At the recent USGA 77th U.S Junior Amateur Championship golf tournament in Dallas Texas, Seal Beach resident, Brayden Jones finished tied for 8th place after two rounds of stroke play. He advanced to the playoff bracket round of 64, where he went 17 holes against Max Emberson of Thousand Oak, Ca. before ending his run.
Jones, 16, shot a one-under-par 70 in the first round and then a two-under 69 in the second rounds at Trinity Hills Golf Course. Emberson is also a top junior golfer in Southern California and won a CIF-SS championship last year.
Jones attended McGaugh Elementary School and Oak Middle School before moving on to Mater Dei High School. He will be a junior for the Monarchs this season and is coming off a sophomore year in which he reached the CIF State Championship Tournament and finished third overall. He finished the final round with four birdies on the back nine and was the top Orange County player on the board. The Orange County Register named him in OC Player of the Year for his effort.
Jones had a similar finish in the Junior Amateur as his final round saw him card six birdies for his 69, which vaulted him from 30th after the first round to his 8th place finish.
