PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., carded the low final-round score of 3-under-par 69 to win the Girls Division with a 10-under-par 66-71-69—206 at the Birks & Mayors Junior Championship at Mirasol for the second straight year Friday. In the Boys Division, Blayne Barber of Lake City, Fla., fired a 2-under-par 70 to take home his first ever American Junior Golf Association championship with a 9-under-par 68-69-70—207.
Conducted by the AJGA, the Birks & Mayors Junior Championship at Mirasol was a 54-hole stroke play event held on the Sunset Course at The Country Club at Mirasol. The 82-player field featured players from seven states, the Cayman Islands, Japan, Poland and South Korea. The Girls Division played the Sunset Course at 6,048 yards, while the Boys Division played it at 6,873 yards.
Hurst, in second place after the second round, was able to separate herself from the rest of the field after a competitive day.
“On No. 15 when I was only 1-up I was a little nervous and I knew I had to do something to be able to come out on top,” Hurst said. “It was tough since we weren’t really playing the course, we were playing each other. The entire week all of us just played amazing.”
She credited her comeback to making shots consistently and executing her usual game. Hurst carded four birdies and only one bogey en route to her fourth AJGA victory.
“Today I was just playing safe and letting shots drop when they wanted,” Hurst said, who recently finished second at the Thunderbird International Junior last week. “When you are out there it’s all momentum and I was able to get it there at the end.”
Andrea Watts of Bradenton, Fla., finished at 5-under-par behind Hurst posting rounds of 69-67-75 – 211. Elisa Aoki, of Nagoya-City, Japan, shot 1-under-par in the final round to finish 72-72-71 – 215 to take home third.
In the Boys Division, Barber was able to take home top honors in his second AJGA tournament appearance. He sank four birdies and only two bogeys in his final round.
“It feels incredible to finally put three solid rounds together,” Barber said. “I was just trying to keep the ball down the middle and take it one shot at a time. I was controlling my ball pretty well this week so I was able to do that.”
Similar to the Girls Division, the boys’ leaders were close all day with the round coming down to the final holes.
“On No. 13 I was able to get a lead on Andrew [Colvin] and on No. 14 I got a big lead on Justin [Dorward],” he said. “But I knew they were both going to come back and they did. I just stayed focused and tried not to focus on what they were doing. I wanted to make them come to me.”
Finishing in second behind Barber was Andrew Colvin of Longwood, Fla., with a 68-70-71 – 209, good for 7-under-par. Justin Dorward of Port St. Lucie, Fla., finished third at 6-under-par 67-70-73 – 210.
Rounding out the Boys Division in a three-way tie for fifth are Chris Piumelli of Bradenton, Fla., T.J. Vogel of Cooper City, Fla., and Connor Arendell of Cape Coral, Fla., who all ended at 3-under-par 213.
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, the largest Association of its kind, has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 25 foreign countries.
Birks & Mayors operates 67 luxury jewelry stores across Canada, Florida and Georgia. The company posted annual sales of $274.3 million in 2006 and employs more than 1,100 employees in Canada and the United States. The company operates 38 stores (Birks brand) across most major metropolitan markets in Canada and 29 stores (Mayors brand) across Florida and Georgia. Birks & Mayors also designs and manufactures fine jewelry, timepieces, sterling and plated silverware and gifts under the Birks brand, which is currently sold through Birks & Mayors retail channels.
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.
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.
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 Birks & Mayors Junior Championship at Mirasol, please contact National Headquarters at (877) 373-2542.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Final results from the Birks & Mayors Junior Championship at Mirasol conducted by the American
Junior Golf Association at The Country Club at Mirasol - Sunset Course. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 6,873;
Girls: 6,048. Rating/Slope: Boys: 73.5/144; Girls: 75.6/142.
BOYS DIVISION BOYS DIVISION CONTINUED
Blayne Barber, Lake City, Fla. 68-69-70—207
Andrew Colvin, Longwood, Fla. 68-70-71—209
Justin Dorward, Port St. Lucie, Fla. 67-70-73—210
Chris Piumelli, Bradenton, Fla. 72-72-69—213
T.J. Vogel, Cooper City, Fla. 73-71-69—213
Connor Arendell, Cape Coral, Fla. 70-71-72—213
Brooks Koepka, Wellington, Fla. 72-72-70—214
Joseph Byun, Lake Mary, Fla. 71-70-73—214
Brian Fragakis, Royal Palm Beach, Fla. 72-71-71—214
Tyler McCumber, Ponte Vedra, Fla. 70-76-68—214
Julian Suri, St. Augustine, Fla. 74-72-69—215
Christopher Biuso, Tampa, Fla. 76-68-72—216
Carl McCauley, Parkland, Fla. 73-70-73—216
Byeong-hun An, Seongnam, South Korea 73-73-70—216
Drew Mathews, Winter Haven, Fla. 69-75-73—217
Johnny DelPrete, Palm City, Fla. 72-69-76—217
Christopher Carlin, Miramar, Fla. 69-75-74—218
Ian McConnell, Riverview, Fla. 75-69-74—218
Jackson Beindorf, Vero Beach, Fla. 70-79-69—218
Devin Patel, Celebration, Fla. 68-73-77—218
Josh Leppo, Naples, Fla. 74-71-73—218
Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla. 71-74-73—218
Kevin Aylwin, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. 76-70-73—219
Connor Barry, Jupiter, Fla. 71-76-73—220
George Letson, Tampa, Fla. 71-74-75—220
Chris Burke, Jacksonville, Fla. 73-75-73—221
Hojin Kang, Longwood, Fla. 77-69-75—221
Phillip Choi, Orlando, Fla. 72-72-78—222
Ben Vertz, Coral Springs, Fla. 73-77-72—222
Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla. 75-75-73—223
Brandon Ramirez, Orlando, Fla. 74-73-76—223
Johnny Widmer, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 77-76-71—224
David Sanders, Mt. Laurel, N.J. 76-73-75—224
Yao-Chun Yang, Bradenton, Fla. 74-72-78—224
ZhongYang Fu, Bradenton, Fla. 67-72-85—224
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 77-77-72—226
Gabriel Costa, Tequesta, Fla. 76-73-77—226
Matt Kocolowski, Apopka, Fla. 76-80-71—227
Bobby Bode, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 71-79-77—227
Robert DeMaio, Weston, Fla. 83-75-70—228
Sterling Searcy, Jr., Vero Beach, Fla. 79-75-74—228
Chun Hung Chan, Bradenton, Fla. 79-73-76—228
Kenny Leech, Boca Raton, Fla. 73-78-77—228
John Gregory Joseph, Valdosta, Ga. 76-75-79—230
Mateusz Jedrzejczyk, Warsaw, Poland 78-74-79—231
Alexander Medinis, Ft. Myers, Fla. 79-78-76—233
Ville Vaisanen, Bradenton, Fla. 73-80-82—235
Werlien Prosperie III, Houma, La. 74-84-79—237
Andres Pumariega, Miami, Fla. 82-80-76—238
Travis Ralph, North Redington Beach, Fla. 83-78-78—239
Andy Quintero, Saint Petersburg, Fla. 84-79-79—242
Darren Chapman, Destin, Fla. 78-86-79—243
Nick Urso, Lake Worth, Fla. 84-79-81—244
Luke Bradford, Lake Forest, Ill. 80-77-88—245
Kevin Garbizo, Coral Springs, Fla. 83-88-76—247
Drew Baity, Greenwich, Conn. 82-83-83—248
Robert Schmidt, Coral Springs, Fla. 76-93-80—249
Robert Meador III, Miami Lakes, Fla. 80-90-92—262
Tyler Herndon, Davie, Fla. 72-85 JWD
Minghao Wang, Reunion, Fla. 76-70 JWD
GIRLS DIVISION
Vicky Hurst, Melbourne, Fla. 66-71-69—206
Andrea Watts, Bradenton, Fla. 69-67-75—211
Elisa Aoki, Nagoya-City, Japan 72-72-71—215
Lindy Duncan, Daytona Beach, Fla. 74-70-72—216
Elizabeth Alger, Tequesta, Fla. 68-73-77—218
Sherlyn Popelka, Bradenton, Fla. 68-75-76—219
Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. 75-73-72—220
Evan Jensen, Belleair, Fla. 70-73-77—220
Kristen Hill, Weston, Fla. 75-71-75—221
Andrea Messer, Largo, Fla. 74-74-77—225
Meghan Chapman, Seminole, Fla. 69-83-75—227
Madison Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. 77-76-77—230
Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. 69-78-83—230
Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 77-77-77—231
Jennifer Hooper, Jacksonville, Fla. 80-78-74—232
Nicole Agnello, Longwood, Fla. 79-76-77—232
Alexandra Bodemann, Palm City, Fla. 79-76-78—233
Maria Castellanos, Stuart, Fla. 76-77-80—233
Alexandria Buelow, Palm City, Fla. 75-80-80—235
Brianna Coopman, Georgetown, Texas 77-80-79—236
Courtney Harter, Clearwater, Fla. 78-76-83—237
Taylor Collins, Davie, Fla. 79-74-85—238
Monica Miller, Davie, Fla. 80-76-85—241
Ashley Mooney, Port St. Lucie, Fla. 82-80-80—242
** JWD=Justified WD
