RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., and Veronica Valerio of Temecula, Calif., both jumped into the greenside pond on No. 18 in celebration of their victories at the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior on Thursday. Cantlay finished with a three-day tournament total of 7-under-par 209 in the Boys Division while Valerio carded a 1-over par 217 to win the Girls Division by three strokes.

The ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior is a 54-hole stroke play tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Mission Hills Country Club – Dinah Shore Tournament Course. The tournament field consisted of 57 boys and 20 girls, ages 12-18, from five states, including 70 from California. The Girls Division played the par-72 course at 6,141 yards while the Boys Division played at 7,036 yards.

The longest consecutive running AJGA event at the same venue, the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior boasts past champions such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Bob May, Kevin Na, Danielle Ammaccapane, Brandi Burton, Emilee Klein, Kellee Booth and Grace Park. These professionals all played in — and won — the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior before making household names for themselves at the amateur, collegiate and professional levels.

Cantlay was tied going into Thursday’s final round and then found himself in a playoff with Daniel Lee of Valencia, Calif., upon finishing 18 holes.

“It’s probably the most pressure that I have ever been under,” Cantlay said.

Both Cantlay and Lee made par on No. 18 and had to replay the par-5, 618-yard hole to break the tie. On the second trip coming down the fairway, both pared the hole, forcing them to continue the sudden-death playoff in the desert heat of Rancho Mirage. Lee’s second shot down the fairway careened into the lateral water hazard, giving Cantlay an opportunity to end the playoff. Lee missed a 10-foot putt for par while Cantlay safely two-putted to clinch the victory.

Lee carded a three day total of 7-under-par 209, shooting a final round low of 4-under-par 68 to place second. Andrew Perez of Oxnard, Calif., finished the tournament in third with 212, also shooting a 4-under-par 68 in the final round. Steven Kearney of Carlsbad, Calif., carded a tournament total of 3-under-par 213 to place fourth and John Young Kim of Los Alamitos, Calif., placed fifth with a 1-over-par 217.

For the girls, Valerio was excited for her first AJGA victory and credited her solid play to sticking her approach shots. She also birdied three times to contribute to her successful round.

“It feels awesome,” Valerio said. “This tournament was a lot of fun and the competition was good.”

Emily Tubert of Burbank, Calif., and Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., both shot a tournament total of 4-over-par 220 to tie for second place.

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.

For more information on the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior, please contact AJGA Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Final results from the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Mission Hills Country Club - Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 7,036; Girls: 6,141. Rating/Slope: Boys: 74.1/134; Girls: 75.7/139.

BOYS DIVISION:

* Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. 72-67-70—209

Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. 73-68-68—209

Andrew Perez, Oxnard, Calif. 72-72-68—212

Steven Kearney, Carlsbad, Calif. 69-70-74—213

John Young Kim, Los Alamitos, Calif. 78-70-69—217

Alex Shi Yup Kim, Fullerton, Calif. 71-73-74—218

Matthew Hansen, Los Osos, Calif. 73-76-69—218

John Catlin, Carmichael, Calif. 76-72-71—219

Raymond Ho, Cerritos, Calif. 72-76-71—219

Jordan Epstein, Carlsbad, Calif. 69-78-72—219

Benjamin Bauch, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. 72-72-75—219

Diwen Chen, Coto De Caza, Calif. 74-72-74—220

Michael Jae Woo Im, Fullerton, Calif. 70-77-73—220

Alexander Forss, Temecula, Calif. 71-74-75—220

AJ McInerney, Henderson, Nev. 75-75-71—221

Yi Keun Chang, Walnut, Calif. 75-72-74—221

Bobby Lange, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 74-72-76—222

Tyler Kato, Seattle, Wash. 72-75-75—222

Derek Fribbs, Castle Rock, Colo. 72-77-73—222

Macgregor Hoobery, Santa Maria, Calif. 75-72-76—223

Justin Yu, Montrose, Calif. 77-72-74—223

Philip Chian, Covina, Calif. 75-72-76—223

Mason Field, Santa Barbara, Calif. 73-69-81—223

Cole Seeger, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 75-76-73—224

Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif. 76-74-74—224

Eli Cole, Beverly Hills, Calif. 77-72-75—224

Jeffrey Knox, Menlo Park, Calif. 76-72-76—224

Joseph Stewart, Palm Desert, Calif. 76-76-72—224

Matthew Jun, Temecula, Calif. 77-75-73—225

Chris Russo, Westlake Village, Calif. 76-71-78—225

Joshua Granger, Monrovia, Calif. 79-70-76—225

Chris Capo, Woodland Hills, Calif. 72-77-76—225

Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 74-79-72—225

Tad Murray, La Quinta, Calif. 72-75-79—226

Joshua Crowder, Murrieta, Calif. 73-80-73—226

Bryan Bergna, Riverside, Calif. 77-75-74—226

Austin Green, Frisco, Texas 71-78-77—226

Niall Platt, Santa Barbara, Calif. 77-76-73—226

Benjamin Lein, Diamond Bar, Calif. 80-69-78—227

Marshall Colby, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 77-78-73—228

Paul McNamara III, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. 78-76-75—229

Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. 78-74-77—229

Preston Valder, Yorba Linda, Calif. 80-74-75—229

Dakota Duerr, Murrieta, Calif. 77-71-82—230

Daniel Chian, Covina, Calif. 75-80-75—230

Kevin Techakanokboon, Cerritos, Calif. 79-74-77—230

Payne Wilkie, Austin, Texas 76-74-80—230

Cody Kent, Castle Rock, Colo. 75-76-81—232

Cameron Tennant, Woodland Hills, Calif. 73-76-83—232

Kevin Stratton, Las Vegas, Nev. 77-78-80—235

Brian Alle, Pacific Palisades, Calif. 79-76-80—235

JP Park, Fullerton, Calif. 80-80-77—237

Joseph Choi, Bakersfield, Calif. 87-76-75—238

Nick Thomas, Westlake Village, Calif. 83-76-79—238

William Byun, Beverly Hills, Calif. 80-80-80—240

Kyle Knapp, Temecula, Calif. 82-81-83—246
Dustin Rhone, Culver City, Calif. 81-81-85—247

GIRLS DIVISION:

Veronica Valerio, Temecula, Calif. 73-72-72—217

Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif. 75-74-71—220

Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. 72-74-74—220

Brittany Mai, Poway, Calif. 75-73-73—221

Demi Frances Runas, Torrance, Calif. 78-69-75—222

Stacy Kim, Yorba Linda, Calif. 74-70-78—222

Christine Song, Fullerton, Calif. 76-75-72—223

Rachel Morris, Carlsbad, Calif. 73-74-77—224

Whitney French, Laguna Niguel, Calif. 77-75-75—227

Desiree Dubreuil, Santa Ana, Calif. 72-77-78—227

Lalita Patipaksiri, Cypress, Calif. 74-76-77—227

Beverly Vatananugulkit, Cerritos, Calif. 79-75-73—227

Victoria Fallgren, Lakewood, Calif. 81-74-76—231

Christine Cho, La Crescenta, Calif. 81-75-79—235

Simone Strauss, Rancho Mirage, Calif. 84-79-73—236

Robyn Kim, Cypress, Calif. 77-78-82—237

Monica Umpant, Cerritos , Calif. 80-79-79—238

Eunice Yim, La Canada, Calif. 80-81-81—242

Taylor Yoshitake, Playa del Rey, Calif. 83-82-80—245

Anna DePalma, San Clemente, Calif. 87-81-80—248

Michelle Yang, Los Angeles, Calif. 84 JWD

* Won Sudden-Death Playoff