Golf News for Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | Tournaments

Daniel Lee captures victory at Thunderbird International Junior

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Daniel Lee of Valencia, Calif., carded a final-round 2-under-par 70 Monday to put the finishing touch on his wire-to-wire victory at the Thunderbird International Junior. Yueer Cindy Feng of Orlando, Fla., bested Sarah Brown of Phillipsburg, N.J., in a two-hole sudden-death playoff to win in the Girls Division.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Thunderbird International Junior featured 78 players from 13 states and 14 foreign countries. The field consisted of 48 boys and 30 girls, ages 12-18, and included 44 Rolex Junior All-Americans. Played on Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor Course, home of the PGA TOUR's Fry's.com Open, the par-72 course measured 7,112 yards for the boys and 6,275 yards for the girls.

Several past participants of the Thunderbird International Junior have gone to play in the FBR Open, the PGA TOUR event sponsored by The Thunderbirds each year. Ryan Moore, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan and Kevin Na all competed in the FBR Open, which is currently in its 74th year. In its history, the FBR/Phoenix Open has raised more than $53 million for charities in Arizona.

Lee, 16, continued his record-setting weekend by finishing the tournament at 18-under-par 198. He set 18-, 36-, and 54-hole records while clinching his first AJGA victory.

"I can't even describe what I'm feeling right now," Lee said. "This is the best I have ever played."

His bogey-free streak ended on No. 5 Monday, giving him a streak of 40 holes without a blemish on his scorecard. Lee's final round included four birdies and one other bogey, on No. 18.

"Every shot I hit was with confidence," Lee said. "I just wanted to play it safe and was able to do that. I'm just really happy."

Michael Hebert of Orlando, Fla., finished in second place at 14-under-par 202. Cory Whitsett of Houston, and Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., tied for third place with 13-under-par 203s. Andrew Yun of Chandler, Ariz., and Niclas Carlsson of Enebyberg, Sweden finished tied for fifth at 9-under-par 207.

In the Girls Division, Feng and Brown went back and forth all day and ended up tied at 3-under-par 213 after 54 holes. They both carded pars on the first playoff hole, No. 10, but Feng sunk a 15-foot putt for birdie on No. 11 to clinch the victory.

"I'm happy that I got the win but I know I could've done better," Feng said. "My front nine was a little rough but I had a turning point on No. 12 when I birdied."

The win is the seventh in Feng's AJGA career. The 13-year-old won six tournaments in 2008, her first year competing with the AJGA.

"I'm very excited to win this tournament," she said. "It is definitely the biggest win I have ever had."

Finishing in third was Kristina Wong of Bradenton, Fla., at 1-under-par 215.

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 50 states and more than 25 foreign countries.

As in the past, Callaway Golf lended its support to the event. Other major sponsors are the Thunderbirds, the Phil and Amy Mickelson Charitable Fund, Grayhawk Golf Club and the FBR Open.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 350 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 Thunderbird International Junior, please contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Final results from the Thunderbird International Junior conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Grayhawk Golf

Club - Raptor Course.
Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72.
Yardage: Boys: 7,112; Girls: 6,275.
Rating/Slope: Boys: 74/143; Girls: 76.7/138.

BOYS DIVISION
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. 65-63-70—198
Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla. 71-64-67—202
Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas 68-69-66—203
Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. 66-68-69—203
Andrew Yun, Chandler, Ariz. 68-70-69—207
Niclas Carlsson, Enebyberg, Sweden 67-70-70—207
Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. 72-70-66—208
Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas 73-68-67—208
Emiliano Grillo, Resistencia, Argentina 72-71-65—208
Lucas Bjerregaard, Frederikshavn, Denmark 73-68-67—208
Jeffrey Kang, Fullerton, Calif. 71-69-69—209
Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas 71-64-75—210
Chien Yao Hung, Sinjhuang City, Taiwan 71-71-69—211
Cameron Peck, Olympia, Wash. 74-71-66—211
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Upland, Calif. 72-71-69—212
Joaquin Lolas, Lima, Peru 73-68-72—213
James Back, Cerritos, Calif. 71-72-71—214
T.J. Vogel, Cooper City, Fla. 75-67-73—215
Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va. 73-70-72—215
Juan Pablo Hernandez, Mexico City, Mexico 73-73-69—215
Scott Campbell, Sheffield, United Kingdom 70-73-74—217
Tim Gornik, Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. 72-73-72—217
Austin Cook, Jonesboro, Ark. 77-71-70—218
Byeong-hun An, Bradenton, Fla. 66-76-76—218
Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla. 75-75-70—220
Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif. 74-73-74—221
Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz. 76-70-75—221
Shun Yat Hak, Lake Mary, Fla. 69-74-78—221
Ernesto Marin, Miami, Fla. 71-72-78—221
Santiago Gavino, San Luis Potosi, Mexico 70-74-77—221
Brinson Paolini, Virginia Beach, Va. 71-73-77—221
Phillip Choi, Orlando, Fla. 74-75-73—222
Sebastian Vazquez, Mexico City, Mexico 74-69-79—222
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 74-71-77—222
Oscar Lengdén, Rydebäck, Sweden 73-73-76—222
Franco Castro, Alpharetta, Ga. 75-73-75—223
Austin Cody, North Charleston, S.C. 79-72-72—223
Jay Vandeventer, Bristol, Tenn. 74-75-75—224
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 73-73-78—224
Jorge Fernandez Valdes, Cordoba, Argentina 70-78-77—225
Mathias Schjoelberg, Baerum, Norway 77-69-80—226
Rak Cho, Brea, Calif. 77-72-82—231
Mads Sogaard, Ikast, Denmark 75-84-73—232
Tom Boys, Ness, United Kingdom 78-78-77—233
Chris Worrell, Enid, Okla. 73-77-84—234
Jason Roets, Eikenhof, South Africa 83-76-75—234
Patrick Winther, Rungsted Kyst, Denmark 78-81-76—235
Logan McCracken, Oklahoma City, Okla. 84 JWD

GIRLS DIVISION
* Yueer Cindy Feng, Orlando, Fla. 71-67-75—213
Sarah Brown, Phillipsburg, N.J. 72-69-72—213
Kristina Wong, Bradenton, Fla. 73-70-72—215
Rachel Morris, Carlsbad, Calif. 72-73-71—216
Luz Alejandra Cangrejo, Bogota, Colombia 69-77-71—217
Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J. 71-69-77—217
Simin Feng, Orlando, Fla. 71-74-73—218
Victoria Tanco, Bradenton, Fla. 71-73-74—218
Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif. 77-75-68—220
Danielle Frasier, Encinitas, Calif. 77-70-74—221
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. 74-73-74—221
Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 78-72-72—222
Ani Gulugian, Irvine, Calif. 77-74-72—223
Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 73-75-76—224
Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif. 79-69-76—224
Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. 76-75-73—224
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. 77-73-75—225
Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. 75-75-76—226
Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. 72-79-75—226
Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii 74-72-81—227
Laetitia Beck, Caesarea, Israel 73-78-77—228
Paola Valerio, Atizapan De Zaragoza, Mexico 77-78-73—228
Rebecca Huber, Herrliberg, Switzerland 79-74-77—230
Victoria Sungmin Park, Irvine, Calif. 72-77-82—231
Stacey Kim, Columbus, Ga. 75-78-78—231
Mary Michael Maggio, Conway, Ark. 83-78-80—241
Johanna Tillstrom, Taby, Sweden 79-80-84—243
Josephine Janson, Halmstad, Sweden 78-85-83—246
Courtney Ellenbogen, Blacksburg, Va. 78-88-91—257
Pearl Jin, Bradenton, Fla. 80 JWD

* Won Sudden-Death Playoff
** JWD=Justified WD



 
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