Kowalski earns first win at the Midwest Junior Players Championship
Grassel wins by one- stroke at The House on the Rock Resort- Springs Course

SPRING GREEN, Wis. - Landon Kowalski of Buffalo Grove, Ill,. carded a tournament total 7-under-par 209 en route to earning his first AJGA victory. Kelly Grassel of Chesterton, Ind., shot a final round 2-over-par 74 to outlast the competition at The House on the Rock Resort — Springs Course.

The Midwest Junior Players Championship was a 54-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at the House on the Rock Resort — Springs Course in Spring Green, Wis. The tournament field included 60 boys and 18 girls, ages 12-18, from 13 states, Argentina, Thailand, South Korea, Italy and Indonesia. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 6,535 yards while the Girls Division played at 5,916 yards.

Kowalski shot a final round 2-under-par 70 to stand alone atop the leaderboard. The class of 2011 graduate stayed under par for all three rounds of the tournament. Kowalski's closest finish was last year where he place second at the Preseason Junior at Brookhaven. Kowalski's attitude is more improved because of the win.

“It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I could handle the pressure of the final round with the lead,” Kowalski said.

This is a good way to finish off Kowalski's AJGA career.

“This tournament, being my last AJGA tournament, is just icing on the cake,” Kowalski said.

Tee-k Kelly of Wheaton, Ill., and Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill., tied for second at 6-under-par 210. Kraig McLeod of Pebble Beach, Calif., finished third at 4-under-par 212. Rounding out the top five was Michael Nagy of Manistique, Mich., at 2-under-par 214.

In the Girls Division, Grassel finished the tournament at 7-over-par 223. By doing so, the Chesterton, Ind. native also earned her first AJGA victory. Grassel's main strengths were her short game, which she explained helped give her the win.

“It feels really good to finally get the win,” Grassel said.

This finish gives Grassel her fifth total top-10 finish of her AJGA career

“This is my last tournament of the summer and I feel confident about my game because of how I played this week,” Grassel said.

Emily Joers of Waukesha, Wis., finished in second place at 8-over-par 224. Rounding out the top three was Stephanie Carlozzi of Naples, Fla., and Angie Verona of San Jose, Argentina at 10-over-par 226.

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 Midwest Junior Players Championship contact Tournament Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.

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