BYU commit wins SNGA Championship, while Las Vegas LPGA field expands
Drake Harvey has proven to be a dominant player in junior golf. Now the junior at Somerset Sky Pointe is winning against the big boys.
Harvey finished at 5-under 139 over the weekend to win the Southern Nevada Golf Association Championship, one of the major events in Southern Nevada amateur golf. Harvey opened with an even-par 72 at Highland Falls on Saturday before overpowering Palm Valley on Sunday with a 67 to top Grant McKay by one shot.
Harvey is a two-time Nevada state champion who recently committed to play college golf at BYU in 2026. He finished tied for 12th at the Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship earlier this month in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That bumped him to 81st in the American Junior Golf Association rankings.
He took command of the SNGA Championship on Sunday when he ran off four consecutive birdies around the turn on Nos. 8-11. Harvey ended the weekend with 10 birdies and an eagle on the Summerlin courses.
In the Senior division, Rick Sepp finished at 1-under 143 for a two-stroke victory over Brian Hurlburt, while Chris Cookson ran away with the Silver division title, finishing at 11 under for a six-shot margin over Jeff Duncan. Cookson had 14 birdies on the weekend in shooting rounds of 65 at Palm Valley and 68 at Highland Falls.
Winners in the Net divisions included Michael Clark (Championship), Gary Pyszko (Senior) and Cookson (Silver).
More additions to Match Play
Charley Hull and Yuka Saso have joined the field for next month’s T-Mobile Match Play, adding to the star power at the LPGA event at Shadow Creek from April 2-6. The additions of No. 10 Hull and No. 20 Saso mean nine of the top 10 and 18 of the top 20 players in the latest world rankings will be in Las Vegas.
The exceptions are No. 5 Hannah Green and No. 14 Miyu Yamashita. The latter would love to be in the field and is on the reserve list, but she hasn’t qualified as an LPGA rookie who has gained almost all of her world ranking points as the top player on the Japan Tour.
Tournament officials have also handed out the first of three sponsor invites to Ina Yoon. The 21-year-old LPGA Tour rookie is ranked 25th in the world and was the Korean Tour player of the year in 2024 when she won once among 11 top-five finishes.
Defending champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda headlines the field.
Chip shots
*Las Vegas resident Joseph Bramlett had his best result on the PGA Tour over the weekend at the Puerto Rico Open, where he finished third. Bramlett struggled in 2024 and lost his PGA Tour card and now has limited access to tournaments. Puerto Rico was just his second start of the season.
*Nine Las Vegas players are in the field this week for the PGA Tour’s premier event, the Players Championship, and its $25 million purse.
*Gary Russell beat Jeremy Flores 2 and 1 to win the Legacy Men’s Golf Association match-play championship. Chip Miller beat Herk Herkleson 2 and 1 in the consolation flight.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.
