Ty Griggs, 14, has continued to gain momentum from his memorable effort at Augusta National in early April.
On Friday, he finished one stroke shy of the course record at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, carding an eye-popping 8-under 64 in an IMG Academy Junior World Championships Qualifier. He’ll compete in the Junior Worlds July 10-15 at Torrey Pines in La Jolla.
Griggs dominated the boys 13-14 field on Haggin Oaks’ Arcade Creek 6,495-yard course. The next closest competitor was Ian Gilligan of Corte Madera, who finished with a 71 and also qualified for Junior Worlds.  Former PGA Tour player Matt Bettencourt holds the course record.
On April 3, the Neil Hafley School graduate and soon-to-be East Union High freshman made headlines after clinching the 12-13-year-old boys division Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals title with a 15-foot putt on the 18th hole.
“At Augusta, I (gained) crazy amount of confidence with my putting from that,” Griggs said. “My putting has been really great since then. A big part of the experience was driving and putting under pressure, and that really helped me this week.”
He didn’t flinch after his only blemish early in the round. On the 193-yard par-three third hole, Griggs hit his tee shot into a greenside bunker and two-putted for a bogey.
“It was right on line, I just left it short,” Griggs said. “I didn’t club up when I should have. I wasn’t too worried about that bogey, I just had to get it back under control. Later on I was really focusing on my wedges to set myself up for good birdies and that really helped.”
Griggs was 4-under at the turn, and on the 18th tallied the last of his nine birdies.
“I left a couple birdies out there and felt like I could have shot lower, but I’ll take a 64 any day,” Griggs said.
With school out, Griggs will continue to brush up on his short game as he prepares for Junior Worlds. The next tournament he’s entering is the American Junior Golf Association Junior All-Star at Diablo Grande in Patterson.
Last summer, Griggs won the 4th annual Veritas World Junior crown in his age division with a three-day, 9-under 216 total at Brookside Golf Club in Pasadena. The Junior Worlds at Torrey Pines will surpass that as the biggest tournament he has competed in.
“Junior Worlds is definitely a step up for me,” Griggs said. “After shooting what I did today and looking at the yardage, which is roughly the same, I wouldn’t be surprised if I play well there,” Griggs said. “I’m playing with a lot of confidence right now and sometimes that’s all you need in golf is confidence.”