LOS ANGELES — Hillcrest Country Club’s 18-hole course wasn’t quite enough to determine a girls winner of the UNDERRATED Golf Tour’s Southern California leg on Tuesday.
With their scores tied, Phoenix’s Alexis Lamadrid and Irvine’s Gabriella Gu had to replay the final hole.
Lamadrid said her heart was beating out of her chest during the tiebreaker, but she ended the afternoon with a single emphatic fist pump.
The class of 2027 Texas commit earned a spot in September’s Curry Cup, named after four-time NBA champion and UNDERRATED Golf founder Steph Curry. Lamadrid finished at 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes in the two-day event.
“I was so, so, so, so, so nervous,” Lamadrid said. “Ultimately, that’s something that you just have to embrace. It wasn’t something new to me, but it had been a minute.”
Lucas Gimenez, from Jacksonville, Florida, took home the boys title, posting a 14-under 128 for his third win in this season’s UNDERRATED U.S. tour. With just four regular-season tournaments held before the Curry Cup, the only time Gimenez didn’t walk away with some hardware was after the Seaview Country Club tournament in Galloway, New Jersey – which he did not participate in.
Lamadrid was at 3-under 33 through Monday’s first nine holes, but fell all the way to 2-over 65 after 16. Though she finished the first round of competition at even-par 72, Lamadrid said she didn’t bother paying attention to the leaderboard.
“I just kind of told myself, ‘What are you doing stressing?’” Lamadrid said. “‘You’re here at Hillcrest, enjoy the moment.’ And slowly but surely, putts are dropping, and I was able to get back to even (Monday) and then today, I knew I was gonna play harder.”
Conversely, the boys title – played with par at 71 – was Gimenez’s to lose after finishing the first round in 9-under 62. Even with no one coming close to the class of 2026 Oklahoma commit – Axel Monssoh took home second place with 7-under 135 – Gimenez’s frustration after missing a putt on the final hole Tuesday seemed louder than any celebrating he did to follow.
Gimenez attributed his recent success to being more intentional about improving his putting – making the slight mistake at the finish line, even with victory all but guaranteed, all the more painful.
“Some of my friends are like, ‘You’re getting too hard on yourself,’” Gimenez said. “I’m like, no, I need this.
Gimenez added that he does feel like he’s been playing more loose overall, however, and that ultimately his newfound balance of internal pressure and comfort has him hitting his stride.
When the weekend’s 88 participants took group photos after the awards ceremony Tuesday afternoon, the two winners aptly embraced the Red River Rivalry – Lamadrid giving a Hook ’em Horns gesture while Gimenez posed with a Horns Down.
“I love the fact that these kids have the opportunity, when they go out throughout the country, and they say, ‘Have you played in the area of Hillcrest? Yeah, I played Hillcrest,’” UNDERRATED ambassador Will Lowry said. “Not everybody can say that.That’s the most important, and that’s the highlight.”
Curry founded UNDERRATED in 2022 with the three pillars of Equity, Access and Opportunity – and an overall mission of bringing golf to communities who have historically had little to no representation in the sport.
The season-ending Curry Cup will be played at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, New York from Sept. 15-17.