By Drea Braxmeier
Manager of Media Relations

After five grueling days of challenging golf and sometimes harsh weather conditions, two victors emerged from the pack at the Polo Golf Junior Classic held at Sea Island Golf Club. Morgan Hoffmann of Wyckoff, N.J., outlasted the field and knocked off the No. 2 ranked boy in the Polo Golf Rankings in the finals to take home the coveted title. Rolex Junior Player of the Year Esther Choe of Scottsdale, Ariz., won the Girls Division, topping off her tremendous year.

Morgan Hoffmann

During the first round of stroke play competition, Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., an ever-present force during recent Polo Golf Junior Classics, jumped to the top of the leaderboard after shooting a 2-under-par 68 on Sea Island’s Seaside Course to lead the Girls Division by one shot. In the Boys Division, Rolex Junior Player of the Year Philip Francis, also of Scottsdale, sat comfortably atop the leaderboard. His 6-under-par 66 on Sea Island’s Plantation Course put him two shots in front of the pack.

On the second day of stroke play competition, eyes turned to the sky and players bundled up in as many layers as their swings would allow. Temperatures dropped into the high 30s and rain began to fall. Arnond Vongvanij of Bradenton, Fla., was able to match his first round 69 and took medalist honors and a No. 1 seed in the match play portion of competition. In the Girls Division, Vanderbilt-bound Megan Grehan of Mamaroneck, N.Y., went 70-71 – 141 to take home medalist honors by one stroke.

Match play showed its teeth in the first day of competition. After drawing the No. 2 seed, Glory Yang of Murrieta, Calif., faced the No. 31 seeded Choe in the first round. Choe defeated Yang 5 and 4. Also on the first day, No. 1 seed Grehan fell to Won Joo Choi of Temecula, Calif., 5 and 4. In the Boys Division, the No. 1 seed also was defeated. Vongvanij met his match in fellow Bradenton-native Tommy Chung Hao Mou during the first round.

During the quarterfinal competition, the Nos. 1 and 2 ranked boys in the Polo Golf Rankings, Francis and Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Calif., faced off with Fowler coming out on top. Also in the morning quarterfinal matches, Hoffmann faced Lion Kim of Lake Mary, Fla., where he defeated him 4 and 3. In the Girls Division, Choe faced Marta Silva Zamora of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and won her match 3 and 1.

Esther Choe

The afternoon semifinals were tightly contested and the field was widdled down to the final four. Fowler faced the 2005 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla. Fowler birdie his first seven holes of the match and went 5-up after seven holes. Uihlein tried to make up ground, but Fowler ended up winning the match 5 & 4. Hoffmann faced Andrew Yun of Tacoma, Wash., who recently won The PING Invitational. Taking the match to 19 holes, Hoffmann came out on top and would face Fowler in the finals Friday.

In the Girls Division, Cydney Clanton of Concord, N.C., met up with Choi. The match went back and forth until Clanton clinched the win 1-up on the 18th hole. Choe faced Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, in the semifinal matches. The match went into extra holes. Choe finally birdied the 21st hole in order to advance to the finals against Clanton.

The first match in Friday’s finals was Fowler versus Hoffmann. The two boys traded the first two holes and Hoffmann went up for good on the fourth hole. The match continued until the 16th hole when Hoffmann won 3 & 2. During the Girls Division match, Choe and Clanton stayed close throughout the front nine. Choe went up for the first time on No. 9 and did not relinquish her lead after that. Choe won the match 3 & 2.

The victory was Hoffmann’s first AJGA Invitational win and his second AJGA title. He previously won the 2004 Nike Golf Junior at Quad Cities. Choe previously won two other AJGA Invitationals in 2006 including the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and the inaugural PING Invitational.