ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The 2026 Northwest Missouri Junior Tournament Series came to a conclusion Monday morning at the St. Joseph Country Club. Five local golfers qualified for the championship tournament with Worth County’s Georgia Taylor leaving the summer as the girls 16-18 champion.
“It definitely feels better than last year,” Taylor said. “Last year, I knew I was going to be points winner because I had 40 something points and second place had like 20 something. But this year it was really close with Caroline.”
Taylor was a consistent winner this summer and credits a lot of that to her improved putting. But with the summer league behind her, Taylor’s focus now turns to her future.
“After the championship, I’m going to start working out so that maybe when I have to start playing from the white tees in college, I can actually hit the ball a distance that’s needed,” Taylor said. “I just really hope I put myself in a place where I can have high expectations for myself.”
Taylor won the round with an 86 on Monday, finishing the day +14 and two strokes ahead of Rock Port’s Karlie Gebhards. Maryville’s Halle Zimmerman finished her summer with a fourth-place finish.
Zimmerman started the round with two pars on the front nine. Fatigue played a role for every golfer with temperatures reaching triple digits as Zimmerman finished the back nine with a 48 to give her a final score of 97.
“My approach was really good, which helped me a lot because my drives were not good at all,” Zimmerman said. “So just being able to actually have a chance to putt not feel super stressed out was really nice today.”
Fellow Spoofhound Taylor Akon finished the day with a score of 102. Akon finished with a 52 on the front nine and improved on the back, shooting a 50.
Akon liked the improvement she saw from herself and is excited for the fall season.
“I’m really happy with my short game because I used to struggle with it a lot and it’s important,” Akon said. “I’m excited for the fall because I think we could have a really good season this year with a really good team.”
Maryville teammates Logan Peter and Kolyn Groomer were paired up for the championship round. Peter finished two strokes behind first place, shooting an 82 for a third-place finish.
Peter started with a good showing on the front nine, securing four pars. His play improved on the back half, finishing with five pars (9 total) and +11 for the day.
“It was really hot out there, but got it done — it wasn’t very fun,” Peter said. “I wasn’t very happy with the way I played, but I still ended up shooting an 82. I feel like my putting really improved this summer and my mental game throughout 18 holes as far as keeping my composure.”
Groomer finished the front nine with two pars and a score of 44. Groomer added birdie and a par on the back nine to finish the day in fifth with an 88.
Groomer said this summer will help him as he prepares for the high school golf season.
“This is really beneficial,” Groomer said. “I get to play courses I play during the season and it just helps me figure out what I need to do in the season when it comes around.”