PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Playing in his first AJGA Invitational, Evan Beck of Virginia Beach, Va., captured The Junior Players Championship title in dramatic fashion. Sinking a 60-foot putt for birdie to propel past Pontus Widegren of Danderyd, Sweden, on the final hole, Beck was victorious at the second-annual Junior Players Championship Sunday.
The PGA Tour, in cooperation with the American Junior Golf Association, brought 78 players from 18 states and 12 foreign countries to TPC Sawgrass for a special junior golf experience. The Junior PLAYERS Championship, mirrored after THE PLAYERS, was played on the par-72 THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. The course was setup at 7,215 yards, the same as the PGA TOUR event that brings together the deepest tournament field in professional golf. Tournament participants were furnished with professional caddies, access to the TOUR locker room and tournament gifts that give this event a PGA TOUR-like feel.
Beck began the final round with a three-shot lead. Making the turn at 2-under-par on the day, Beck maintained this lead with nine holes to play. Untimely bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 allowed Widegren to take the lead by one stroke after he carded birdies on Nos. 11 and 13. A Beck birdie on No. 16 brought him back into a tie with Widegren heading into the famed par-3 17th. Widegren then sunk a 20-foot birdie putt to take a one-stroke lead with one hole to play. After Widegren failed to make his par putt on the 462-yard, par-4 18th, Beck sunk an improbable 60-foot putt to win the tournament.
"I knew I had to be aggressive off the tee because of what Pontus did on 17," Beck said. "I knew I couldn't let it get to me. I just tried to play straight. It all worked out.
"It's always tough playing the last holes. These holes are especially tough," he said. "I tried not to think about it and it all worked out. It was probably the longest putt I've ever made."
Beck, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the Polo Golf Rankings, is a two-time AJGA champion, with his most recent win coming at the Golf Pride Junior Classic earlier this month. He also finished runner-up at the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in August.
After finishing tied for fifth last year, Widegren took home a sole second-place finish with a tournament total of 6-under-par 210. Tied for third were Pedro Figueiredo of Quinta do Conde, Portugal, and Talor Gooch of Midwest City, Okla., with 2-under-par 214s. Cameron Peck of Olympia, Wash., finished fifth with an even-par 216 tournament total.
For more information about The Junior PLAYERS Championship, contact AJGA National Headquarters at (877) 373-2542 or visit the tournament Web site at ajga.org.
About the American Junior Golf Association
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 foreign countries.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
ABOUT THE PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Its primary purpose is to provide competitive earnings opportunities for past, current and future members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.
In 2008, the three Tours will compete in approximately 108 events for approximately $355 million in prize money. Tournaments are being held in nine countries outside the U.S. and in 37 states.
In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant funds for local charities. In fact, the three Tours have surpassed the $1 billion mark in overall charitable contributions. The PGA TOUR's web site address is www.pgatour.com and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Final results from the The Junior PLAYERS Championship conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at
TPC Sawgrass - THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. Par: 36-36—72. Yardage: 7,215. Rating/Slope: 76.8/155.
Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va. 70-69-70—209
Pontus Widegren, Danderyd, Sweden 74-68-68—210
Pedro Figueiredo, Quinta Do Conde, Portugal 72-74-68—214
Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. 71-71-72—214
Cameron Peck, Olympia, Wash. 70-77-69—216
Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. 69-79-70—218
Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala. 73-73-72—218
Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas 75-70-75—220
Julian Suri, St. Augustine, Fla. 69-73-78—220
Anders Kristiansen, Hafslundsoy, Norway 73-71-76—220
Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas 76-73-72—221
Franco Castro, Alpharetta, Ga. 72-76-73—221
Jeffrey Kang, Fullerton, Calif. 73-77-72—222
Patrick Winther, Rungsted Kyst, Denmark 76-73-73—222
Brinson Paolini, Virginia Beach, Va. 76-72-74—222
Ernesto Marin, Miami, Fla. 75-72-75—222
Seth Reeves, Duluth, Ga. 73-71-78—222
James Back, Seoul, South Korea 68-76-78—222
Lucas Bjerregaard, Frederikshavn, Denmark 69-75-78—222
Adam Sumrall, South Bend, Ind. 74-77-72—223
Logan Harrell, Huntersville, N.C. 72-80-71—223
Austin Cody, North Charleston, S.C. 75-74-74—223
Toni Hakula, Espoo, Finland 75-72-76—223
Crawford Reeves, Greenville, S.C. 75-69-79—223
Are Friestad, Hafrsfjord, Norway 78-74-72—224
Phillip Choi, Orlando, Fla. 76-77-71—224
Chien Yao Hung, Sinjhuang City, Taiwan 76-73-75—224
Emiliano Grillo, Resistencia, Argentina 75-74-75—224
Jorge Fernandez Valdes, Cordoba, Argentina 76-70-78—224
Jay Vandeventer, Bristol, Tenn. 73-74-78—225
Niclas Carlsson, Enebyberg, Sweden 73-78-75—226
Alvaro Arizabaleta, Cali, Colombia 75-76-75—226
Tyler McCumber, Ponte Vedra, Fla. 76-72-78—226
Sam Smith, Turlock, Calif. 73-78-76—227
Ryan Thornton, Chattanooga, Tenn. 78-74-75—227
Jack Schultz, Whitefish Bay, Wis. 76-78-73—227
Jade Scott, Daingerfield, Texas 71-75-81—227
Dean Hester, Dublin, Ga. 75-76-77—228
Andrew Yun, Chandler, Ariz. 76-77-75—228
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. 76-74-78—228
Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla. 73-79-77—229
Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn. 72-80-77—229
Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif. 76-78-75—229
Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla. 71-83-75—229
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. 74-76-80—230
Drew Dorsey, Edmond, Okla. 78-76-76—230
Michael Cromie, Cary, N.C. 76-77-78—231
Tommy Chung Hao Mou, Bradenton, Fla. 75-75-81—231
Dominic Bozzelli, Pittsford, N.Y. 76-78-77—231
John Young Kim, Los Alamitos, Calif. 75-76-81—232
Pontus Gad, Linköping, Sweden 79-75-78—232
Byeong-hun An, Seoul, South Korea 80-76-77—233
Bo Andrews, Raleigh, N.C. 79-74-81—234
Chris Worrell, Enid, Okla. 77-82-75—234
Trey Kaahanui, Tempe, Ariz. 82-78-74—234
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 83-77-74—234
Chandler Rusk, Edmond, Okla. 76-76-83—235
Zeyu He, Shen Zhen, China 80-77-78—235
Claudio Vigano, Monza, Italy 79-76-81—236
Elias Bertheussen, Trondheim, Norway 75-82-79—236
Rahul Bakshi, Chandigarh, India 81-76-79—236
Stefano Pitoni, Rieti, Italy 80-78-78—236
Michael Kania, Haverford, Pa. 74-79-84—237
Pete Kellermann, Jacksonville, Fla. 79-75-83—237
Paul Dunne, Greystones, Ireland 82-76-79—237
Ramsey Sahyoun, Reseda, Calif. 82-78-77—237
Eli Juren, Austin, Texas 81-81-75—237
Smylie Kaufman, Birmingham, Ala. 80-77-81—238
Rak Cho, Brea, Calif. 76-79-84—239
Taylor Szyndlar, Jupiter, Fla. 84-79-76—239
Clark Palmer, Augusta, Ga. 79-78-83—240
Corbin Mills, Easley, S.C. 81-77-83—241
Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. 86-77-78—241
Juan Pablo Hernandez, Mexico City, Mexico 84-79-79—242
Michael Durcan, Co Sligo, Ireland 83-83-78—244
Tye Beall, El Paso, Texas 86-81-83—250
Mike Genovese, Pensacola, Fla. 89 JWD - Injury
** JWD=Justified WD
