SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Chandler Rusk of Edmond, Okla., posted a tournament total 8-under-par 208 to claim victory at The Dominion Country Club. Lisa McCloskey of Montgomery, Texas, defeated Amy Ruengmateekhun of Garland, Texas, and Mary Michael Maggio of Conway, Ark., in a sudden-death playoff to pick up her second Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout title.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout was a 54-hole stroke play event being held at The Dominion Country Club. The tournament field consisted of 90 boys and 30 girls, ages 12 to 18, from 10 states, WashingtonD.C., Mexico and Venezuela. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 6,849 yards, while the Girls Division played the course at 6,162 yards.
Rusk was sitting in third place in the Boys Division, two strokes off of the lead, heading into Thursday’s final round. With only one bogey in his last 36 holes, Rusk carded a final-round 3-under-par 69 and said he stayed in contention by making easy birdies and key putts.
“It means a lot and boosts my confidence,” Rusk said of his first AJGA win. “I proved to myself that I can win and compete with all these great players. This was a strong tournament field.”
Chris Worrell of Enid, Okla., placed second at 7-under-par 209. In third was Brenden Redfern of Austin, Texas, at 4-under-par 212. Taylor Mihok of Aledo, Texas, and Hunter Brown of Richardson, Texas, finished tied for fourth place each at even-par 216.
In the Girls Division, McCloskey entered the final round leading by five shots but was chased closely by Ruengmateekhun and Maggio throughout the day. The three players finished No. 18 at a tournament total 2-over-par 218, sending them into a sudden-death playoff where McCloskey made par to take the crown.
“I really thought birdie was going to win that hole,” McCloskey said. “It was windy and everyone misclubbed, it can get a little tricky back there.”
McCloskey was also the 2006 Champion of the Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout and has signed a National Letter of Intent with PepperdineUniversity.
“It’s amazing,” McCloskey said after her final AJGA event. “At Rolex Tournament of Champions last week I was tied for the lead with nine holes left and finished tied for fifth. It’s great to come back.”
Maggio finished tied for second at a final-round 1-under-par 71 along with Ruengmateekhun at 1-over-par 73.
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 Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout please contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Final results from the Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The Dominion Country Club. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 6,849; Girls: 6,162. Rating/Slope: Boys: 72.4/129; Girls: 75.6/130.
BOYS DIVISION
Chandler Rusk, Edmond, Okla. 72-67-69—208
Chris Worrell, Enid, Okla. 68-69-72—209
Brenden Redfern, Austin, Texas 73-70-69—212
Taylor Mihok, Aledo, Texas 76-70-70—216
Hunter Brown, Richardson, Texas 73-71-72—216
Mark Pollak, San Antonio, Texas 72-72-72—216
Jordan Rumora, Houston, Texas 71-75-71—217
Alex Ellis, Austin, Texas 71-73-73—217
Andrew Carreon, San Antonio, Texas 71-73-74—218
David Lee, Houston, Texas 68-76-74—218
Ramon Trevino, Monterrey, Mexico 71-70-77—218
Ryan O'Rear, Salado, Texas 74-72-73—219
Bobby Lee Robinson, Mesa, Ariz. 70-68-81—219
Ben Troester, Boerne, Texas 77-74-69—220
Nick Tremps, San Antonio, Texas 73-75-72—220
Roberto Ruiz, Torreon, Coahuila, , Mexico 75-72-73—220
Johannes Veerman, Sugar Land, Texas 74-72-74—220
Hunter Sparks, Oklahoma City, Okla. 77-67-76—220
James Kwon, Houston, Texas 71-73-76—220
Brad Lyle, Richardson, Texas 72-71-77—220
Chris Contreras, San Antonio, Texas 74-75-72—221
Benjamin Thorseth, Richmond, Texas 75-74-72—221
Jesse Droemer, Sealy, Texas 75-72-74—221
Johnathan Schnitzer, Houston, Texas 73-74-74—221
Kevin Gillick, Scottsdale, Ariz. 76-71-74—221
David Klaudt, Dallas, Texas 72-72-77—221
Hayden Stephens, Georgetown, Texas 69-79-74—222
Hudson Hansard, Austin, Texas 70-76-76—222
Caleb Tucker, Kerrville, Texas 76-75-72—223
Tim Mitchell, Austin, Texas 73-74-76—223
Cameron Scitern, Rockdale, Texas 74-73-76—223
SantiagoGavino, San Luis Potosi, Mexico 74-71-78—223
True Graves, Odessa, Texas 74-75-75—224
Robert Mills, Houston, Texas 72-76-76—224
Jerry Ruiz, Hilton Head, S.C. 75-74-75—224
Blake Wilson, League City, Texas 74-74-76—224
Philip Colwell, The Woodlands, Texas 73-79-73—225
Nathan Anderson, Burleson, Texas 78-75-72—225
Nicko Dodd, Sugar Land, Texas 77-74-74—225
Cameron Hollek, Richmond, Texas 76-75-74—225
Stephen Carney, Tulsa, Okla. 75-72-78—225
Seth Stuart, Austin, Texas 73-73-79—225
Karsten Majors, Bixby, Okla. 81-73-72—226
Chase Anderson, San Antonio, Texas 74-78-74—226
Brian Smith, Corpus Christi, Texas 76-75-75—226
Trent Redfern, Austin, Texas 76-75-75—226
Dillon Kirk, San Antonio, Texas 77-75-74—226
Eric Smith, Washington, Okla. 76-75-75—226
Ben Pounds, Austin, Texas 75-74-77—226
Taylor Meadows, Boerne, Texas 82-74-71—227
Edward DeVane III, San Antonio, Texas 79-74-74—227
Mauricio Garcia, Laredo, Texas 74-77-76—227
Miles Hindsman, Austin, Texas 76-74-77—227
Jay Cox, Paris, Texas 74-75-78—227
Drew Evans, Dallas, Texas 78-77-73—228
Brian Swanson, Katy, Texas 76-78-74—228
James Sullivan, Katy, Texas 76-81-72—229
Austin Beck, Coppell, Texas 75-78-76—229
Stanton Tondre, Castroville, Texas 78-75-76—229
Christopher Miller, Washington, D.C. 78-73-78—229
Trey Cassity, Katy, Texas 75-76-78—229
James Clingman, San Antonio, Texas 77-73-79—229
Ryan Prasad, The Woodlands, Texas 71-77-81—229
Gabriel Antony, Rockwall, Texas 79-68-82—229
Elliot Feng, Albuquerque, N.M. 78-77-75—230
Payne Wilkie, Austin, Texas 78-76-76—230
Kyle Lewis, Shawnee, Okla. 80-73-77—230
Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas 78-78-75—231
Scott Newton, Carrollton, Texas 76-77-78—231
Mike Genovese, Pensacola, Fla. 78-72-81—231
Ryan Eibner, The Woodlands, Texas 82-73-77—232
William Dusenbury, League City, Texas 81-77-75—233
Mitchell Griffin, Driftwood, Texas 80-77-76—233
Curtis Vaughan, IV, San Antonio, Texas 77-82-76—235
Curtis Reed, Castroville, Texas 79-77-79—235
Benjamin Carrier, McKinney, Texas 76-79-81—236
Chris Ortiz, Rio Rancho, N.M. 78-80-79—237
Jimmy Elliott, Katy, Texas 80-78-81—239
Reid Holly, Madison, Miss. 80-78-81—239
Rafael Guerrero, Caracas, S.C., Venezuela 87-77-76—240
Joey Rippel, Sugar Land, Texas 85-76-80—241
Scott Ward, Spring, Texas 85-81-76—242
Cameron Fanning, Houston, Texas 84-80-78—242
Michael Koetting, San Antonio, Texas 85-82-76—243
JackShores, Corpus Christi, Texas 82-82-80—244
Patrick Dwarica, San Antonio, Texas 87-78-83—248
Lee Brimberry, San Marcos, Texas 83-86-80—249
Robert Davis, San Antonio, Texas 87-78-90—255
Rafael Gomez, Lerma, Mexico 85-87-91—263
Hunter Gathright, San Antonio, Texas 71-86 JWD
GIRLS DIVISION
* Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas 70-70-78—218
Amy Ruengmateekhun, Garland, Texas 72-73-73—218
Mary Michael Maggio, Conway, Ark. 75-72-71—218
Gabriella Dominguez, Chilton, Texas 73-74-79—226
Mariah Montoya, Lubbock, Texas 78-74-76—228
Katelyn Sepmoree, Tyler, Texas 77-76-75—228
Portland Rosen, Sugar Land, Texas 74-75-79—228
Felicia Espericueta, Edinburg, Texas 74-81-74—229
Christina Stringham, Pasadena, Texas 78-75-76—229
Sarah Beth Davis, Victoria, Texas 76-79-76—231
Gina Bortoletto, The Woodlands, Texas 76-80-77—233
Jennifer Neville, Bradenton, Fla. 79-75-79—233
Kelsey Kirkpatrick, Golden, Texas 79-75-79—233
Flower Castillo, San Antonio, Texas 76-81-77—234
Desiree Dubreuil, Santa Ana, Calif. 75-73-86—234
Kalynd Carson, The Woodlands, Texas 81-78-76—235
Kelsey Welber, Plano, Texas 82-77-79—238
Jacy Benites, Austin, Texas 79-80-79—238
Wallis Spears, Kerrville, Texas 80-81-78—239
Jessica Borth, San Antonio, Texas 79-77-84—240
Susannah Grunden, Krum, Texas 84-78-82—244
Shelby Hardy, San Saba, Texas 86-78-81—245
Sinae Montoya, Lubbock, Texas 84-79-83—246
Ryanne Haddow, Sugar Land, Texas 87-82-82—251
Kristine Gutzman, San Antonio, Texas 83-78-90—251
Ali Walden, Tompkinsville, Ky. 88-87-86—261
Mei Liu, Austin, Texas 93-88-93—274
Lauren Taylor, Universal City, Texas 93-88-94—275
Lauren Holguin, San Antonio, Texas 100-96-89—285
Heather Smith, Fort Worth, Texas 81-76 JWD
* Won Sudden-Death Playoff
** JWD=Justified WD
