By Pete Borello

When Tessa The looks back at the 2003 Junior Golf Association of Northern California/Northern California PGA Championships, the Los Altos resident will probably remember the heat as much as her performance.

“Oh my gosh — the weather was so hot,” she said of a match-play event held June 23-26 at Diablo Grande Golf Course in Patterson, where temperatures surpassed 100 degrees. “At 7 a.m., I was already sweating.”

The 11-year-old kept her cool — thanks to plenty of liquids and her trusty spray bottle — to win her age group.

Tessa beat out fellow Los Altan Alexandra Groetsema 4-2 to claim the girls 11-and-under division.

It turns out that match play, where two competitors go head-to-head, is Tessa’s favorite way to play.

“I like match play better because you don’t have to worry about your score at the end,” she said.

Before getting to match play, however, Tessa had to play against a field of 115; the top 16 in stroke play moved on to match play the next day, seeded by score. Tessa shot a nine-hole score of 43 to advance.

She then won 2-1 in the quarterfinals and 5-3 in the semifinals.

Prior to her win at Diablo Grande, Tessa placed second in her division at the Grayson Woods Junior Classic, held June 21 in Pleasant Hill.

This week she is playing in the California Girls State Championship at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, where it should be cooler than Diablo Grande.

Another local player also earned a championship in the scorching weather at Diablo Grande. Tyler Ichikawa of Los Altos won the boys 14-15 division, which started out with 84 golfers.

The incoming Mountain View High freshman won 2-1 in the quarterfinals, received a bye in the semis due to a disqualification and won 3-2 in the final, shooting 3-under par after the 16th hole to finish off opponent Bentley Eidsmo of Monterey.

A few days after the event, Ichikawa received more good news: he was named a Junior Merit Member of Castlewood Country Club because of his performance as a golfer and his academic record.

This week, Ichikawa will play in an American Junior Golf Association tournament in Tucson, Ariz., then heads to San Diego, where he and his younger brother Adam will compete in the Junior World Golf Championships. Adam qualified for the event by winning the 10-11 division of the Green Valley Junior in Suisun City; Tyler was prequalified because of his strong play the previous year.