ORDNUNG, VALKOVICS, AND PHIPPS CLAIM TITLES AT DGT JUNIOR OPEN AT BENVENUE

The Drip Golf Tour (DGT) Junior Open returned to the historic grounds of Benvenue Country Club on March 28–29, 2026, where players were tested by both a classic Donald Ross layout and a weekend of challenging weather.

Saturday’s opening round proved demanding, as competitors battled cool temperatures and wind gusts reaching up to 25 mph. Conditions improved significantly for Sunday’s final round, with a chilly start giving way to bright blue skies and more favorable scoring opportunities.

In the High School Boys’ division, Preston Ordnung of Jackson, North Carolina, captured the title with rounds of 73 and 72 to finish at 145 (+5), earning a one-shot victory over Holden Yakola of Mebane, North Carolina. A tightly contested leaderboard saw Connor Mills of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Aiden McDonough of Wilmington, North Carolina, and Eric Chavez of Wake Forest, North Carolina share third place at 148.

The Middle School division delivered one of the weekend’s most exciting finishes. Luke Valkovics of Pinehurst, North Carolina, defeated Grady Hayes of Fayetteville, North Carolina, in a playoff after both competitors completed 36 holes at two-under-par 142. Simon Myers of Durham, North Carolina, secured third place with a total of 145.

In the Future Stars division, Berck Phipps of Raleigh, North Carolina, turned in a dominant performance, winning by nine shots. Phipps posted impressive rounds of 70 and 68 to finish at six-under-par 138. Ryan Patel of Bloomingdale, Illinois, finished as runner-up, while Reid Ehrler of Columbus, Ohio, placed third.

The Drip Golf Tour extends its sincere appreciation to the members and staff of Benvenue Country Club for their outstanding hospitality throughout the weekend. Strong support from the local Rocky Mount community helped make the event a tremendous success and further highlighted the continued growth of junior golf in the region. The DGT Junior Open at Benvenue once again showcased the talent, resilience, and sportsmanship of junior golfers competing at a high level in a championship environment.

Tournament Photos

Tournament Results

High School Boys’ yards, par 70)
Place	Player	Scores
1	Preston Ordnung, Jackson, NC – 2028	73-72-145
2	Holden Yakola, Mebane, NC – 2026	74-72-146
T3	Connor Mills, Fort Mill, SC – 2028	81-67-148
T3	Eric Chavez, Wake Forest, NC – 2028	74-74-148
T3	Aiden McDonough, Wilmington, NC – 2027	69-79-148
T6	Isaiah Adel, Raleigh, NC – 2028	76-73-149
T6	Bela Nagypal, Goldsboro, NC – 2029	75-74-149
T6	Davis Leasure, Fuquay Varina, NC – 2029	74-75-149
9	Isaac Gribbin, Goldsboro, NC – 2028	76-74-150
T10	Zabe Shores, Pinehurst, NC – 2027	77-74-151
T10	Kaleb Wells, Rocky Mount, NC – 2026	76-75-151
T10	Gabe Parkin, Four Oaks, NC – 2029	75-76-151
T13	Tanner Hesse, Lynchburg , VA – 2027	78-74-152
T13	Armaan Osterman, Fairfax, VA – 2027	78-74-152
T13	Cale Pfingsten, Orono, MN – 2028	74-78-152
T16	Britt Crumley, Rocky Mount, NC – 2027	79-74-153
T16	Brooks Russell, Charlotte, NC – 2029	77-76-153
T16	Lucas Wahlstrom, Raleigh, NC – 2029	75-78-153
T16	Will Barker, Durham, NC – 2028	75-78-153
T16	Simon Hall, Cary, NC – 2031	74-79-153
T16	Cooper Robinson, Holly Springs, NC – 2029	73-80-153
T22	Nick Martens, Keswick, VA – 2028	81-74-155
T22	Zach Democko, Lagrange, NC – 2028	77-78-155
T22	Gavin Hazen, Wake Forest, NC – 2029	76-79-155
T25	Parker Hayes, Fayetteville, NC – 2029	78-78-156
T25	Cole Powell, Fell Township, PA – 2028	78-78-156
T25	Miles Elgert, Lincoln, NE – 2027	76-80-156
T28	Hill Gesing, Charlotte, NC – 2029	83-74-157
T28	Emmett Spence, Arlington, VA – 2027	75-82-157
T28	Caleb Crowley, West Columbia, SC – 2027	75-82-157
T31	Eli Wofford, Raleigh, NC – 2028	82-76-158
T31	Clark McGeorge, Westerville, OH – 2027	81-77-158
T31	Colin Rushlow, Lake Wylie, SC – 2028	80-78-158
T31	Tyler Hilldale, Raleigh, NC – 2029	79-79-158
T31	Benjamin Burtman, Raleigh, NC – 2030	79-79-158
T31	Christopher Bennett, New London , NC – 2028	77-81-158
T31	Jason Mack, Simpsonville, SC – 2027	77-81-158
T31	Ari Stuchiner, Durham, NC – 2029	76-82-158
T39	Charlie Lewis, Raleigh, NC – 2029	77-82-159
T39	Arjun Patel, Knoxville, TN – 2028	77-82-159
T41	Baker Hartman, Oak Island, NC – 2029	79-82-161
T41	Charles Griffith, Falls Church, VA – 2028	78-83-161
T43	Britton Steede, Cramerton, NC – 2027	81-81-162
T43	Oliver Melvin, Charlotte , NC – 2029	80-82-162
T43	Jackson Phipps, Raleigh, NC – 2029	80-82-162
T43	Quincy Ordnung, Jackson, NC – 2029	79-83-162
T47	Brayden Stow, Chapel Hill, NC – 2027	83-80-163
T47	Thomas Haggerty, Rocky Mount , NC – 2026	82-81-163
49	Garrett Blair, Goldsboro, NC – 2028	81-84-165
50	Michael Jordan, Orchard Park, NY – 2029	83-83-166
T51	Mac Woodard, Apex, NC – 2028	86-83-169
T51	Carson Will, Enola, PA – 2027	85-84-169
T51	Russell Haueisen, Chesapeake, VA – 2027	83-86-169
T54	Timothy Hu, Pinehurst, NC – 2029	85-85-170
T54	Christopher Stembridge, Washington, NC – 2027	83-87-170
T56	Zicheng Yang, Cary, NC – 2027	86-86-172
T56	Nikko Martinho, Weddington, NC – 2026	85-87-172
58	Simon Kim, Raleigh, NC – 2029	87-86-173
59	Jack Keefer, Raleigh, NC – 2029	86-91-177
T60	Elijah Alston, Raleigh, NC – 2026	89-89-178
T60	Michael Shea, Charlotte, NC – 2029	86-92-178
62	Grady Hatch, Clayton, NC – 2029	92-87-179
63	Benjamin Parks, Rocky Mount, NC – 2027	93-99-192
64	Beckett Herring, Fort Mill, SC – 2028	102-92-194
65	Owen McCleery, Asheville, NC – 2028	93-103-196

Middle School Boys’ ( 5854 yards, par 72)
1	*Luke Valkovics, Pinehurst, NC – 2030	73-69-142
2	Grady Hayes, Fayetteville, NC – 2030	70-72-142
3	Simon Myers, Durham, NC – 2031	72-73-145
4	Landon Sloan, Milton, GA – 2030	79-70-149
5	Andrew Eatmon, Nashville, NC – 2031	73-78-151
T6	Charles Chopping, Southern Pines, NC – 2031	82-72-154
T6	Jennings Erwin, Raleigh, NC – 2031	80-74-154
8	Luke Thomas Selzer, Charlotte, NC – 2031	79-85-164
9	Elijah Johnson, Charlotte, NC – 2030	78-87-165
T10	Peyton Schwinger, Ashburn, VA – 2031	92-75-167
T10	Dillon Duvall, Fuquay-Varina, NC – 2031	81-86-167
T12	Webb Smith, Greensboro, NC – 2031	85-84-169
T12	Luke Laliberte, Cary, NC – 2030	83-86-169
14	Declan Hardy, Pickerington, OH – 2031	94-93-187
	*Winner in playoff
Future Star (4744 yards, par 72)
1	Berck Phipps, Raleigh, NC – 2033	70-68-138
2	Rayan Patel, Bloomingdale, IL – 2032	78-69-147
3	Reid Ehrler, Columbus, OH – 2032	77-72-149
4	Syd Hamm, Morehead City, NC – 2034	75-77-152
5	Charles Otto, Raleigh, NC – 2032	86-68-154
6	Jayden Nguyen, Springfield, VA – 2032	81-78-159
7	Rohin Patel, Bloomingdale, IL – 2034	80-82-162
T8	Shailen Mehta, Raleigh, NC – 2032	90-87-177
T8	Graham Satterly, Charlotte, NC – 2033	88-89-177
10	Autus Li, Morrisville, NC – 2032	94-91-185