Wichita golfer Asher Whitaker joins prestigious list with Kansas Junior Amateur title

It’s been quite the past month for Asher Whitaker.

At the end of May, Whitaker erased a five-shot deficit on the final day of the Class 5A tournament to win his first Kansas high school state championship.

And then on Thursday, only a few weeks after graduating from Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Whitaker finished off a 16-under, 52-hole score of 200 at Crestwood Country Club in Pittsburg to claim the Kansas Boys Junior Amateur championship.

The back-to-back victories completed something of a tri-fecta for Whitaker, who also won the 2022 Kansas Amateur at the age of 17 to become the youngest champion in nearly a century. Before even beginning his collegiate career at Oklahoma, Whitaker has secured lofty status in Kansas history by joining a list of just 12 golfers who have won both the Junior Amateur and Amateur.

Past double champions include Grier Jones, Steve Gotsche, Clay Devers, Charlie Stevens, John Loomis, Chris Thompson, Kyle Smell, Chas Hanna, Sam Stevens, Blake Allen and Cooper Schultz.

“This is a really special run that he’s on right now,” Kapaun coach Corey Novascone said. “It’s really neat because this was the last chance for him to play in the Junior Am, so for him to shoot 16-under is obviously an incredible performance.”

Whitaker was dominant for 52 straight holes, opening with the lead after firing an 8-under score of 64 on Monday. At one point in his first round, Whitaker made birdie on nine out of 11 holes.

That hot streak carried over to Tuesday, as Whitaker carded a bogey-free score of 66 to open up a six-shot lead over the field. Whitaker finished with a 2-under round of 70 on Thursday to top runner-up Benjamin Wheeler by four strokes, as he ended his stay in Pittsburg with 20 birdies and just three bogeys.

It was a pair of sisters, both of Wichita natives, who took the top two spots in the Girls Junior Amateur field, as Emerie Schartz (8-under par score of 208) and Avery Schartz (1-under par score of 215) were the only competitors to finish under par.

In fact, Emerie’s winning score cleared third-place Margaret Ulrich, a state champion golfer at Collegiate, by a total of 15 strokes.

Neither of the Schartz sisters compete in high school, rather focusing on playing year-round schedule on competitive circuits. Emerie is in the class of 2026, while Avery is in the class of 2028.

Both sisters shot an opening-round score of 72, which only trailed Newton standout Naomi Koontz’s 70 on Tuesday. The Schartz duo set themselves apart on the final two days, as Emerie shot back-to-back rounds of 68 to pull away and Avery fired another 72 followed by a 71 on Thursday.

2024 Kansas Amateur golf results

at Crestwood Country Club in Pittsburg (par 72)

Boys

Top 10—1. Asher Whitaker, 2024, 64-66-70—200; 2. Benjamin Wheeler, 2026, 69-72-63—204; 3. Brady Rapp, 2026, 69-67-69—205; 4. Peyton Smith, 2026, 68-69-72—209; 5. Tyler Strong, 2024-65-74-71—210; 6. Ty Lasley, 2024, 71-71-70—212; 6. Alex Hogan, 2024, 69-71-72—212; 6. Connor MacGee, 2027, 71-68-73_212; 6. Bennett Warren, 2025, 65-71-76—212; 10. Jacob Fratzel, 2025, 73-66-75—214.

Girls

Top 10—1. Emerie Schartz, 2026, 72-68-68—208; 2. Avery Schartz, 2028, 72-72-71—215; 3. Margaret Ulrich, 2025, 77-76-70—223; 4. Hadley Neese, 2025, 76-74-77—227; 5. Naomi Koontz, 2027, 70-81-78—229; 6. Maddie Myers, 2027, 79-76-76—231; 7. Claire Sullivan, 2025, 80-76-76—232; 8. Jenny Sun, 2026, 75-77-83—235; 9. Savannah Cagle, 2026, 77-77-82—236; 10. Katherine Adkins, 2025, 80-76-81—237; 10. Makenna Casey, 2025, 80-77-80—237.