Bridgeport’s Alexander Randolph Wins WVU Medicine UHC Junior Championship
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — A national and international field of junior golfers traveled to Bridgeport Country Club for one of the region’s largest junior golf events, but it was a golfer from Bridgeport who finished the week at the top of the leaderboard.
Alexander Randolph captured the boys championship at the 2026 WVU Medicine United Hospital Center Junior Championship, completing a wire-to-wire victory and earning the first American Junior Golf Association win of his career.
Randolph finished the three-round tournament at 9-under-par with a total score of 204. He opened the championship with a 65, followed with a 66 and entered Thursday’s final round holding the lead. A closing round of 73 secured a four-stroke victory.
Isaac Hayes of Hurricane and Matthew Pack of Chantilly, Virginia, tied for second at 5-under-par. Clarksburg’s Carson Higginbotham also produced a strong showing, finishing in a tie for fourth at 4-under-par.
Randolph recorded 17 birdies during the tournament and went 10 consecutive holes without a bogey during the opening round. His win was especially meaningful because it came in his hometown and at Bridgeport Country Club.
“It means a lot,” Randolph told the AJGA following the tournament. “Being able to see my flag in the clubhouse with my signature, it will be really cool.”
Cindy “Manni” Yang of Irvine, California, won the girls championship at 6-under-par with a three-round score of 210.
Yang shot rounds of 71, 66 and 73 to finish four strokes ahead of runner-up Xueyan Zhu of Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. Yang’s second-round 66 established a new women’s course record at Bridgeport Country Club and helped her earn the second AJGA victory of her career.
The tournament brought 78 golfers to Bridgeport, including 51 boys and 27 girls. Only 10 competitors listed West Virginia hometowns, meaning 68 golfers traveled from outside the state to compete.
The field represented 16 states and included 13 golfers with hometowns outside the United States. Players carried international citizenship designations representing Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Thailand. In total, 19 competitors were listed by the AJGA with citizenship outside the United States.
Bridgeport’s Audrey Kerr also competed in the girls division, joining Randolph and Higginbotham among the Harrison County golfers given an opportunity to compete against players from across the country and around the world.
The championship was held July 13 through July 16 and marked the second consecutive year that the American Junior Golf Association brought the event to Bridgeport Country Club.
WVU Medicine United Hospital Center served as the tournament’s title sponsor, helping return the competition to Bridgeport and providing local junior golfers with an opportunity to compete in a major AJGA event close to home. The event also received support from Bridgeport Country Club members, volunteers and numerous community partners.
The inaugural tournament in 2025 raised nearly $20,000 for local charities through sponsorships and the Junior-Am fundraising tournament. Organizers said the combination of national competition, community involvement and charitable support helped the tournament earn several AJGA award nominations following its first year.
This year’s championship once again placed Bridgeport and North Central West Virginia on a national junior golf stage.
For Randolph, it also provided the opportunity to win his first AJGA championship in front of his hometown community, defeating a field that stretched from West Virginia to California and included competitors from around the world.
