Lucas Rizo-Patron Named 2025 MGA Junior Player of the Year

Elmsford, N.Y. (December 2, 2025) Though competing in a limited Met Area schedule, Lucas Rizo-Patron made the most of his opportunities, logging a pair of top finishes in the Westchester Open and Ike and earning a win in the Carter Cup to come away with the MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, Presented by Callaway.

Related: Junior POY Final Standings | History

“This was my last junior season, so it’s nice to finish strong,” says Rizo-Patron, who’s now in his first year at Richmond University. “Every tournament I played this year meant a lot to me.”

Rizo-Patron began the summer by sharing low amateur honors in the 103rd Westchester Open Championship Prestend by Poland Spring. After opening with a 73, Rizo-Patron carded a 6-under 65 to start the 36-hole final day of the championship at The Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. That stood as the low round of the tournament, while he added a 1-under 70 in the afternoon’s final round to finish tied for second overall.

Later in June, he finished tied for 11th in the Ike at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J., firing scores of 73-70-71 to finish 2-under in the region’s premier stroke play championship.

His biggest moment in 2025 came at Baltusrol Golf Club in the 23rd Carter Cup. Rizo-Patron began the day with a 2-under 69 on the Lower Course. The leaderboard fluctuated throughout the afternoon as play concluded on the Upper Course, which provided the standout junior field one of the first competitive looks at the masterfully restored layout. A clutch up and down on the par-4 18th – punctuated with a 20-foot putt – landed Rizo-Patron the one-stroke victory.

Rizo-Patron finished the year with 440 points in the yearlong standings, edging Matthew Difiore of Malverne, N.Y. (317 pts) and Yiwen Wang of Scarsdale, N.Y. (315 pts).