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Lovemark,
Park Win Polo Golf Junior Classic |
Rolex
Junior All-Americans earn victories at Sea Island Golf Club |
By
John Egnot and Greg
Smith
AJGA Communications Department
For the second consecutive year, the Polo Golf Junior Classic
at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside and Plantation Courses
put an exclamation point on another incredible year of junior
golf.
With 32 spots available in both the Boys and Girls Divisions
for the match play portion of the event, 159 players from 28
states and six foreign countries took their shot at one of junior
golf’s most prestigious titles.
Throughout
the entire week, the nation’s best took on two difficult
golf courses, cold temperatures and gusty winds that in some
instances caused balls to roll off putting greens. The difficult
conditions were especially prevalent during stroke play qualifying
as a storm system that developed over the southeast roared past
Georgia’s Golden Isles.
Ji Moon of Lake Mary, Fla., and In-Kyung Kim of Hilton Head
Island, S.C., braved the tough conditions to earn stroke play
medalist honors and the No. 1 overall seed in their respective
divisions going into match play.
As match play began, Moon, the No. 1 seed in the Boys Division,
drew a very difficult first-round opponent in first-team Rolex
Junior All-American Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor, Wash. Stanley
would end up knocking Moon out of match play with a 3 &
2 victory.
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| Tadd
Fujikawa (left) and spectators watch Jamie Lovemark's
tee shot on No. 8 at Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course. |
In the Girls Division, Kim survived her first-round match-up
with Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, 1-up. However, Kim’s
run at a third national junior golf victory in 2005 ended with
a second-round loss to 2004 Polo Golf Junior Classic runner-up
Marika Lendl of Bradenton, Fla., in 21 holes. As a result of
the victory, Lendl would end up facing her sister Isabelle in
a quarterfinal match on Thanksgiving
Day.
Meanwhile, in the Boys Division, 14-year-old Tadd Fujikawa of
Honolulu was silently working his way through the match play
bracket, knocking an impressive list of players out of the tournament.
Competing in just his third career AJGA tournament after tying
for third at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior in October,
Fujikawa took out first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans Arnond
Vongvanij, Rory Hie and Rolex Junior Player of the Year Peter
Uihlein. He would end up facing off against 2004 Rolex Tournament
of Champions winner and University of Southern California-signee
Jamie Lovemark of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., in the championship
match.
On the Girls side of the bracket, Angela Park of Torrance, Calif.,
winner of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior, was tearing
up the competition. After earning the No. 2 seed during stroke
play qualifying, Park defeated Rolex Junior All-Americans Patty
Chawalitmetha, Tiffany Lua, Sydnee Michaels and Taylore Karle
on the way to the championship match. On her run to the final,
Park only had to go past the 15th hole once in four matches
to defeat an opponent when she outlasted Karle 2 & 1 to
earn a spot in the finale.
The pairings for championship Friday at the Polo Golf Junior
Classic were now set, with Fujikawa facing Lovemark in the Boys
Division, along with Park taking on Mina Harigae of Monterey,
Calif., in the Girls Division.
Lovemark got off to a fast start with a chip-in birdie on No.
1 and saw his advantage extend to 2-up through nine holes of
play. He wasted no time expanding his lead to 4-up through 11
holes by making birdie on No. 10 and capitalizing on a Fujikawa
bogey on No. 11. Lovemark would move to 4-up with four holes
to play, and Fujikawa unable to mount a charge.
“It was a rough day for both of us,” Lovemark said.
“Pars were winning on most holes. The course is difficult
and Tadd was a tough opponent.”
Lovemark would finish the match on No. 15 and add another notch
to his already impressive junior golf resume.
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| Angela
Park won her second consecutive AJGA start with her victory
at the Polo Golf Junior Classic. |
“I
am beginning to wrap up my junior career and with only a few
tournaments left before I head off to college, this win certainly
means a lot,” Lovemark said. “This is very special
to me.”
Park, a three-time Rolex Junior All-American, went 1-up after
the first hole and never relinquished the lead. Her advantage
would grow to 2-up on No. 7, after Harigae made bogey on the
par-4. Park would continue the steady play which propelled her
through the week.
“I had been struggling with my irons coming into the week,
but I was able to work out a few problems and develop some confidence
as the tournament went on,” Park said. “I played
my game and tried not to give up shots to my opponents.”
Park concluded the match on No. 15 with a birdie and sealed
the sixth victory of her junior career.
“This means a lot,” Park said. “This is the
biggest tournament in junior golf and to come out with a win
is just very special.”
The Polo Golf Junior Classic, which has been conducted annually
since 1978, officially kicked off the AJGA’s 2006 season.
Past champions include Morgan Pressel, Brian Harman, Paula Creamer,
Grace Park, Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink. |
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