SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Kyle McCartan of Plano, Texas, posted a three-day total 7-under-par 209 to claim his first AJGA title at the Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship. Ani Gulugian of Irvine, Calif., carded a tournament total 1-under-par 215 to win the Girls Division by seven strokes.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship was a 54-hole stroke play event held at Rivercut Golf Course. The tournament field featured 75 boys and 23 girls, ages 12-18, from 12 states. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 6,947 yards, while the Girls Division played the course at 5,985 yards.
He turned it around on the last three holes with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, crediting the change to the work of his putter back on the back nine, and completed the round at 1-over-par 73. McCartan claimed victory in the last AJGA event of his career, citing golf as a game of improvement as he moves on to Boston College in the fall.
“Not very many guys get to do that,” McCartan said of his win. “It’s wonderful when you accomplish one of your goals. Hopefully I can take this and progress throughout college.”
In second at 6-under-par 210 was defending champion Jace Long of Dixon, Mo. Taking the third spot was Harry Higgs of Overland Park, Kan., at 5-under-par 211 followed by David Klaudt of Dallas at 4-under-par 212. Finishing tied for fifth were Chun-Ji Kim of Chandler, Ariz., Chris Brant of Edwardsville, Ill., Austin Struble of Aledo, Texas, and Brian Steele of Springfield, Mo., each at 1-under-par 215.
Gulugian was the second-round leader after posting a women’s competitive course record of 4-under-par 67 Wednesday. In the final round she recorded three birdies, with back-to-back on Nos. 4 and 5 to finish the day at even-par 72. After winning the Nike Golf Junior at Marshallia Ranch in 2006, Gulugian has been anxious to lift another trophy.
“I’ve been working really hard for it,” Gulugain said. “All my hard work paid off. I’ve been close to winning, just not getting it.”
Defending champion Julia Thead of Poway, Calif., and Emily Collins of Colleyville, Texas, tied for second at 6-over-par 222 respectively.
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 Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship please contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit our Web site at ajga.org.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Final results from the Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Rivercut Golf Course. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 6,947; Girls: 5,985. Rating/Slope: Boys: 73.4/128; Girls: 74.1/124.
BOYS DIVISION
Kyle McCartan, Plano, Texas 70-66-73—209
Jace Long, Dixon, Mo. 70-70-70—210
Harry Higgs, Overland Park, Kan. 68-72-71—211
David Klaudt, Dallas, Texas 72-68-72—212
Chun-Ji Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 73-66-76—215
Chris Brant, Edwardsville, Ill. 76-70-69—215
Austin Struble, Aledo, Texas 69-77-69—215
Brian Steele, Springfield, Mo. 71-71-73—215
Adam Carpenter, Little Rock, Ark. 76-72-68—216
Conner Ribble, Texarkana, Ark. 73-74-69—216
Ryan Ennis, Benton, Ark. 78-70-68—216
Chandler Rusk, Edmond, Okla. 74-71-71—216
Eli Juren, Austin, Texas 71-72-74—217
Hunter Sparks, Oklahoma City, Okla. 76-72-69—217
Alex Carpenter, Little Rock, Ark. 73-70-74—217
Eric Smith, Washington, Okla. 74-74-70—218
Christopher Muriana, Stillwater, Okla. 75-74-70—219
Daniel Hagen, Plano, Texas 74-72-73—219
Kevin Kring, Springfield, Mo. 72-73-74—219
Zach Sanders, Shawnee Mission, Kan. 76-72-71—219
Charles King , Smithville, Mo. 73-75-73—221
Jeffrey Lee, Overland Park, Kan. 72-72-77—221
True Graves, Odessa, Texas 75-74-73—222
Johannes Seemann, Prospect Heights, Ill. 73-75-74—222
Connor Steele, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 77-72-73—222
Chase Adams, Dallas, Texas 79-73-71—223
Kyle Lewis, Shawnee, Okla. 76-71-76—223
Brax McCarthy, Fort Worth, Texas 76-74-73—223
David Catt, Shawnee, Kan. 77-73-73—223
Jacob Burkholder, Sedalia, Mo. 71-77-75—223
Ben Bankhead, McKinney, Texas 76-77-71—224
Brandon Cauldwell, Ozark, Mo. 77-75-72—224
JJ Brown, Bois D'Arc, Mo. 77-74-73—224
Ryan Frederick, Lockport, Ill. 79-72-74—225
Vincent Anagnos, Round Rock, Texas 75-76-74—225
Joe Doramus, Little Rock, Ark. 77-72-77—226
Braden Gaal, Washington, Iowa 75-75-76—226
Andrew Wilcox, Duncan, Okla. 76-75-77—228
Christopher Reinert, Parkville, Mo. 78-73-77—228
Marcus Opheim, San Marcos, Texas 79-77-72—228
Adam Sterling, Springfield, Mo. 79-73-77—229
Jordan Perceful, Muskogee, Okla. 72-79-79—230
Bennett Lavin, Deerfield, Ill. 71-80-79—230
Ryan Hadash, Katy, Texas 83-72-76—231
Trent Hillis, Poplar Bluff, Mo. 78-74-79—231
Ben Hogan, Ozark, Mo. 75-77-79—231
Josh Edison, Springfield, Ill. 78-75-78—231
David Bailey, Springfield, Mo. 77-80-75—232
Blake Hirschman, Collierville, Tenn. 79-73-80—232
Steve Skurla, Wheaton, Ill. 79-76-77—232
Landon Morgan, Edmond, Okla. 72-80-80—232
Alex Knoll, Westphalia, Mo. 80-78-75—233
Alex Hofmann, Overland Park, Kan. 82-74-77—233
Nathan Hoefflin, Saint Cloud, Minn. 81-78-74—233
RayVaun Christenson, Ozark, Mo. 78-76-80—234
Jason Vann, Fulton, Mo. 81-79-75—235
Jack Cantele, Wichita, Kan. 79-79-77—235
Blake Chase, Colleyville, Texas 79-75-81—235
Colin FitzGerald, Chesterfield, Mo. 79-77-80—236
Andrew Harrison, Prairie Village, Kan. 80-80-77—237
Joe Atkisson, Springfield, Mo. 77-76-84—237
Kyle Menke, Fairfield, Iowa 80-76-81—237
Brandon Weaver, Rolla, Mo. 85-70-84—239
Nathaniel Oliver, Republic, Mo. 82-80-78—240
Derek Swinford, Liberty, Mo. 81-84-75—240
Nick Langley, St. Louis, Mo. 82-78-80—240
Jeremy Schwob, St. Louis, Mo. 78-79-83—240
Thomas Brockman, Springfield, Mo. 86-73-83—242
Kyle Brunner, St. Peters, Mo. 82-80-80—242
Devlin Keenoy, Glen Carbon, Ill. 79-84-81—244
Tim Wagaman, Nixa, Mo. 78-82-85—245
Matthew Spicknall, Weldon Spring, Mo. 88-82-82—252
Kyle Riley, Jefferson City, Mo. 86-87-81—254
Alex Boyd, Overland Park, Kan. QWD
Landon Lyons, Baton Rouge, La. 79 DQ (15-3b)
GIRLS DIVISION
Ani Gulugian, Irvine, Calif. 76-67-72—215
Emily Collins, Colleyville, Texas 74-77-71—222
Julia Thead, Poway, Calif. 75-72-75—222
Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth, Texas 76-75-72—223
Kamryn Ruffin, Pryor, Okla. 79-76-70—225
Katie Paxton, Spring, Texas 79-74-72—225
Kayli Quinton, Cypress, Texas 78-74-74—226
Kelsey Kirkpatrick, Golden, Texas 77-73-76—226
Ember Schuldt, Sterling, Ill. 79-73-74—226
Emma Lavy, Fayetteville, Ark. 78-78-75—231
Shaina Rennegarbe, Addieville, Ill. 74-78-81—233
Jade Staggs, Oklahoma City, Okla. 84-75-76—235
Whitney McAteer, Tulsa, Okla. 80-79-76—235
Audrey Yowell, McPherson, Kan. 85-79-73—237
Jamie Lavin, Deerfield, Ill. 86-76-77—239
Hanule Seo, St.Louis, Mo. 77-77-85—239
Celeste Gassman, Kansas City, Mo. 83-80-82—245
Emily Tebow, Mt.Vernon, Mo. 89-84-81—254
Chloe Kittle, Lees Summit, Mo. 85-83-86—254
McCall Christopher, Lees Summit, Mo. 85-89-89—263
Lindsey Johnson, Springfield, Mo. 93-89-90—272
Jessica Dillard, Springfield, Mo. 93-91-92—276
Stephanie Tran, Fort Smith, Ark. 91-92-98—281
** QWD=Questionable WD
