Ghim earns championship after leading throughout McArthur Towel & Sports Future Legends
Weaver goes wire-to-wire at The Legend at Bristelcone

HARTLAND, Wis. — Leading after the first two rounds of the McArthur Towel & Sports Future Legends, Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill., shot a final round even-par 71 and escaped with a two-stroke victory Friday at The Legend at Bristlecone. In the Girls Division, Lindsey Weaver of Scottsdale, Ariz., was crowned champion after going wire-to-wire, finishing 3-under-par 210 marking her first victory of 2011 and the sixth of her AJGA career.

The McArthur Towel & Sports Future Legends was a 54-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The Legend at Bristlecone in Hartland, Wis. The tournament field consisted of 96 players from 13 states, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Thailand and China. The Boys Division played the par-71 course at 6,804 yards while the Girls Division played at 6,064 yards.

Ghim, who led by two-strokes heading into Friday's final round, was able to hold off a late surge by Jonathan Garrick of Atherton, Calif., and complete his wire-to-wire victory after shooting a tournament total 3-under-par 210.

“It means a lot to win two weeks in a row,” Ghim said. “It's also an awesome feeling to win against some great competition. When Garrick was playing well at the end I just kept telling myself to stay patient by playing a mixture of conservative and aggressive. I told myself to go for shots that I knew I could hit, but don't go for any that I haven't practiced.”

Garrick, who fired a final round 2-under-par 69, finished second with a tournament total of 1-under-par 212. Joe Willis of Lake Forest, Ill., finished third at even-par 213. Finishing fourth at 2-over-par 215 was Charlie Netzel of Western Springs, Ill., while both Nicholas Nelson of Decorah, Iowa and Ian Mankoff of Lake Forest, Ill., finished tied for fifth at 3-over-par 216.

In the Girls Division, Weaver completed her three-day sweep over the competition after posting a final round 1-under-par 70. The 17-year-old recorded two final-round birdies en route to earning her first tournament championship of 2011.

“It feels good to finally get my first win of the year,” Weaver said. “In the beginning of the summer I lost in a playoff so it felt good to finally win a tournament.”

After earning first-place honors on Friday, Weaver has now won at least one AJGA event in each of the past six years of competition.

“I felt some pressure to win this year since I had won every year before,” Weaver said. “I was able to work through my recent iron problems and I hope I can carry that over into next week's event.”

Finishing second was Deanna Song of Granger, Ind., who finished at 5-over-par 218. Recording a third-place finish with an 8-over-par 221 was Jacqueline Chulya of Bangkok, Thailand.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501c(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 more than 40 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, 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 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

For more information about the McArthur Towel & Sports Future Legends, contact the AJGA Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.

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