PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The PGA of America announced the 2007 Westfield Junior PGA Championship highlight show will air on Golf Channel Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 3:00 p.m. ET, with additional re-airings on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 4:00 p.m. ET and Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 3 p.m. ET.
There will also be Golf Channel airings in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 9:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 6 at 2:30 a.m. ET and Sept. 7 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The show will highlight the final round shoot-out between Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla. and Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, and the runaway victory by Chris DeForest of Cottekill, N.Y.
Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., a 12-year-old with the game of a veteran, became the youngest champion in the history of the Westfield Junior PGA Championship, holding off Kimberly Kim, the 2006 Women’s U.S. Amateur Champion, in an epic battle on the back nine of Westfield Group Country Club.
Chris DeForest of Cottekill, N.Y., ran away with the boys’ title, going wire-to-wire and finishing with a 74 in the final round for a 10-under-par 274 total and a six-stroke margin over Mark Johnson of Tulsa, Okla.
In the girls’ division final round, Thompson was able to birdie four of five holes from the 12th through 16th holes to turn an early deficit to Kim – the third-round leader – into a one-stroke victory. She finished with a 2-under-par 69 and a 72-hole total of 1-under-par 283. Kim closed with a 70, and Cassandra Blaney of Davenport, Fla., a PGA Junior Series veteran, was just two strokes back in third at 286 after a 71.
DeForest, who fell just three-strokes short of the 72-hole record of 271 held by Pat Perez in 1993 after breaking his 54-hole record by 2-strokes, eliminated any doubt about his impending victory with a solid round under stiff, 20-mile per hour gusts throughout the day. His previous best finish in four previous appearances was a tie for 10th in the 2004 Championship.
In addition to all the action on the golf course, the Westfield Junior PGA Championship highlight show will also include vignettes on the PGA Professional Golf Management program and the Junior Skills Challenge.
The Westfield Junior PGA Championship, which has traditionally produced stellar golf performances for more than three decades, brings together the best junior golfers to compete for the Jack Nicklaus Trophy in the boys’ division and the Patty Berg Trophy in the girls’ division.
Since 1976, the Championship has been a steppingstone for competitors to either collegiate or Tour professional careers. The list of past Champions includes some of the most prominent current Tour professionals: Billy Andrade (1981), Billy Mayfair (1982), 2001 PGA Champion David Toms (1984), Sean O’Hair (1998), reigning U.S. Women’s Open Champion Cristie Kerr (1995), Trevor Immelman (1996), Grace Park (1996), Aree Song (1999, 2000), In-Bee Park (2001, ’02) and Angela Park (2004).
The PGA of America is the world’s largest working sports organization, comprised of 28,000 men and women golf Professionals who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game of golf, while serving millions of people throughout its 41 PGA Sections nationwide. Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has enhanced its leadership position in a $62 billion-a-year industry by growing the game of golf through its premier spectator events, world-class education and training programs, significant philanthropic outreach initiatives and award-winning golf promotions. Today’s PGA Golf Professional is the public’s link to the game, serving an essential role in the operation of golf facilities throughout the country.
