ASHLAND, Ky. -- Donnie Shin of Columbia, Md., carded a 3-under-par 67 Friday to finish at 7-under-par 203 to win the Boys Division of the Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior at Bellefonte Country Club. Ayaka Kaneko of Honolulu, recorded an even-par 70 to pick up the win in the Girls Division, finishing at 5-over-par 215 for the tournament.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior was a 54-hole stroke play event held at Bellefonte Country Club. The tournament field consisted of 90 boys and 30 girls from 20 states and Mexico. The Boys Division was played at 6,049 yards, while the Girls Division was played at 5,652 yards.
With a sense of now or never, Shin, playing in his last AJGA tournament, walked away with his first AJGA victory. After staying atop the leaderboard all three days, Shin says it feels awesome to win. A little stressed going into the round, Shin was accurate with his driver, hitting it long, carding three birdies and turning in a bogey-free scorecard.
“The hardest thing I had to do today was adjust to my later tee time, not the rain,” Shin said. “I am happy with how I played. I kept telling myself to focus on every shot and not make a big score; just to keep going.”
Chase Wright of Muncie, Ind., finished second after recording a three-day total of 2-over-par 212. Tying for third were Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky., and Boris Stantchev of Long Beach, Calif., at 3-over-par 213. Seth Blann of Bowling Green, Ky., and Tyler Duncan of Columbus, Ind., finished at 4-over-par 214 to tie for fifth.
In the Girls Division, Kaneko played steadily throughout the tournament, shooting rounds of 74-71-70 to earn her first victory of the year. Going into the final round, Kaneko knew she needed to concentrate on herself, not her fellow competitors. She was aiming to do her best and shoot even or under par to win.
“I’m happy,” Kaneko said about her victory. “I was just trying to make par at least today and avoid any big mistakes.”
Cheyenne Woods of Phoenix, and Mitsuki Katahira of Wheaton, Ill., finished in a tie for second after posting 10-over-par 220s for the tournament.
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 countries.
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. 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 about the Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior, please contact National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 visit ajga.org.
ASHLAND, Ky. — Final results from the Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at
Bellefonte Country Club. Par: Boys: 35-35—70; Girls: 35-35—70. Yardage: Boys: 6,049; Girls: 5,652. Rating/Slope: Boys: 69.3/119; Girls:
73.3/125.
BOYS DIVISION
Donnie Shin, Columbia, Md. 67-69-67—203
Chase Wright, Muncie, Ind. 73-69-70—212
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. 72-71-70—213
Boris Stantchev, Long Beach, Calif. 67-71-75—213
Seth Blann, Bowling Green, Ky. 71-68-75—214
Tyler Duncan, Columbus, Ind. 71-69-74—214
Joseph Barr, Versailles, Ky. 73-72-71—216
David Haley Jr., Hilliard, Ohio 74-70-72—216
Logan Knebels, Alpharetta, Ga. 73-75-69—217
Chase Carpenter, Salyersville, Ky. 71-74-72—217
Brad Mason, Dallas, Texas 69-72-76—217
Mark MacDonald, Dublin, Ohio 76-73-69—218
Nicko Dodd, Sugar Land, Texas 72-76-71—219
True Graves, Odessa, Texas 72-73-74—219
James Ellis, Greenville, N.C. 74-72-73—219
John David Hunter, Bluefield, Va. 74-74-72—220
Benjamin Simpson, Lexington, Ky. 69-77-74—220
Daniel Walker, Earlysville, Va. 70-74-76—220
Benjamin Thorseth, Richmond, Texas 77-75-69—221
Alex Moen, Wheaton, Ill. 72-70-79—221
Parker Page, Louisville, Ky. 73-78-71—222
Ryan Mason, Bridgeport, W.Va. 71-74-77—222
Jordan Janico, Duluth, Ga. 69-68-85—222
Austin Green, Frisco, Texas 74-76-73—223
Eduardo Castiello, Zapopan, Mexico 76-73-74—223
Conner Ribble, Texarkana, Ark. 75-73-75—223
Cameron Bailey, Hazard, Ky. 75-75-74—224
Jeffrey Osborne, Dallas, Texas 74-73-77—224
Dane Voss, Jonesborough, Tenn. 78-75-72—225
Ian Weinberg, Moreland Hills, Ohio 82-70-73—225
Joseph Whitaker, Thelma, Ky. 75-76-74—225
William Herring, Lillington, N.C. 76-73-76—225
Brian Fister, Lexington, Ky. 75-75-75—225
Sam Pressley, Knoxville, Tenn. 73-76-76—225
James Dawson, Bardstown, Ky. 75-78-74—227
Robbie Taylor, Brentwood, Tenn. 72-81-74—227
Ryan Hines, Portsmouth, Ohio 77-74-76—227
Micah Jacobsen, Fernandina Beach, Fla. 73-78-76—227
Stetson McMillan, Hideaway, Texas 75-72-80—227
Danny Bishop, Lexington, Ky. 74-71-82—227
Taylor Stevenson, Port Orange, Fla. 77-76-75—228
Dustin Denzik, LaGrange, Ky. 76-77-75—228
Henry Plager, Indianapolis, Ind. 78-75-75—228
Joshua Burg, Willow Street, Pa. 77-76-75—228
Dustin Gosser, Russell Springs, Ky. 74-77-77—228
Tommy Armour IV, Cincinnati, Ohio 78-70-80—228
Sean Michael Lombardo, Dublin, Ohio 78-70-80—228
Jared Flanery, Sandy Hook, Ky. 76-71-82—229
Matthew Burkhart, Lancaster, Pa. 72-80-78—230
Kyle Gillen, Miamisburg, Ohio 74-77-79—230
Justin Lavine, Sugar Land, Texas 78-77-76—231
Elliott House, London, Ky. 78-76-77—231
Grant Hinton, Elizabethtown, Ky. 77-77-77—231
Finley Ewing IV, Dallas, Texas 78-77-77—232
Dagan Abdon, Greenup, Ky. 81-73-78—232
David Denlinger, Lancaster, Pa. 79-74-79—232
Matthew Kyles, Lexington, Ky. 73-73-86—232
Will Beard, Bowling Green, Ky. 74-81-78—233
Alex Donaldson, Windermere, Fla. 79-77-78—234
Nathaniel Johnson, Nicholasville, Ky. 74-81-79—234
David Owen, Gibsonia, Pa. 76-79-79—234
JP Newsome, Robinson Creek, Ky. 79-77-79—235
John Solms, Atlanta, Ga. 80-75-80—235
Michael Kania, Haverford, Pa. 80-82-75—237
Stephen Limpach, Ashland, Ky. 78-83-76—237
John Burch, Nashville, Tenn. 72-84-81—237
David Payne, Louisville, Ky. 78-81-81—240
Andrew Heiser, London, Ky. 77-82-81—240
Jeffrey Davis, Glen Ellyn, Ill. 84-77-80—241
Michael Chudacoff, Glencoe, Ill. 84-77-80—241
Travis Hedge, Powell, Ohio 78-82-81—241
Brice Pelliccioni, Morgantown, W.Va. 87-76-80—243
Alex Bennett, Rochester, Mich. 85-76-82—243
Cory Monica, Mansfield, Ohio 84-80-81—245
Michael Asay, Lexington, Ky. 75-87-83—245
Leo Karris, Glen Ellyn, Ill. 81-81-83—245
C.J. Anderson, Corona, Calif. 85-74-86—245
Andrew Yeast, Harrodsburg, Ky. 84-79-84—247
Christopher Staley, Wheeling, W.Va. 86-81-82—249
Ryan Gillen, Miamisburg, Ohio 85-86-79—250
Ethan Johnson, Nicholasville, Ky. 80-88-84—252
Ian White, Terre Haute, Ind. 85-77-90—252
Jason Sintic, Columbus, Ohio 86-84-83—253
Chris Davis, Louisville, Ky. 88-83-82—253
Adam Castro, White House, Tenn. 91-77-85—253
David Driver, Macomb, Mich. 83-82-88—253
Bryce Lindsay, Cincinnati, Ohio 87-81-86—254
Chris Linville, Lexington, Ky. 81-93-82—256
Scott Juhl, Springfield, Va. 84-85-87—256
David Spears, Charlotte, N.C. 94-108-99—301
GIRLS DIVISION
Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii 74-71-70—215
Cheyenne Woods, Phoenix, Ariz. 75-70-75—220
Mitsuki Katahira, Wheaton, Ill. 72-76-72—220
Stephanie Meadow, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 78-76-73—227
Milena Savich, Carmel, Ind. 78-76-76—230
Leigh Henderson, Knoxville, Tenn. 82-68-80—230
Stacy Kim, Yorba Linda, Calif. 72-85-74—231
Hannah Weathersby, Belvidere, Tenn. 78-72-82—232
Julia Strandberg, Greensboro, N.C. 77-78-78—233
Abby Cotter, Noblesville, Ind. 79-74-81—234
Breanna Patz, Plainfield, Ind. 76-80-79—235
Samantha Swinehart, Lancaster, Ohio 79-81-80—240
Betsie Johnson, Nicholasville, Ky. 82-78-80—240
Rachel Nelson, West Chester, Ohio 81-74-85—240
Hunter Ross, Manakin-Sabot, Va. 80-78-84—242
Nara Shin, Avon, Conn. 80-79-83—242
April Emerson, Jamestown, Ky. 81-76-89—246
Kristin Price, Dandridge, Tenn. 83-86-78—247
Kaci Boyd, Ashland, Ky. 80-84-84—248
Meghan Potee, Noblesville, Ind. 86-79-84—249
Hilary Lawson, Gaithersburg, Md. 83-85-83—251
Brittany Rendell, Winnetka, Ill. 83-88-84—255
Kristine Rohrbaugh, Midlothian, Va. 92-85-80—257
Kristi Beam, Alvaton, Ky. 89-82-87—258
Emily Haas, Nicholasville, Ky. 86-85-87—258
Tyler Etcheberry, Wesley Chapel, Fla. 90-87-82—259
McCall Barsamian, Barrington Hills, Ill. 85-86-90—261
Jordan Redfield, Ft. Mitchell, Ky. 90-84-87—261
Kelsey Burrell, Franklin, Ky. 87-88-91—266
Jaclynn Larimore, Greensburg, Ky. 89-93-92—274
