ASPEN, Colo. -- David Oraee of Greeley, Colo., was victorious at the Aspen Golf Classic presented by Jim McLean, carding a 1-under-par 212. Patricia Lee of Lone Tree, Colo., won the Girls Division, shooting a 2-over-par 73 in the final round for a three-day total of 8-over-par 221.
The Aspen Golf Classic presented by Jim McLean was a 54-hole stroke play tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Aspen Golf Club in Aspen, Colo. The tournament field consisted of 99 girls and boys, ages 12-18, from 19 states, Canada, Mexico and China. The Boys Division played the par-71 course at 7,086 yards while the Girls Division played at 6,100 yards.
After finishing 3-over-par 74 in the first round, Oraee came back in the second two rounds wanting another win at the Aspen Golf Club. He shot 2-under-par 69 in each of the last two rounds to win the Boys Division by two strokes. Last year, Oraee won the Junior All-Star at Aspen by 18 strokes, setting the AJGA record for largest winning margin at a tournament, a record once held by Phil Mickelson, who won the 1987 Rolex Tournament of Champions by nine strokes.
"Winning here again means I'm on the right track for the rest of the season," Oraee said. "This tournament means a lot to me because I was playing for my grandmother who passed away recently."
Oraee started the round with a bogey on No. 3, but two birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 set him back on track. An eagle on No. 15 was a defining moment for Oraee, putting him three strokes ahead.
"I got some breaks here and there," Oraee said. "I did what I had to do, but the eagle put my game over the top."
Following Oraee on the leaderboard was Tyler Engel of Castle Rock, Colo., who placed second with a 1-over-par 214 tournament total. Third place went to Andrew Cornella of Colorado Springs, Colo who finished at 8-over-par 221. Cameron Harrell of Colorado Springs, Colo., took fourth place at 9-over-par 222 and Carson Jacobs of Hendersonville, Tenn., placed fifth at 11-over-par 223.
In the Girls Division, Lee's final round proved more difficult than the first two where she carded 2-over-par 73 each day. She finished the final round 4-over-par on Thursday and maintained her lead. Lee said the wind was a big factor on Thursday and took caution on the greens.
"I tried to play just another round of golf," Lee said. "I knew what clubs to use and was confident with my decisions."
The Aspen Golf Classic presented by Jim McLean was Lee's first AJGA Open event win and she hopes that there are more to come in the future.
"Playing with good players put a lot of pressure on me," Lee said. "But on No. 10, I made par, so I gained more confidence and played for the win."
Stephanie Liu of Fernandina Beach, Fla., and Shannon Aubert of Orlando, Fla., tied for second at 224, three shots behind Lee. Liu had the lowest final-round score of the Girls Division with an even-par 71.
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 AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.
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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.
For more information about the Aspen Golf Classic presented by Jim McLean contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.
ASPEN, Colo. -- Final results from the Aspen Golf Classic presented by Jim McLean conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at
Aspen Golf Club. Par: Boys: 35-36—71; Girls: 35-36—71. Yardage: Boys: 7,086; Girls: 6,100. Rating/Slope: Boys: 72.3/133; Girls: 74.4/134.
BOYS DIVISION
David Oraee, Greeley, Colo. 74-69-69—212
Tyler Engel, Castle Rock, Colo. 72-68-74—214
Andrew Cornella, Colorado Springs, Colo. 71-75-75—221
Cameron Harrell, Colorado Springs, Colo. 76-74-72—222
Carson Jacobs, Hendersonville, Tenn. 74-75-74—223
Brandon Liu, Fernandina Beach, Fla. 73-73-78—224
Parker Ashton, Santa Fe, N.M. 71-81-72—224
Daniel De La Garza, Monterrey, Mexico 75-75-75—225
Cole Nygren, Niwot, Colo. 71-78-76—225
Walker Huddy, Studio City, Calif. 78-73-74—225
Drew Trujillo, Montrose, Colo. 77-76-73—226
Vincent Martino, Southlake, Texas 72-80-74—226
Shuai Wu, Beijing, China 76-74-77—227
Kyle John, Monterey, Calif. 74-78-76—228
Conner Schrock, Mission Hills, Kan. 71-79-79—229
Simon Miller, Albuquerque, N.M. 74-79-78—231
Blake Basham, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 75-79-77—231
Eric Hallberg, Castle Rock, Colo. 78-76-77—231
Luke Vivolo, Carmel, Calif. 75-76-80—231
Matthew Liringis, Chandler, Ariz. 73-86-73—232
Trevor McInroe, Plano, Texas 76-77-79—232
Shearn Chua, Beaumont, Calif. 77-79-77—233
Blake Pugh, Southlake, Texas 78-78-77—233
Aaron Wong, Chandler, Ariz. 76-79-78—233
Jack Gibbs, Augusta, Ga. 78-70-85—233
Hogan Hudgins, Amarillo, Texas 79-73-82—234
Max Dawkins, Placitas, N.M. 83-75-77—235
Joey Pickels, Yuma, Ariz. 76-83-77—236
Timothy Taylor, Fort Collins, Colo. 77-77-82—236
Errek McClellan, Las Vegas, Nev. 75-83-78—236
Michael Culin, Plano, Texas 78-82-76—236
Tyler Frye, Colleyville, Texas 74-79-83—236
Luke Park, Monument, Colo. 82-80-74—236
Jamison Youree, Fort Worth, Texas 76-78-83—237
Regan Papariello, West Chester, Pa. 80-76-81—237
Nathan Gruda, Santa Fe, N.M. 78-77-83—238
Thomas McLaughlin, Fargo, N.D. 80-78-81—239
Joshua Seiple, Castle Rock, Colo. 77-82-80—239
Ryan Rhee, Fullerton, Calif. 79-77-83—239
Jesse Beetham, Woody Creek, Colo. 82-78-80—240
Spencer Mikles, Santa Barbara, Calif. 76-80-84—240
PJ Collier, Houston, Texas 77-79-84—240
Daniel Haas, Nicholasville, Ky. 79-82-80—241
Nathan Wong, Chandler, Ariz. 81-82-78—241
Trey Kidd, Honolulu, Hawaii 84-82-75—241
Peter Hassan, Boulder, Colo. 80-77-84—241
Blake Barens, Villa Park, Calif. 78-79-84—241
Matthew Isler, Southlake, Texas 79-84-79—242
Grady Bourguignon, Yuma, Ariz. 82-81-79—242
Sam Mobley, Castle Rock, Colo. 81-80-81—242
David Kim, Manhattan Beach, Calif. 81-80-82—243
Brandon Smith, Parkland, Fla. 86-80-77—243
Kale Davidson, Peoria, Ariz. 83-78-83—244
Grant Lawrence, Brentwood, Tenn. 81-87-77—245
Matt Krutz, Norman, Okla. 82-87-76—245
Michael Hodson, Amarillo, Texas 79-80-87—246
Sam Schweitzer, Greenwood Village, Colo. 75-86-86—247
Luke Edelman, Mahwah, N.J. 76-88-83—247
Coulter Young, Woody Creek, Colo. 85-82-81—248
Gordon Moore, Bronxville, N.Y. 84-82-83—249
Connor Klein, Lone Tree, Colo. 77-86-86—249
Taylor Wild, Castle Rock, Colo. 87-82-82—251
David Gibbs, Augusta,Ga. 88-81-82—251
Chandler Andreen, Douglas, Wyo. 86-80-85—251
Charlie Hanafin, Seattle, Wash. 80-84-88—252
Clayton Crawford, Aspen, Colo. 81-84-88—253
Randy Ross, Phoenix, Ariz. 87-83-87—257
Tyler Steigerwald, Colorado Springs, Colo. 87-84-87—258
Kevin Liu, Fernandina Beach, Fla. 91-86-82—259
Brendan Papariello, West Chester, Pa. 84-95-82—261
Ryan Pettegrew, Lone Tree, Colo. 85-95-90—270
Cameron Ortega, Aspen, Colo. 97-104-95—296
GIRLS DIVISION
Patricia Lee, Lone Tree, Colo. 73-73-75—221
Stephanie Liu, Fernandina Beach, Fla. 76-77-71—224
Shannon Aubert, Orlando, Fla. 75-75-74—224
Brenna Nelsen, Monte Sereno, Calif. 74-77-74—225
Brittany McKee, Chandler, Ariz. 78-72-77—227
Allie Johnston, Castle Rock, Colo. 75-78-76—229
Sarah Schmelzel, Phoenix, Ariz. 78-77-74—229
Alexandra Wong, San Francisco, Calif. 72-79-79—230
Somin Lee, Denver, Colo. 77-78-75—230
Marika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif. 78-81-76—235
Lakareber Abe, Angleton, Texas 79-79-78—236
Emily Haas, Nicholasville, Ky. 77-76-83—236
Marissa Dodd, Allen, Texas 75-89-76—240
Claudia Davis, Centennial, Colo. 76-78-87—241
Grace Choi, Dallas, Texas 79-80-82—241
Thea Hedemann, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 78-84-80—242
Michele Chun, Torrance, Calif. 85-77-81—243
Shannon Lubar, Littleton, Colo. 80-84-79—243
Catherina Li, Kent, Wash. 85-82-77—244
Lindsay McGetrick, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 78-81-85—244
Grace Chua, Surrey, British Columbia 81-86-78—245
Tezira Abe, Angleton, Texas 74-85-87—246
Andrea Wong, San Francisco, Calif. 84-79-87—250
Annie Bowlsby, Monterey, Calif. 85-87-81—253
Cheryl Chua, Surrey, Brisish Columbia 89-82-82—253
Erin McClure, Tucson, Ariz. 83-92-83—258
Ashton Collier, Tulsa, Okla. 88-85-87—260
