FORT WORTH, Texas -- Johnathan Schnitzer of Houston carded a tournament-total 2-under-par 214 to come from three-shots back and claim victory at the Elbit Systems of America Junior Golf Classic. Julie Yang of Phoenix posted a 2-over-par 218 to hold onto the lead and take the Girls Division title by three strokes.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Elbit Systems of America Junior Golf Classic was a 54-hole stroke play event held at the Southern Oaks Golf Club. The 120-player field featured players from 16 states. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 7,145 yards while the Girls Division played at 6,115 yards.
Schnitzer sat in a three way tie for ninth place after the second round. With several competitors circling the lead, Schnitzer had a strategy entering the final round.
My dad and I decided before today it would take a 68 or 69 to win, Schnitzer said. I knew I would have to light it up on the back nine and I birdied Nos. 8 and 9.
Firing a final-round 3-under-par 69, he carded four birdies on the day to pull ahead by one stroke and take the crown.
All I have to say is finally, Schnitzer said of his first AJGA victory. I have finished top five about four or five times. I finally got the monkey off my back and got a win.
Following close behind was second-round leader Ryan Dagerman of Dallas in second place at 1-under-par 215. Tied for third were Chase Anderson of San Antonio and Matthew Seligmann of Houston, each at even-par 216. Brad Mason of Dallas finished at 1-over-par 217 to round out the top five.
In the Girls Division, Yang, 12, sat atop the leaderboard throughout the tournament and carded a final-round 5-over-par 77 to take the title. In her second AJGA win of the month, Yang carried a four-stroke advantage into Thursdays final-round and remained calm as other players made a final charge for the lead.
I wasnt that nervous, Yang, the second-team Rolex Junior All-American, said. Surprisingly, I didnt think I would win. I guess I was lucky. I had a good first two rounds.
Valentina Fontaine of Hilton Head Island, S.C., finished second at 5-over-par 221. Tied for third at 6-over-par 222 were Victoria Vela of Mansfield, Texas, and Kaira Martin of Paradise Valley, Ariz.
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 an annual junior membership boys and girls ages 12-18 of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 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 about the Elbit Systems of America Junior Golf Classic or any AJGA event, please contact National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit our Web site at ajga.org
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Final results from the Elbit Systems of America Junior Golf Classic conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at
Southern Oaks Golf Club. Par: Boys: 36-3672; Girls: 36-3672. Yardage: Boys: 7,145; Girls: 6,115. Rating/Slope: Boys: 75.2/133; Girls: 77/141.
BOYS DIVISION
Johnathan Schnitzer, Houston, Texas 72-73-69214
Ryan Dagerman, Dallas, Texas 72-69-74215
Chase Anderson, San Antonio, Texas 75-71-70216
Matthew Seligmann, Houston, Texas 74-68-74216
Brad Mason, Dallas, Texas 74-72-71217
Austin Beck, Coppell, Texas 69-74-75218
Chandler Rusk, Edmond, Okla. 74-72-72218
Chris Han, Carrollton, Texas 71-74-73218
Tyler Ledet, Woodworth, La. 68-75-76219
Benjamin Thorseth, Richmond, Texas 73-73-73219
Ryan Blair, Center Valley, Pa. 76-72-72220
Patrick Burke, Houston, Texas 73-74-74221
Zachary Collings, Fort Worth, Texas 76-75-70221
Tyler Dunlap, Westlake, Texas 77-72-72221
Jerry Ruiz, Hilton Head, S.C. 76-74-72222
Curtis Donahoe, League City, Texas 75-74-73222
Richard Kalteyer, Dallas, Texas 75-71-76222
Thomas Birdsey, The Woodlands, Texas 73-69-80222
Vincent Anagnos, Round Rock, Texas 72-71-79222
Joe Lynch, ShawneeMission, Kan. 80-69-74223
Blake Waller, West Des Moines, Iowa 73-74-76223
Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas 70-73-80223
Greg O'Connor, Edmond, Okla. 73-70-80223
Trey Neck, Baton Rouge, La. 73-79-72224
Yi-Hsiu Luo, Winchendon, Mass. 74-75-75224
Gregg Davis, Parker, Colo. 75-73-76224
Jeff Hageman, Grapevine, Texas 75-75-74224
Landon Morgan, Edmond, Okla. 80-73-72225
William Dusenbury, League City, Texas 76-70-79225
Alec Bruney, Nederland, Texas 72-76-78226
Nathan Anderson, Burleson, Texas 75-75-76226
Ryan Kelley, The Woodlands, Texas 76-75-75226
Curtis Reed, Castroville, Texas 74-77-75226
Colt Melton, Amarillo, Texas 77-75-75227
John Cassidy, Tulsa, Okla. 78-75-74227
Sam Clark, Allen, Texas 74-78-75227
Austin Weaver, Flower Mound, Texas 73-72-82227
Brandon Cauldwell, Ozark, Mo. 72-79-76227
Michael Williams, Purcell, Okla. 77-74-77228
Wesley Gates, Novi, Mich. 77-77-75229
Ryan Howard, The Woodlands, Texas 75-76-78229
Chase Adams, Dallas, Texas 75-73-81229
Brian Smith, Corpus Christi, Texas 76-81-73230
James Sullivan, Katy, Texas 77-77-76230
David Klaudt, Dallas, Texas 78-79-73230
Corbin Light, Plano, Texas 74-81-75230
Austin West, Burleson, Texas 77-77-77231
Christopher Melvin, Medfield, Mass. 76-79-76231
John Antle, Graham, Texas 76-77-78231
Josh Reinertson, Gibbon, Neb. 74-79-78231
Zack Smith, Carthage, Texas 76-75-81232
Ricky Lee, Tucson, Ariz. 80-74-78232
Brandon Pederson, Austin, Texas 79-75-78232
Taylor Mihok, Aledo, Texas 78-75-79232
A.J. Gebert, Wichita, Kan. 75-80-77232
Jeremy Kutscherousky, Dallas, Texas 80-76-77233
Ryan Conner, Fort Worth, Texas 78-76-79233
Glenn Payne, Ardmore, Okla. 84-76-74234
Brandon Liu, St. Albans, Mo. 80-80-74234
Austin Struble, Aledo, Texas 74-80-80234
McKenzie Mueller, Dallas, Texas 78-74-83235
Austin Phillips, Fort Worth, Texas 82-78-75235
Colin Buckley, Ennis, Texas 75-79-81235
Brian Swanson, Katy, Texas 80-75-80235
Chandler Smith-Stetson, Albuquerque, N.M. 81-79-75235
Austen Hyde, Missouri City, Texas 82-74-79235
Daniel McMurry, Ardmore, Okla. 83-76-77236
Cole Pickavance, Danville, Calif. 78-77-82237
David McMurry, Ardmore, Okla. 81-75-81237
J.B Suk, Norman, Okla. 80-76-81237
Riley Goff, Irving, Texas 79-85-74238
Scooter Ransbottom, Midlothian, Texas 79-82-77238
Nick Allen, Littleton, Colo. 83-81-75239
Kaden Bressman, Fort Mohave, Ariz. 83-78-80241
Ted Monhollon, Tulsa, Okla. 80-82-79241
Andrew Roberts, Carmichael, Calif. 79-77-86242
John Newberry, Jr., Austin, Texas 86-77-80243
Perrin Grace, Ann Arbor, Mich. 88-77-78243
Justin Wileman, Southlake, Texas 82-84-77243
Blake Vinson, Fort Worth, Texas 78-83-82243
Colby Webb, Burleson, Texas 84-80-81245
Matt Keller, Rogers, Ark. 79-84-82245
Jordan Reinertson, Gibbon, Neb. 86-77-85248
Kyle Bodin, Austin, Texas 81-81-86248
Kyle Huett, Bulverde, Texas 83-83-84250
Brendon Mullen, Austin, Texas 89-82-81252
Jeff Quinn, Anthem, Ariz. 90-77-86253
Robert Davis, San Antonio, Texas 89-86-91266
Joey Thomas, Kerrville, Texas 88-89-89266
Kyle Billingsley, Little Rock, Ark. 83-105 JWD
GIRLS DIVISION
Julie Yang, Phoenix, Ariz. 69-72-77218
Valentina Fontaine, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 75-75-71221
Victoria Vela, Mansfield, Texas 72-79-71222
Kaira Martin, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 72-73-77222
Natalie Reeves, Euless, Texas 73-77-73223
Devon Brown, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 74-76-74224
Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth, Texas 75-78-73226
Kelsey Kirkpatrick, Golden, Texas 75-76-75226
Kristina Nhim, Buena Park, Calif. 73-76-77226
Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 77-76-74227
Amy Ruengmateekhun, Garland, Texas 78-75-74227
Lauren Salazar, Santa Clara, Calif. 74-78-77229
Melanie White, Colleyville, Texas 71-84-77232
Brooke Bailey, Abilene, Texas 77-82-74233
Sorelle Sedej, Poway, Calif. 77-74-83234
Hannah Arnold, Lufkin, Texas 74-77-84235
Patricia Lee, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 80-79-77236
Shelby Hardy, San Saba, Texas 86-78-72236
Whitney McAteer, Tulsa, Okla. 82-76-79237
Kelsey Welber, Plano, Texas 73-81-83237
Erin Perry, Seabrook, Texas 82-77-79238
Gina Bortoletto, The Woodlands, Texas 77-78-84239
Tezira Abe', Angleton, Texas 80-80-80240
Katy Cardno, Sugar Land, Texas 79-82-81242
Susannah Grunden, Krum, Texas 79-84-85248
Jenny Kang, Houston, Texas 83-81-84248
Lakareber Abe', Angleton, Texas 87-85-79251
AlexandrianaPark, Southlake, Texas 83-89-94266
Stephanie Scholer, Dallas, Texas 89-86-92267
Erin DeLorenzo, Dallas, Texas 99-91-86276
** JWD=Justified WD
American Junior Golf Association, 1980 Sports Club Dr, Braselton, GA 30517-6000 United States