The Twins Takeover in 2026, As the Junior Tour Grows Again
Mia and Jonah Reyes of El Paso each walked off with an overall title this summer. Behind them, 29 tournaments, six championships and the first jump in tour registrations since 2023.
The 2026 summer season wrapped August 9 at UNM Championship Golf Course. Across 29 tournaments in two states, tour registrations climbed for the first time since 2023. Four Sun Country juniors competed at the 50th Junior PGA Championships at PGA Frisco and eight more represented the section at the Junior America’s Cup matches.
Many of the enhancements made to the tour this year were possible thanks to the support of Weck’s, the title partner of the Sun Country Junior Tour, and Pitre Auto Group, the tour’s presenting partner. Their support helped us continue building the experience for junior golfers and families throughout the 2026 season.
No family collected more trophies than the Reyes twins of El Paso. Mia captured the NM/WT Junior Amateur in Socorro in July. A month later, on a Sunday in Albuquerque, Jonah ran down the field at the Tour Championship. One title apiece, three weeks apart, in the same summer.
Here is how each of the six championships was decided.
Junior America’s Cup
The road west started at Santa Ana in May. Eight juniors qualified for the Sun Country teams and flew out in July to play the Junior America’s Cup matches, the oldest junior team competition in the West and one that draws 18 sections from across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Amara Montoya led the girls at Illahe Hills in Salem, Oregon, finishing as the team’s low scorer at 237 while Sun Country took 15th of 18 teams. Southern California won the girls matches; host Oregon finished second by a single stroke.
The boys played La Costa’s South Course in Carlsbad, on the same ground where college golf crowns its national champions. Alex Hanna opened with an even-par 72 and paced the team all week at 9-over.
Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa both played in these matches as juniors. Seven of Sun Country’s eight can come back next summer.
Girls: Hayden Dan, Mia Reyes, Amara Montoya, Adelyn Haas
Boys: Yandel Parra, Alex Hanna, Michael Velasquez-Saiz, Maddox Lovato
Sun Country Junior PGA Championship
Dyson Wright of Alamogordo led wire to wire at NMSU and won the boys title at 5-under 139. Nobody else in the 86-player field finished the week under par.
Amara Montoya of Jarales shot 3-under on the back nine Sunday and won the girls title by four at 3-over.
The last two spots to PGA Frisco went to extra holes on both sides. Natalia Velasquez of El Paso made a 20-footer on the first playoff hole to beat Ada Schmedes for the final girls spot. Troy Oswald of Roswell won a three-man playoff with a par on the second extra hole.
All four went on to represent the section at the 50th Junior PGA Championships, played July 28–31 at Fields Ranch. Velasquez’s 20-footer in Las Cruces is the shot that started her summer. It is not the last time her name shows up on this page.
Boys: Dyson Wright, 69-70 — 139, 5-under
Girls: Amara Montoya, 72-75 — 147, 3-over
Represented Sun Country at Fields Ranch: Wright, Oswald, Montoya, Velasquez
SCJG Stableford Championship
The Stableford awards points for pars and birdies instead of counting strokes, which rewards the player willing to take on a pin and shrugs off the hole that gets away.
The highest total in the field at Painted Dunes did not come from the oldest division. Nicolas Nutis of El Paso posted 75 points to win Boys 13-15, one better than anyone in the championship.
Lincoln Hoffer of Los Alamos won Boys 16-18 with 74 points and tied Charlee Sanchez for the most birdies in the field at seven.
El Paso players won four of the seven divisions on their home course.
NM/WT Junior Amateur Championship
Jonah Utash of Bosque Farms won the tour’s only 54-hole championship at 1-under 215. He was the only player in the field to finish under par, and his 15 birdies led everyone in Socorro.
Mia Reyes of El Paso closed with a 72 to win the girls title at 7-over. Her final round was the low girls score of the week and came two weeks before she flew to Oregon with the Junior America’s Cup team.
The loudest moment of the week belonged to a 13-year-old. Alex Jasso of El Paso made a hole-in-one on the 17th during his opening 71 on Wednesday, a round that briefly put him atop the full boys leaderboard against players five years older. He went on to win his division by eight.
Boys: Jonah Utash, 215, 1-under · Girls: Mia Reyes, 223, 7-over
Boys 13-15: Alex Jasso, 225 · Girls 13-15: Ada Schmedes, 238
SCJG Mini Masters, 12U Championship
The best score of that week on the whole tour came out of the 12U championship. Dylan Wright opened Girls 10-12 with a 2-under 33 on the front nine and finished 36 holes at 1-over 71.
Noah Blue Eyes won Boys 10-12 at 7-over and held off Jacob Schmedes by two. Parker Yazzie took Girls 7-9 at 5-over and Fielfer Murga won the boys side of that division.
Every player in this field is eligible to come back for at least three more summers.
Weck’s / Pitre Auto Group Tour Championship
El Paso swept the season finale.
Natalia Velasquez opened with a 3-under 69 on Saturday and won the girls overall title at even par, five clear of Ada Schmedes. Her 69 stood as the low round of the championship. The summer that began with a 20-foot playoff putt in Las Cruces ended with the biggest trophy on the tour.
Jonah Reyes started Sunday one back of the leaders and ran them down with a closing 75 to win the boys overall title at 3-over. Tyler Stephenson of Los Lunas finished second after a Sunday 73.
Three weeks earlier and 80 miles south, Jonah’s twin sister Mia had won the NM/WT Junior Amateur. Two overall titles, one household.
Girls: Natalia Velasquez, 69-75 — even par · Boys: Jonah Reyes, 72-75 — 3-over
Divisions: Girls 16-18, Ada Schmedes, 73-76 — 149 (+5) · Boys 13-15, Nixon Knee, 80-75 — 155 (+11)
2026 Championship Winners
| Division | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Boys Overall | Dyson Wright, Alamogordo | 139 (5-under) |
| Girls Overall | Amara Montoya, Jarales | 147 (+3) |
| Division | Champion | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Boys 16-18 | Lincoln Hoffer, Los Alamos | 74 |
| Girls 16-18 | Makayla Manus | 52 |
| Boys 13-15 | Nicolas Nutis, El Paso | 75 |
| Girls 13-15 | Tatum Wright | 53 |
| Boys 10-12 | Daniel Jasso | 29 |
| Girls 10-12 | RyAna Salcido | 24 |
| Boys 7-9 | Colin Richardson | 34 |
| Division | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Boys Overall | Jonah Utash, Bosque Farms | 215 (1-under) |
| Girls Overall | Mia Reyes, El Paso | 223 (+7) |
| Boys 13-15 | Alex Jasso, El Paso | 225 |
| Girls 13-15 | Ada Schmedes | 238 |
| Division | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Girls 10-12 | Dylan Wright | 71 (+1) |
| Boys 10-12 | Noah Blue Eyes | 77 |
| Girls 7-9 | Parker Yazzie | 75 |
| Boys 7-9 | Fielfer Murga | 82 |
| Division | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Girls Overall | Natalia Velasquez, El Paso | 69-75 — 144 (E) |
| Boys Overall | Jonah Reyes, El Paso | 72-75 — 147 (+3) |
| Girls 16-18 | Ada Schmedes, Tijeras | 73-76 — 149 (+5) |
| Girls 13-15 | Natalia Velasquez, El Paso | 69-75 — 144 (E) |
| Boys 16-18 | Jonah Reyes, El Paso | 72-75 — 147 (+3) |
| Boys 13-15 | Nixon Knee, Albuquerque | 80-75 — 155 (+11) |
Full round-by-round scoring for every championship is posted on the tour’s live scoring site. View all 2026 leaderboards →
“I’m incredibly excited and grateful to step into this role and give back to a game that has given me so much. Growing the game is truly my passion, especially in the section where I grew up playing. I had so much fun running junior events this summer, and I hope they were just as memorable for the players and families as they were for me. I’m excited to continue creating fun, meaningful experiences for junior golfers and helping grow the game through youth events.”
Shandiin HarperTournament Director, Sun Country Junior Tour
“This fellowship taught me that our real impact goes far beyond running seamless operations — it is about creating an environment where the next generation builds genuine character, confidence, and resilience.”
Brandon JacksonPGA WORKS Fellow, Sun Country PGA
Thank you
Thank you to the staffs at Santa Ana Golf Club, NMSU Golf Course, Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course, New Mexico Tech Golf Course, UNM North Course and UNM Championship Golf Course for hosting this season’s championships, and to every volunteer, rules official and parent who made all 29 tournaments run.
Weck’s serves as the official Title Partner of the Sun Country Junior Tour, and Pitre Auto Group serves as the presenting partner. Their support helped make this season’s tour enhancements possible.
The season continues this fall.
Registration is now open for two SCJG Fall Series events. Keep competing this fall at the Spooktacular and Autumn Open.
Register for the Spooktacular Register for the Autumn Open