Bishop Gorman sophomore golfer RJ Arone made a statement on a big stage, finishing tied for second at the prestigious Champions Invitational played at Indian Well Resort in Palm Desert, Calif. Arone finished six shots behind champion Timothy Jung (-11) from Edison High in Corona, Calif. There were many future college players in the event, which has noted past champions such as Collin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler, among others. –By Brian Hurlburt, Las Vegas Golf Insider.
Jung is a Univ. of Pacific commit while Arone is building a strong list of tournament finishes that will hopefully catch the eye of recruiters. Jung also won the Southern Nevada Invitational played recently. Arone tied for second with Anthony Zou, a four-year letter winner at Santa Margarita Catholic High and a U.C. Irvine commit.
“I hope that college coaches see this, and that placing so high in this tournament is only the start of great things to come,” Arone said.
Gorman coach Dusty Allen reiterated the level of competition that the Southern Nevada golfers from Coronado and Bishop Gorman faced.
“We are all very proud of RJ and his finish in this event because this field had over 230 players and featured Power 5 College D-1 commits and many highly-ranked junior golfers on the Junior Golf Scoreboard,” Allen said. “RJ beat all but two of those players.”
Southern Nevada has a strong contingent of male and female high school golfers, but they are always tested when traveling to California to measure themselves against some of the top players in the country. Strong finishes in these events can have a dramatic impact on recruiting.
As a team, Gorman finished 13th. De La Salle won the event. Other individual champions of this event include Will Zalatoris and former Palo Verde and UNLV golfer Jack Trent.
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Top Southern Nevada finishers
T2 RJ Arone (Bishop Gorman) -5
T31 Ian Fritz (Coronado) +8
T38 Thomas Chung (Coronado) +10
T41 Avery Lazarski (Bishop Gorman) +11