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Junior Star Claims Second UGA Championship at Winterchamps
Seventeen-year-old Navy Hubbs continues to add to an already impressive golf résumé.
The reigning 2025 UGA Utah Girls’ Junior State Amateur champion captured her second Utah Golf Association title in as many years, posting 76 Stableford points today to win the 36-hole Women’s Winterchamps presented by Pizza Hut.
2026 Women’s Winterchamps winner, Navy Hubbs.
Hubbs built her winning total with 43 points in the opening round at SunRiver Golf Club, then held steady with 33 points in the final round at Copper Rock Golf Course, a day when the desert winds proved to be a tough test.
“Yesterday was definitely easier,” Hubbs said. “The wind wasn’t really a factor and I made a lot of putts. Today was tougher, but I just focused on playing my knockdown shots and playing a little safer.”
In the end, Hubbs held off a strong group of collegiate players from Utah Tech. Trailblazer Jane Olson finished runner-up with 73 points, followed by Mia Cesarek (67 points) and Samantha Phelan (66 points). Utah Tech commit Kate Walker and Weber State’s Rachel Lillywhite shared fifth place at 63 points.
True to form for a championship round at Copper Rock, gusting winds reshuffled the scoring. Only two players in the field, Molli Mulhall and Kareen Larson, managed to post higher Stableford totals in the final round than they did in the calmer opening day at SunRiver.
Women’s Winterchamps winner Navy Hubbs will tee it up in this year’s Epson Tour Copper Rock Championship as the UGA’s exemption selection. Tournament Director Penny James-Garcia presented the exemption invitation following play.
For Hubbs, the victory adds another milestone to a rising career and provides a significant opportunity. Along with the UGA champion’s medal, she earned an exemption into the 2026 Epson Tour Copper Rock Championship, scheduled for May at Copper Rock.
“I didn’t even realize the winner got into that event,” Hubbs said. “When they told me, I was shocked. But it’s exciting to have the chance to play against those players and learn from them.”
Hubbs, a Boise State commit, said the early-season win provides a boost of confidence as she prepares for a busy year of high school, UGA women’s championships, and national junior events.
Hubbs won’t have long to enjoy the win, her junior year of high school golf, playing for Salem Hills, began the day following her win.
“It builds a lot of confidence,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to come down and win, but it’s great to start the season this way.”
If the opening women’s championship of the UGA season is any indication, Hubbs’ name may appear in the record books more than once before her high school career is finished.
Click here for the UGA Women’s Winterchamps final leaderboard.
Story and photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson and Garrit Johnson.