Wilson's third eagle of the day beats Davis in playoff as she claims title in Hilton Grand Vacations Annika Invitational

    Yana Wilson, a 15-year-old from Henderson, Nev., has twice won a Drive, Chip & Putt national title with cameras from The Golf Channel documenting the proceedings at Augusta National Golf Club, one of the cathedrals of the game.

   So, Wilson has come through in some big moments. You can add her victory in the Hilton Grand Vacations Annika Invitational, presented by Rolex, an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) invitational that wrapped up Tuesday at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., to the list.

   Wilson chased down Anna Davis of Spring Valley, Calif. with a pair of eagles on her scorecard to force a playoff for the title and then slam-dunked a wedge from 75 yards away for her third eagle of the day on the first hole of the playoff to claim the title.

   Davis, like Wilson a Class of 2024 competitor, is another young gun from the West. The left-hander made a big statement last summer when she beat a strong field by a whopping seven shots to capture the Girls Junior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

   Davis showed her explosiveness at the start of Monday’s second round. Starting off the 10^th tee, Davis went birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle to open her round on her way to a sparkling 8-under-par 65 over the 6,386-yard, par-73 Eagle Creek layout that gave her a three-shot lead over Wilson heading into the final round.

   Wilson moved in front in the final round with her first eagle of the day as her wedge shot from 75 yards away at the 365-yard, par-4 seventh hole took a couple of hops and found the bottom of the cup.

   Davis fought back, making a birdie at the ninth hole to regain a share of the lead and adding another birdie at 11 to take a one-shot lead. Wilson then regained the lead with her second eagle of the day at the 483-yard, par-5 13^th hole.

   A bogey at the 17^th hole by Wilson left the pair tied for the lead and both made birdie at the finishing hole. That gave Wilson a third straight 4-under 69 for a 12-under 207 total while Davis ended up with a 1-under 72 in the final round that left her tied with Wilson at 12-under.

   Not sure which hole was used for the playoff, but for the second time Wilson found a distance she obviously likes and slam-dunked another wedge from 75 yards away for her third eagle of the day. A few moments later she was receiving the winner’s trophy from Annika Sorenstam, the event’s legendary namesake.

   “To win this invitational feels great,” Wilson told the AJGA website. “I’ve never won an (AJGA) invitational before and since Annika is here, it’s really cool.”

   The victory means Wilson will be hanging around in Orlando a little while longer as she earned a starting time in the LPGA’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, which tees off Thursday at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.

   Wilson reached the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. before running into the eventual winner, Rose Zhang, the No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   The runnerup finish continued a strong run of recent play by Davis as she finished third in the AJGA’s signature event, the Rolex Tournament of Champions, at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. over the Thanksgiving weekend and was the runnerup in the Junior Orange Bowl Invitational earlier this month at the classic Donald Ross layout at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla.

   A couple of Swedes did Sorenstam proud as they earned respective 3-4 finishes in the Annika Invitational.

   Matilda Jonsson, a Class of ’22 player, added a final round of 6-under 67 to the pair of 2-under 71s she posted in the first two rounds as she finished in third place, two shots behind Wilson and Davis at 10-under 209. Keja Ortengren, another Class of ’24 competitor, finished two shots behind her fellow Swede in fourth place with an 8-under 211 total after also finishing strong with a sizzling 7-under 66, the best round of the day in Tuesday’s final round.

   Vanessa Zhang of Canada and Michelle Zhang of Plano, Texas via China finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 7-under 212, a shot behind Ortengren.

   Vanessa Zhang, a Class of ’24 competitor, and Michelle Zhang, who plans to join the program at Southern Methodist at the end of the summer, had identical splits, each sandwiching a 72 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 3-under 70s. Michelle Zhang was coming off a tie for fifth place in last month’s Women’s Dixie Amateur at the Palm Aire Country Club’s Cypress Course in Pompano Beach, Fla.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J., a semifinalist in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia Country Club last summer, headed a group of five players who finished in a tie for seventh place at 6-under 213. Li, who plans to join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse Duke at the end of the summer of 2023, was in third place going into the final round after adding a 3-under 70 to her opening-round 71. She closed with a 1-under 72 to finish at 6-under.

   Defending champion Avery Zweig of McKinney, Texas, who captured the Annika Invitational about a week shy of her 14^th birthday a year ago, was also in the group tied for seventh place at 213. After matching par in the opening round with a 73, Zweig recorded a sparkling 4-under 69 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 72.

   Rounding out the quintet at 6-under were Lauren Kim, another Canadian who plans to join the Texas program at the end of the summer of 2023, Sky Sudberry of The Woodlands, Texas who plans to join the Texas A&M program at the end of the summer of 2023, and Jasmine Koo, a Class of ’24 competitor from Cerritos, Calif.

   Kim, coming off a tie for fifth place in the Junior Orange Bowl Invitational at The Biltmore earlier this month, closed with a sparkling 6-under 67. Sudberry and Koo also finished strong, Sudberry carding a solid 3-under 70 and Koo posting a 4-under 69.

   Brooke Oberparleiter of Jupiter, Fla., who spends part of her summers in South Jersey, finished among the group tied for 26^th place with a 1-over 220.

   My last post chronicled Oberparleiter’s victory over South Florida junior legend Alexa Pano in the final of last week’s Ione D. Jones/Doherty Championship at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 16-year-old Oberparleiter earned her first AJGA victory last summer in the Imperial Headwear Junior Classic at DuPont Country Club near Wilmington, Del.

   Oberparleiter didn’t have much time to prepare for the Annika Invitational after capturing the Jones/Doherty last Friday. She struggled a little in an opening-round 76 and added a 74 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 3-under 70.

   Elizabeth Beek, who captured the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman at Wissahickon in 2019, sandwiched a 76 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 74s to finish in a tie for 40^th place with a 5-over 224 total. Beek headed for the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. following her freshman year at Wissahickon. Not sure if she’s still going to school there, although she’s still playing some pretty solid golf.

   Angelina Tolentino, a Class of ’24 competitor from Mount Laurel, N.J., finished among the group tied for 47^th place with a 7-over 226 total. Tolentino added a 78 to her opening-round 77 before closing with a solid 2-under 71.

   Tolentino was the medalist in last summer’s Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship in a qualifier at Commonwealth National Golf Club, which earned her a trip to the Girls Junior PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky. Tolentino and Beek both landed in the group tied for 31^st place on the national stage at Valhalla.