ARDMORE, Okla. -- Despite intermittent rain, Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville, Md., and Caroline Powers of Bowling Green, Ohio, secured wins at the 41st Annual Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship. Shooting a 5-under-par 70 in the final round, McCarthy claimed first place in the Boys Division with a 270 and a one-stroke lead in tight duel against Michael McGowan of Southern Pines, N.C. Powers carded a 9-over-par 293 to claim the Girls Division title by six strokes.
Sponsored and supported by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, the 41st Annual Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship featured 160 players from 40 states with boys and girls under the age of 18. The Boys Division played the Dornick Hills Country Club golf course at par 70 and 6,524yards, while the girls played the course at par 71 and 6,041 yards.
McCarthy claimed his first national junior title, overcoming a five-stroke deficit. Carding seven birdies, he was neck and neck with McGowan to the very last hole, where his par against McGowan's bogey secured the win with a 10-under-par 270. He accredites his round to calming himself down.
"Yesterday I didn't play so well and I took myself out of it just a little bit." McCarthy said. "Today I just wanted to go out there and fire it at every pin and just have fun and relax."
In second place, McGowan bogeyed his last hole, putting him just one stroke behind the leader at a 9-under-par 271.
Corey Konieczki of Rockford, Il. finished third in the Boys Division with a . In fourth was Cory McElyea of Santa Cruz, Calif. with a total score of 5-under-par 275. Tied for fifth place were Joshua Briere of Newport, Vt. and Talor Gooch of Midwest City, Okla.; both at 3-under par 277.
In the Girls Division, Powers won her first Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship in dominant fashion with her wire-to-wire victory. Her final round par 74 gave her at a six-stroke win at 9-over-par 293. She was able to keep her lead throughout the day and credits her final round to consistency.
"I was driving the ball pretty well," Powers said. "I played consistently and tried to stay in my own game and trust what I was doing."
Finishing in second place was Lizzie Bundy of Clayton, N.C. with a 14-over-par 299. In third place was Ashlee Pickerell of Salem, Oregon at 15-over-par 300.
For more information on the Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship, visit www.bigigolf.com or contact Callie Cady at Callie.Cady@gmail.com or (817) 637-7116.
Final Results
Boys
1 Denny McCarthy, Burtonsville, MD 68-66-71-65-270 Damian Telles, The Dalles, OR 71-70-76-73-290
2 Michael McGowan, Southern Pines, NC 70-67-66-68-271 T29 Matthew Seramin, San Geronimo, CA 73-74-68-76-291
Hunter Brown, Richardson, TX 74-71-73-73-291
3 Corey Konieczki, Rockford, IL 70-65-65-74-274 Ryan Marks, Warrensburg, MO 78-70-70-73-291
4 Cory McElyea, Santa Cruz, CA 69-71-68-68-276 T32 Robert Palacios, Chino Hills, CA 72-73-73-74-292
Andrew Carreon, San Antonio, TX 78-70-71-73-292
T5 Joshua Briere, Newport, VT 68-67-69-73-277 Eric Coatney, Tulsa, OK 73-72-74-73-292
Talor Gooch, Midwest City, OK 71-65-70-71-277 Walker Huddy, Studio City, CA 73-75-72-72-292
Jason Garrett, Durham, NC 73-71-78-70-292
7 Brendan Connolly, Castle Rock, CO 71-73-66-68-278
T37 Chris Cunningham, Milford, MI 74-72-74-73-293
8 Will Bishop, Lexington, KY 69-66-75-69-279 Brandon McIver, Billings, MT 73-74-71-75-293
James N Lee, Albuquerque, NM 73-75-72-73-293
T9 Patrick Fishburn, Ogden, UT 69-63-74-74-280
Justin Keiley, Haiku, HI 70-70-73-67-280 T40 Chris Ingham, Miami, FL 73-73-70-78-294
Justin Mortensen, Alamosa, CO 76-70-70-78-294
11 Richard Fountain, Raleigh, NC 67-68-73-73-281 Carson Castellani, East Lansing, MI 72-75-77-70-294
Coalter Paxton Iv, Wilson, NC 76-71-69-78-294
12 Austen Moix, Conway, AR 72-70-69-72-283
44 Kevin Witte, Phoenix, AZ 73-71-75-76-295
T13 Chad Ramey, Fulton, MS 71-68-72-73-284
Payne McLeod, Reidsville, NC 68-72-71-73-284 T45 Jeffrey Ray, Barrington, RI 73-75-73-75-296
Nick Umholtz, Greeley, CO 70-70-73-71-284 Justin Marchiando, Carmel, CA 74-71-79-72-296
Mike Basco, Scottsdale, AZ 65-74-74-71-284
T47 Glenn Payne I I I, Ardmore, OK 75-71-73-78-297
T17 Jonathan Hauter, Morton, IL 73-71-70-71-285 Devon Purser, Clearfield, UT 75-73-74-75-297
Ryan McCormick, Middletown, NJ 67-72-70-76-285 Aaron Burton, Wilmington, DE 75-72-76-74-297
Jordan Gilmore, Sparks, NV 75-72-77-73-297
T19 Garrett Howard, Spokane, WA 72-74-70-70-286
Joshua Salah, Gloucester, MA 69-79-68-70-286 51 Carson Joye, Columbia, SC 77-71-72-80-300
T21 Casey Gleich, Bismarck, ND 76-72-70-69-287 52 Jordan Karam, Lake Charles, LA 75-70-77-79-301
Nicholas Scott, Union, OH 71-70-74-72-287
53 Curtis Hanba, Big Rapids, MI 74-73-80-77-304
T23 Josh Clay, Canton, OH 74-70-72-72-288
Andy Rodby, Redmond, OR 73-72-71-72-288
54 Max Kipfer, Bremen, IN 74-73-85-79-311
Ryan Zech, Kearney, MO 72-72-73-71-288
55 Corey Carrick, Howell, NJ 72-76-80-84-312
26 Andrew Riesen, Ardmore, OK 69-75-72-73-289
T27 Alex Willnow, Adrian, MI 73-74-70-73-290
Girls
1 Caroline Powers, Bowling Green, OH 73-72-74-74-293
2 Lizzie Bundy, Clayton, NC 77-72-73-77-299
Sami Crouch, Park City, UT DQ
Gina Della Camera, Town & Country, MO WD
3 Ashlee Pickerell, Salem, OR 83-68-75-74-300
T4 Ciera Min, Hilo, HI 75-75-76-77-303
Alyssa Shimel, Perrysburg, OH 77-75-75-76-303
T6 Jenny Coleman, Rolling Hills Estate, CA 74-78-78-74-304
Meghan Moore, Bahama, NC 77-74-82-71-304
T8 Stephanie Kim, Phoenix, AZ 80-71-72-82-305
Bethany Buchner, Loveland, CO 75-75-73-82-305
10 Brenna Nelsen, Monte Sereno, CA 78-74-80-78-310
T11 Heather Lott, Baton Rouge , LA 80-71-82-79-312
Cassie Rushing, Marion, IL 78-76-82-76-312
Katie Kirk, Davidson, NC 76-80-80-76-312
T14 Olivia Lavy, Fayetteville, AR 86-71-76-80-313
Alisa White, Hereford, TX 85-72-81-75-313
Jessica Ngui, Richardson, TX 77-78-80-78-313
T17 Hannah Pierce, King George, VA 85-77-78-75-315
Felicia Espericueta, Edinburg, TX 83-80-79-73-315
Taylor Newlin, Frisco, TX 76-82-77-80-315
20 Taylor Neidy, Clinton, OK 82-76-75-83-316
21 Olivia Lugar, Rockledge, FL 79-80-81-79-319
22 Kristen Garabedian, Poultney, VT 82-81-75-84-322
23 Alice Choi, Whitetsone, NY 80-81-78-84-323
T24 Jennifer Loiacano, Jonesboro, AR 82-81-79-83-325
Andrea Robbins, Pleasant Garden, NC 82-79-81-83-325
26 Aly Seng, Enid, OK 82-78-82-85-327
27 Gina Larson, Longmont, CO 82-79-78-89-328
28 Chanet Fiorina, Santa Fe, NM 83-80-78-89-330
29 Bethany Darrough, Kingfisher, OK 87-76-82-87-332
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