Grayson Baucom Rallies From Four Back to Win First AJGA Invitational at Simplify Boys Championship

Grayson Baucom of Hickory, North Carolina, closed the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods with a bogey-free, 5-birdie 67 to finish at 12-under 204, good for a three-shot victory and the first AJGA Invitational title of his career. Baucom opened the week with a 70 and followed with a 67 in the second round, then trailed by four shots entering the final 18 holes at The Club at Carlton Woods’ Fazio Championship Course.

The turning point came at the par-5 13th, where Baucom holed out for eagle to take a two-shot lead he would not relinquish, playing his final five holes in 1-under to close out the win. He finished three shots clear of a three-way tie for second at 9-under 207 that included Jackson Ormond, Cameron Kuchar, and defending champion Miles Russell, who shot a final-round 69.

Ronin Banerjee and Giuseppe Puebla shared fifth at 8-under, with Chase Bauer seventh at 7-under. A 2028 graduate ranked No. 32 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and a 2025 Rolex Junior All-American, Baucom called the win surreal given the tournament’s ties to the military and armed forces community.

Now in its 17th year at Carlton Woods, the Simplify Boys Championship remains one of the AJGA’s premier winter invitationals, drawing 17 of the top 25 players in the Rolex AJGA Rankings to the 2026 field.