BETHESDA, MD – AUGUST 02: The Junior PGA Championships winner Baylor Larrabee poses with his trophy at Congressional Country Club on Friday, August 2, 2024 in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)
(Scott Taetsch / PGA of America)
Ferndale’s Baylor Larrabee won the Boys Division of the 48th Junior PGA Championships at Congressional Country Club in Maryland on Friday, earning the victory by three shots.
Larrabee – the 2023 3A Boys state champion – delivered consecutive rounds of 5-under par 67 on Congressional’s Blue course to earn the title over Ukraine’s Lev Grinberg, Asher Vargas of Texas, and Jake Albert of Virginia.
“Definitely the biggest thing in my career up to this point,” Larrabee said, via the PGA of America. “Definitely the biggest win, best performance I’ve had. It means a lot to come out on this stage and prove I can play with the best.”
Larrabee finished in the top five of the 3A boys championship in each of his three years playing in the event for Ferndale High School. He finished fourth as a sophomore in 2022 before winning the state title in 2023 at Indian Summer Golf & Country Club. Larrabee followed that up with a second place finish this year, finishing a shot behind Stanwood’s Conrad Chisman at the Links at Hawks Prairie.
Larrabee delivered back-to-back even par rounds to open his event at Congressional with a round on both the Blue and Gold courses at Congressional. His 67 on Thursday moved him a shot out of the lead entering the final round.
Larrabee was five-under par on the four-hole stretch from holes No. 7-10 as he surged into the lead. A birdie at the par 3 7th was followed by an eagle on the drive-able par 4 8th. Two more birdies followed on the 9th and 10th holes as Larrabee didn’t look back.
“The eagle was like a 300-[yard] pin,” Larrabee said. “It set up perfect for like a low cut because I could get it running down the slope and get it to kick right to the pin. And so I hit it and it felt perfect…It ended up like seven feet away. That one was definitely the highlight of the week. Next thing I knew in like a blink of an eye, I was 6-under through 10.”
A lone bogey on the par 5 16th was the only blemish of the round of Larrabee.
The Blue course has hosted three U.S. Opens (Ken Venturi – 1964, Ernie Els – 1997, Rory McIlroy – 2011), a U.S. Senior Open (Tom Weiskopf – 1995), a PGA Championship (Dave Stockton – 1976), and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (In-Gee Chun – 2022). It’s also scheduled to host the 2027 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and 2030 PGA Championship.
Larrabee will continue his golf career by playing at UCLA this fall.
