KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Ryan Zech of Kearney, Mo., shot 2-under-par 70 in the final round to win the Lockton/Capitol Federal Kansas City Junior at 8-under-par 208. Katie Sylvan of San Diego, came from two shots behind to claim the Girls Division title by one stroke at 10-over-par 226.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Lockton/Capitol Federal Kansas City Junior was a 54-hole stroke play event held at Oakwood Country Club. The tournament field featured 74 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 21 states and Canada. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 6,522 yards, while the Girls Division played the course at 6,038 yards.
Zech notched his first AJGA victory in his very first career AJGA event. The KearneyHigh School sophomore led the field all three rounds.
He made three birdies in a row on Nos. 2, 3, and 4 cruising to the win by a three-stroke margin. Despite his lack of experience in AJGA final rounds, Zech was relaxed on the final holes of the tournament.
“It’s nice walking down No. 18 when you don’t have to sweat out a par to win by one-stroke,” the 15-year-old said. “I was a little nervous early on but it’s a great feeling now that it’s over.”
Ryan Marks of Warrensburg, Mo., and Kevin Gillick of Scottsdale, Ariz., tied for second shooting 5-under-par 211. In fourth was Curtis Yonke of Overland Park, Kan., at 2-under-par 214. Tyler Brown of Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Harry Higgs of Overland Park, tied for fifth at even-par 216.
In the Girls Division, Sylvan remained calm under pressure, sinking a nine-foot putt for par and the win on the toughest hole of the week, No. 18. Her birdie putt on No. 17 from 14 feet away was just as important in her effort. Sylvan carded 12 pars and hit 14 greens on the day. She credits the winning putt to her father who had her practicing similar putts the day before.
“My dad and I were on the practice green yesterday and he told me it’s much tougher to make left-to-right breaking putts so I practiced them for an hour,” said Sylvan, who has made a verbal commitment to the University of Virginia. “It was easy to make that putt on No. 18 today because of that.”
This was Sylvan’s third career AJGA tournament win. Her previous wins include the 2006 Buick Junior Open presented by Golfweek, and the 2007 Dalhousie Junior Championship.
Kristina Nhim of Buena Park, Calif., Kelsey Kipp of Tyler, Texas, Elizabeth Doty of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., and Jacqueline Chang of Paradise Valley, Ariz., tied for second at 11-over-par 227.
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 Lockton/Capitol Federal Kansas City Junior, please contact National Headquarters at (770)-868-4200 or visit our Web site at ajga.org.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Final results from the Lockton/Capitol Federal Kansas City Junior conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Oakwood Country Club. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 6,522; Girls: 6,038. Rating/Slope: Boys: 72/130; Girls: 74.7/130.
BOYS DIVISION
Ryan Zech, Kearney, Mo. 66-72-70—208
Ryan Marks, Warrensburg, Mo. 68-72-71—211
Kevin Gillick, Scottsdale, Ariz. 69-72-70—211
Curtis Yonke, Overland Park, Kan. 74-70-70—214
Tyler Brown, Lee's Summit, Mo. 72-71-73—216
Harry Higgs, Overland Park, Kan. 70-70-76—216
Adam Welch, Chesterfield, Mo. 70-74-73—217
Yuki Kato, Las Vegas, Nev. 72-71-74—217
Ryan Blair, Center Valley, Pa. 71-71-76—218
Brant DeLongy, Winter Park, Fla. 76-70-73—219
Blake Waller, West Des Moines, Iowa 74-70-77—221
Derek Baade, St. Joseph, Mo. 74-75-73—222
Bradley Lucas, Worthington, Ohio 72-72-79—223
Parker Edens, Greeley, Colo. 77-71-75—223
Parker Page, Louisville, Ky. 71-73-79—223
Zach Sanders, Shawnee Mission, Kan. 75-72-76—223
Matthew Ledom, Leawood, Kan. 75-72-77—224
Brian Dorfman, Greenwood Village, Colo. 74-76-75—225
Tyler Engel, Castle Rock, Colo. 75-77-73—225
Will Pieper, Omaha, Neb. 73-77-75—225
Trent Hillis, Poplar Bluff, Mo. 75-75-76—226
John Cassidy, Tulsa, Okla. 73-78-75—226
Michael McGee, Kansas City, Mo. 75-74-77—226
Theodore Lederhausen, Hinsdale, Ill. 74-76-76—226
Seiji Liu, Bradenton, Fla. 74-81-72—227
Zachary Bates, Chagrin Falls, Ohio 78-71-79—228
Eli Juren, Austin, Texas 75-80-73—228
David Kurtz, Edmond , Okla. 79-74-75—228
Christopher Reinert, Parkville, Mo. 74-74-80—228
Peyton Vitter, New Orleans, La. 76-77-75—228
Kyle Knierim, Republic, Mo. 79-76-73—228
Coy Papachek, Fargo, N.D. 79-72-78—229
Brandon Wilhide, Richmond, Texas 77-82-70—229
Joe Lynch, Shawnee Mission, Kan. 76-74-79—229
Michael Schoolcraft, Englewood, Colo. 77-78-75—230
Chase Lucas, Mission Hills, Kan. 83-69-80—232
Jackson Dean, Edmond, Okla. 77-80-75—232
Matthew Weaver, Huntington Beach, Calif. 76-77-79—232
Jonathan Park, Denver, Colo. 79-75-78—232
Michael Vogelsong, Colorado Springs, Colo. 78-75-80—233
Shayne Yoon, Chandler, Ariz. 75-81-77—233
Will Baylor, Rolla, Mo. 76-79-79—234
Thomas Ponce, Edwardsville, Ill. 77-77-80—234
Alex Hofmann, Overland Park, Kan. 79-76-79—234
Patrick Harrell, Lake St Louis, Mo. 74-76-84—234
Jake Myron, Kansas City, Mo. 79-81-75—235
Duncan Laner, Kansas City, Mo. 78-81-76—235
Conner Schrock, Leawood, Kan. 76-77-83—236
Justin Russell, Montrose, Colo. 79-80-77—236
Lukas Davison, Fargo, N.D. 82-77-77—236
Ryan Fricke, Raleigh, N.C. 79-79-78—236
David Catt, Shawnee, Kan. 80-75-81—236
Chance Holden, Dexter, Mo. 77-83-76—236
Derek Ream, Meridian`, Idaho 78-82-76—236
Henry Simpson, Mission Hills, Kan. 80-78-79—237
Devin Leland, Cambridge, Iowa 77-80-80—237
Connor Manning, Overland Park, Kan. 79-81-78—238
Jordan Jackson, Toronto, Ontrario 79-85-75—239
Zach Steffen, Des Moines, Iowa 78-78-83—239
Greg Garcia, Whittier, Calif. 77-84-78—239
Jimmy Thode, Raytown , Mo. 80-77-82—239
Tyler Stamets, Scottsdale, Ariz. 81-80-79—240
Dillon Maloney, Springfield, Mo. 86-79-75—240
Cole Pickavance, Danville, Calif. 79-84-77—240
Chad Minard, Clive, Iowa 79-83-78—240
Jack Mylott, Bradenton, Fla. 79-80-82—241
Austin Struble, Aledo, Texas 80-84-78—242
Stephen Marbach, Naperville, Ill. 76-86-82—244
Alex Knoll, Westphalia, Mo. 81-86-78—245
Gregg Davis, Parker, Colo. 81-84-84—249
Andrew Harrison, Prairie Village, Kan. 86-79-85—250
Nick Trumbo, Loveland, Colo. 87-89-78—254
Kyle Blackston, Elizabethtown, Ky. 76-77 JWD
Zim Appl, Prairie Village, Kan. 83 QWD
GIRLS DIVISION
Katie Sylvan, San Diego, Calif. 73-79-74—226
Kelsey Kipp, Tyler, Texas 78-77-72—227
Kristina Nhim, Buena Park, Calif. 74-77-76—227
Elizabeth Doty, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. 76-77-74—227
Jacqueline Chang, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 79-74-74—227
Alexandra Lederhausen, Hinsdale, Ill. 71-79-79—229
Taylor Manning, Brentwood , Tenn. 78-80-74—232
Marika Liu, Bradenton, Fla. 80-76-78—234
Casey Grice, College Station, Texas 76-82-77—235
Katie Paxton, Spring, Texas 84-75-80—239
Julia Thead, Poway, Calif. 78-84-79—241
Steffi Neisen, New Prague, Minn. 78-83-82—243
Kayli Quinton, Cypress, Texas 80-85-83—248
Lauren Dawson, Flossmoor, Ill. 82-83-85—250
Madison Robb, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 87-83-82—252
Gianna Misenhelter, Overland Park, Kan. 88-81-83—252
Hannah Basalone, Brea, Calif. 83-85-84—252
Lauren Falley, Topeka, Kan. 82-90-82—254
Claire Kinsey, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 81-90-85—256
Laura Berman, Phoenix, Ariz. 91-86-85—262
Alexandra Curry, Shenandoah, Iowa 84-90-89—263
Calie Trusler, Omaha, Neb. 92-99-86—277
Alexandria Schluter, Scottsbluff, Neb. 98-89-91—278
Anna Robinson, West Des Moines, Iowa 96-102-95—293
** JWD=Justified WD
** QWD=Questionable WD
