Gainesville resident Spencer Ralston won the 12-and-under division last week in the Atlanta Junior Golf Association’s Grand Championship at the Callaway Gardens Mountain View Golf Course in Pine Mountain.

Ralston carded rounds of 77, 74 and 76 for a 227 total, edging out Austin Mancilla of Lawrenceville by three shots to win the title.

In winning the event, Ralston completed a summer series that saw him capture AJGA Player of the Year honors by winning seven out of nine tournaments and finishing second and third in the other two.

Ralston finished the season with a 74.82 stroke average, which included low rounds of 66 at the Old Atlanta Club in Duluth and a 68 at the Chattahoochee Golf Club in Gainesville.

Ralston led almost every statistical category in his age group, including number of wins, scoring average, and percentage of under-par holes, which included 36 birdies and two eagles in 198 holes of competition.

Ralston, a rising seventh grader at Gainesville Middle, will travel to Pinehurst N.C. later this week to begin play Thursday in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.

Ralston qualified for the event by shooting a 73 and winning the Georgia state qualifier tournament held in June at the Chicopee Woods Golf Club.