jones and Kihei Akina in Utah’s winning effort in northern California. In 2006, future PGA Tour members Tony Finau and Zac Blair played for the most recent Utah team to host the Boys event. Finau tied for first place individually at Ogden Golf & Country Club. Utah hosted the Girls event at Logan Country Club in 2009.
Utah (and other associations) lost some potential participants this week due to a conflict with the Boys & Girls Junior PGA Championships in Maryland. Brock Porter of St. George is among the Boys leaders with a first-round 70 at Congressional Country Club.
Opening round recap of the Boys and Girls Junior Americas Cup team matches written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photography provided by Fairways Media/Triston Hartfiel, Garrit Johnson and Randy Dodson.