PHOENIX, Ariz. -- James Back of Seoul, South Korea, began the day hoping to shoot under par, never thinking he would walk out of the scoring tent with his first AJGA Open victory. After firing a final-round 5-under-par 67, however, he bounded from third place to the lead and never looked back. In the Girls Division, Victoria Sungmin Park of Irvine, Calif., began the day one stroke behind second-round leader Michelle Yang of Los Angeles, but shot a Girls Division low final-round score of 4-under-par 68 to claim her first AJGA championship.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the PING Phoenix Junior is a 54-hole stroke play event held at Moon Valley Country Club. The tournament field featured 51 boys and 27 girls, ages 12-18, from 11 states, Mexico, and Taiwan. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 7,163 yards, while the Girls Division played the course at 6,417 yards.
Back began the day tied for third after carding a two-day total of 6-under-par 138. It didn’t take long for him to begin mounting a comeback, as he birdied the first hole while leader Juan Pablo Hernandez of Mexico City, and Landon Tujague of Dallas, both made par. Playing catch-up was the theme of the front nine for Back, who sank three birdie putts and had an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 to get his round started.
“I was playing catch-up to Juan [Hernandez] on the front nine,” Back said. “All I thought about was hitting fairways and greens, then I found out after No. 9 that I was leading.”
A 4-under-par 32 on the front nine gave Back a two-stroke lead over both Hernandez and Tujague, and he began playing with a victory in mind. Tujague and Back again tied for the lead on No. 11 after Tujague recorded a birdie while Back made par. The tie wouldn’t last through the par-4 No. 14 after a bogey by Tujague, giving Back the opportunity to carry his lead into the clubhouse with a tournament total of 11-under-par 205.
“I never thought I would be leading today,” Back said. “I didn’t know what to do with myself on the last few holes, but I was able to keep playing my game and get a win.”
Two shots behind Back with a tournament total of 9-under-par 207 were Chien Yao Hung of Sinjhuang City, Taiwan and Tujague. In a four-way tie for fourth were Kevin Gillick of Scottsdale, Ariz., Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., Hernandez, and John Catlin of Carmichael, Calif., all with tournament-totals of 8-under-par 208.
Park, a seasoned junior golfer, had never won an AJGA event. Playing with the goal of shooting under par, Park stuck to her game and kept a calm and determined attitude.
"I kept telling myself to not get too excited and to not overthink my shots,” Park said. “The holes were really tricky, but as long as you hit the ball straight you could make birdie.”
The birdies kept falling for Park who recorded five on the day en route to a tournament total of 6-under-par 210 and the title of champion in the PING Phoenix Junior.
Kyung Kim of Chandler, Ariz., carded an even-par 216 that landed her in second, while second-round leader Michelle Yang finished the tournament with a 2-over-par 218 to round out the top three.
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.
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 PING Phoenix Junior, please contact National Headquarters at (877) 373-2542.
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Final results from the PING Phoenix Junior conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Moon Valley Country Club. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 7,202; Girls: 6,417. Rating/Slope: Boys: 74.3/125; Girls: 76.2/135.
BOYS DIVISION
James Back, Seoul, South Korea 70-68-67—205
Chien Yao Hung, Sinjhuang City, Taiwan 70-68-69—207
Landon Tujague, Dallas, Texas 67-68-72—207
Kevin Gillick, Scottsdale, Ariz. 72-69-67—208
Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. 68-72-68—208
Juan Pablo Hernandez, Mexico City, Mexico 69-65-74—208
John Catlin, Carmichael, Calif. 69-69-70—208
Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif. 67-72-70—209
Nicholas Losole III, Scottsdale, Ariz. 72-71-67—210
Sejun Yoon, Oceanside, Calif. 72-71-67—210
AJ McInerney, Henderson, Nev. 71-70-70—211
Marshall Colby, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 72-68-71—211
Carlos Ortiz, Zapopan, Mexico 76-67-69—212
Raymond Ho, Cerritos, Calif. 71-72-69—212
Brent Baylon, Phoenix, Ariz. 72-70-71—213
Ben Juffer, West Des Moines, Iowa 73-70-70—213
Maxwell Marsico, Las Vegas, Nev. 74-68-72—214
Benjamin Bauch, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. 74-72-68—214
Ryan Kelley, The Woodlands, Texas 69-73-72—214
Chandler Rusk, Edmond, Okla. 72-71-71—214
Roberto Ruiz, Torreon, Coahuila, , Mexico 72-70-73—215
Michael Weaver, Fresno, Calif. 71-72-72—215
Drew Dorsey, Edmond, Okla. 76-70-70—216
C.J. Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 72-73-71—216
Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. 72-69-75—216
Jordan Lee, Tarzana, Calif. 73-71-72—216
Richie Kernagis, Mesa, Ariz. 74-71-71—216
Mike Basco, Scottsdale, Ariz. 73-76-68—217
Glen Scher, Agoura Hills, Calif. 72-75-70—217
John Young Kim, Los Alamitos, Calif. 74-75-70—219
Austin Green, Frisco, Texas 77-69-73—219
Hayden Stephens, Georgetown, Texas 74-71-74—219
Davis Lee, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 75-73-72—220
Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz. 74-72-74—220
Mitchell Griffin, Driftwood, Texas 71-76-74—221
Brenden Redfern, Austin, Texas 75-73-75—223
Joshua Crowder, Murrieta, Calif. 75-72-76—223
Alexander Forss, Temecula, Calif. 75-75-73—223
Kyohei Itamura, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. 77-72-74—223
Joshua Granger, Monrovia, Calif. 75-73-76—224
Macgregor Hoobery, Santa Maria, Calif. 74-71-79—224
Justin Edwards, Westlake Village, Calif. 76-72-77—225
Jake Hedge, Billings, Mont. 73-76-76—225
Brendan Doyle, Beverly Hills, Calif. 72-77-77—226
Cameron Palmer, Gilbert, Ariz. 76-72-79—227
Bobby Lee Robinson, Mesa, Ariz. 76-70-81—227
ChristopherUnderhill, Bakersfield, Calif. 74-76-77—227
Chun-Ji Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 78-72-77—227
Brian Blanchard, Phoenix, Ariz. 74-74-80—228
Austin Beck, Coppell, Texas 73-79-77—229
Luke Thacker, Southlake, Texas 80-74-77—231
James Ardell, Scottsdale, Ariz. 76-76-79—231
Ricky Lee, Tucson, Ariz. 80-77-78—235
Al Jennings III, Fort Wayne, Ind. 79-86-77—242
Keaton Yoshiba, Torrance, Calif. 81-76-85—242
Kevin Collignon, Las Vegas, Nev. 82-75-86—243
Ben Itterman, Carlsbad, Calif. 82-83-85—250
GIRLS DIVISION
VictoriaSungminPark, Irvine, Calif. 73-69-68—210
Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 71-74-71—216
Michelle Yang, Los Angeles, Calif. 72-69-77—218
Hana Lee, Hacienda Heights, Calif. 76-72-72—220
Veronica Valerio, Temecula, Calif. 72-74-74—220
T.J. Kliebphipat, Panorama City, Calif. 73-75-73—221
Elyse Okada, Kahului, Hawaii 70-72-79—221
Kristina Nhim, Buena Park, Calif. 73-71-78—222
Danielle Kang, Oak Park, Calif. 71-75-77—223
Sebin Kim, Maricopa, Ariz. 73-72-78—223
Julie Yang, Phoenix, Ariz. 78-75-70—223
Whitney French, Laguna Niguel, Calif. 79-74-71—224
Michelle Piyapattra, Corona, Calif. 79-72-75—226
Taylor Yoshitake, Playa del Rey, Calif. 78-71-78—227
Seo Hee Moon, Mukilteo, Wash. 76-76-75—227
Samantha Postillion, Scottsdale, Ariz. 77-79-72—228
Simone Strauss, Rancho Mirage, Calif. 77-78-74—229
Ariana Patterson, Carmel, Calif. 78-79-81—238
Ji In Park, Cupertino, Calif. 80-79-82—241
Rebecca Schneider, Cave Creek, Ariz. 83-78-85—246
Erica Chean, Irvine, Calif. 86-82-84—252
