By
Matt Crouch
Manager of Media Relations
In the 26 times that the Polo Golf Junior Classic has been played,
only six people have managed to win it more than once. Tracy
Phillips did it in back-to-back years (1978-79) in the Boys
Division while Jenny Lidback split hers up (1978, 81) in the
tournament’s early years.
Vicki Goetze-Ackerman became the first girl to win back-to-back
titles as she did in 1988-89, only to be followed by Emilee
Klein in 1990-91. More recently, Beth Bauer and Grace Park split
their championships with one another. Bauer won in 1995 and
1997 while Park took top honors in 1994 and 1996.
With the 27th edition of the Polo Golf Junior Classic on the
horizon, two juniors are making their claim to add their names
to that list.
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| Sea
Island Golf Club will host the Polo Golf Junior Classic
for the first time in 2004. The 2003 Canon Cup was held
on the Seaside Course. |
Two-time Rolex Junior Player of the Year Brian Harman makes
his way just down the road to Sea Island to defend his title.
The 17-year-old Savannah, Ga., native flirted with defeat last
year as he went to 24 holes with stroke play medalist Robert
Riesen of Pinehurst, N.C., in the semifinals. He then came back
in the finals for a 2-up victory over Christopher Anderson of
Lake Mary, Fla.
The three-time Rolex Junior All-American kept his momentum from
2003 rolling as he defended his title at the FootJoy Boys Invitational
and never finished outside of the top 10 in national junior
events.
Jennie Lee of Huntington Beach, Calif., will also be searching
for a repeat title. She took honors as the stroke play medalist
in 2003 and rolled through the match play easily with only one
speed bump. During the quarterfinal matches, she went 20 holes
with fellow first-team Rolex Junior All-American Angela Park
of Torrance, Calif. Lee was not without her share of tough competition
along the way though, as she eventually beat 2002 Rolex Junior
Player of the Year In-Bee Park of Eustis, Fla., in the finals.
Once again, Harman and Lee will not be without some top-notch
challengers. Six other boys first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans
and eight other Girls First-Team Rolex Junior All-Americans
will also be looking to take the title away.
Leading the way on the boys’ side will be Rory Hie of
Lakewood, Calif. Hie is having his best year yet as he posted
two AJGA victories (Heather Farr Classic and Lennar Junior at
Mission Hills) along with four additional top-10 finishes at
AJGA events.
Jamie Lovemark of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is also in the hunt
for the title after taking top honors in the Rolex Tournament
of Champions earlier this summer. The 16-year-old also picked
up a win at the Western Junior Amateur.
Jon Curran of Hopkinton, Mass., a three-time Rolex Junior All-American,
picked up a win at The Greater Hartford Jaycees Junior presented
by St. Paul Travelers. He will be looking to improve upon his
early exit in last year’s Polo Golf Junior Classic where
he lost to eventual finalist Anderson in the first round.
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| Philip
Francis had five top-three finishes in national competition
this summer. |
Coming
so close so many times in 2004, Philip Francis of Scottsdale,
Ariz., is still on the lookout for his first national victory.
The 15-year-old had five top-three finishes in 2004, finishing
runner-up three times. He is also familiar with the structure
at the Polo Golf Junior Classic as he made it to the semifinals
in 2003, losing to Anderson 1-up.
After picking up a win early in the summer at the Dunlop Carolina
Junior, Paul Haley of Dallas sealed up his first-team Rolex
Junior All-America selection with a win at the Robert Trent
Jones Golf Trail Junior. Haley played consistently all summer,
picking up two other top-10 finishes and
firing 11 of his 19 tournament rounds in the 60s.
Rounding out the first team is Weston, Fla., native Jon McLean.
A two-time Rolex Junior All-American, McLean finished runner-up
at two AJGA Invitationals in 2004, the Thunderbird International
Junior and FootJoy Boys Invitational.
In
the Girls Division, three-time Rolex Junior All-American Amanda
Blumenherst will be looking for her fifth AJGA victory of
2004. The Scottsdale, Ariz., resident has already picked up
wins at the AJGA Southwestern Junior, PING Indianapolis Junior,
McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Girls Championship and the PING
Phoenix Junior.
But, Rolex Junior Player of the Year Julieta Granada of Asuncion,
Paraguay, will not be going down without a fight. She carded
four national victories as well in 2004, including two major
championships – Rolex Girls Junior Championship and
the U.S. Girls Junior Championship. She also did not finish
outside of the top three in nine national tournaments.
After finishing runner-up five times during the 2004 season,
including a loss in the finals of the 2003 Polo Golf Junior
Classic, In-Bee Park will be looking for another shot. The
2002 Rolex Junior Player of the Year will be looking for her
first win since the 2003 Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior.
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| Mallory
Hetzel looks to go a step further at this year's event. |
Another
first-team selection who will be in the hunt is Morgan Pressel
of Boca Raton, Fla. The 16-year-old and four-time Rolex Junior
All-American picked up three wins in 2004, including a victory
at the Rolex Tournament of Champions.
Mallory Hetzel of Summerville, S.C., will be looking to improve
upon her finish at the 2003 Polo Golf Junior Classic where
she lost in 20 holes to In-Bee Park in the semifinals. The
17-year-old had two victories in 2004 (Doral/Publix Junior
Classic, TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Chateau Elan) as
well as three other top-five finishes.
Other first-teamers looking for a shot at the title are Esther
Choe of La Quinta, Calif. (British Junior Open Champion),
Tiffany Joh of San Diego, Calif. (three 2004 AJGA victories),
and Angela Park (two national victories in 2004).
These 16 junior golfers are only a fraction of the 98 Rolex
Junior All-Americans and 178 participants in attendence this
week. With this collection of skill and talent, anything can
happen out on the Seaside and Plantation Courses.
What has become commonly referred to simply as “Polo”
has become the benchmark by which junior golfers measure themselves.
For more information on the Polo Golf Junior Classic, be sure
to check out the tournament Web site at http://www.ajga.org/2004PoloGolf/.
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