Bishop Gorman grad goes back-to-back at Las Vegas City Am
Avery Lazarski was a surprise winner at last year’s Las Vegas City Amateur. He proved it was no fluke by going back-to-back over the weekend at Las Vegas Golf Club.
Lazarski shot consecutive 64s to finish at 16 under for a three-stroke triumph over Jackson Parrish in the men’s open division.
“It’s very cool to go back-to-back,” said Lazarski, a 2023 Bishop Gorman graduate heading into his sophomore season at Saint Mary’s. “Tournaments like the majors bring out a really strong field. I’m happy to go up against the best and see what happens.”
Lazarski made 15 birdies and two eagles over 36 holes, keeping the pedal down the entire weekend.
“Every part of my game worked well this weekend,” the left-hander said. “But playing well just motivates me to work that much harder. It’s really positive to see what I did well and then go back to the drawing board to see what I can do better.”
Lazarski’s win was the cap to Las Vegas City Am Week. Competitions took place over 10 days at Las Vegas Golf Club.
In the Silver division, Gary Carpendale ran away from the field to claim his 21st Southern Nevada Golf Association major. Carpendale finished at 9 under, good for a seven-stroke win over Mark Williams.
The Senior division was a much tighter affair. Daniel Laperriere held on for a one-shot victory over Todd Roberts and Chris Whatley. Laperriere had rounds of 69-71 to finish at 4 under, but bogeys on his final three holes made it more complicated than he hoped.
Earlier in the week, four juniors were crowned as city champions.
Ariya Soldwisch, who helped Coronado to the 5A state title this past season and is headed to Cal-State Northridge in the fall, won the girls 15-18 event. Soldwisch finished at even-par 144 for a two-stroke win over Palo Verde’s Rivers Common.
Bridger Johnson, a rising senior at Shadow Ridge and the 2023 state 5A champion, won the boys 15-18 event. He made 17 birdies and an eagle while finishing at 17 under, three strokes better than RJ Arone, a Bishop Gorman grad heading to Michigan in the fall.
Sophia Medlin, a rising sophomore at Odyssey High School, ran away with the girls 13-14 division. Medlin finished at 2 under, 11 strokes better than runner-up Sage Perry.
Nick Horodesky, just weeks after graduating from middle school, made 12 birdies to finish at 6 under to win the boys 13-14 title by one shot over Benny Nelson.
Lauren Pham kicked off Las Vegas City Am Week by winning the women’s title.
Other winners during the week included Freddie Sarno (Senior net), Tom Richardson (Silver net) and Robert Taylor (Championship net). In the SNGA Tour event, Devin Heiman (Championship), Todd Roberts (Senior), John Turk (Silver) and Jin Ho Choi (Net) won titles.
Paris bound?
Collin Morikawa’s recent hot streak has put the Las Vegas golfer in prime position to represent the United States in the Summer Olympics next month.
Morikawa, who finished second over the weekend at the Memorial, is now ranked seventh in the world and fourth among Americans. The Olympic team will include the top four Americans following this week’s U.S. Open. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark are locks for the first three spots. Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Sahith Theegala, Brian Harman or Keegan Bradley could pass Morikawa for the final spot by winning at Pinehurst.
Morikawa represented the U.S. at the Tokyo Games, where Schauffele won the gold medal. Morikawa lost a seven-man playoff to C.T. Pan for the bronze medal.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.
