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World's Best Set for Thunderbird International Junior |
Eighty-four top juniors look for title at AJGA's first Invitational
of 2006 |
By Jordan
Frye
Manager of Media Relations
For the seventh consecutive year, 84 of the world's
best junior golfers will descend upon Grayhawk Golf Club in
Scottsdale, Ariz., May 26-29 for the first AJGA Invitational
of 2006, the Thunderbird International Junior. Thirteen states
and 12 countries will be represented at the tournament. Past
champions include Morgan Pressel (2005), Brian Harman (2003),
Brittany Lang and Casey Wittenberg (2002) and Ryan Moore (2001).
Be sure to stay tuned to ajga.org for the latest results,
as well as FootJoy Live Scoring during the event.
United States
In 2006, 13 states will be represented at the Thunderbird
International Junior. With so much talent spread throughout
the country, it is impossible to highlight everyone. In the
Boys Division, seven first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans
top the field.
The 2005 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla., will
make his second appearance at the Thunderbird International Junior. Last year,
the 16-year-old finished third at the event and ended the season with 11 top-10
finishes. Jordan Cox of Redwood City, Calif., won the prestigious 2005 Rolex
Tournament of Champions, while Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Calif., burst onto
the national scene with victories at the Hudson Junior and the 88th Annual Western
Junior Amateur.
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| Esther Choe of Scottsdale,
Ariz., will be seeking her fourth AJGA title (third individual) in
her hometown. |
Philip Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz., will look for his second AJGA victory in
the Phoenix area in 2006. He earned his first AJGA win earlier this year at the
Heather Farr Classic in nearby Mesa.
Rory Hie of Lakewood, Calif., has 20 top-10 finishes in his junior career and
is looking to add another victory to his resume, which already includes two.
Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor, Wash., looks to close out his junior career by adding
some more victories to his resume. Stanley, who won the 2005 HP Boys Junior Championship,
will attend Clemson University in the fall.
Arnond Vongvanij of Bradenton, Fla., already has one victory in the 2006 season
at the PING Junior at The Woodlands and hopes to improve upon his seventh-place
finish at the 2005 Thunderbird International Junior.
The Girls Division is also stacked with six first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans
in the field. Esther Choe of Scottsdale, Ariz., earned her second career AJGA
victory at last year’s Rolex Tournament of Champions. After finishing ninth
at the 2005 Thunderbird International Junior, Kimberly Donovan of Hopkinton,
Mass., hopes to improve upon this finish and add an additional victory to her
current two.
Megan Grehan of Mamaroneck, N.Y., has three victories and 19 top-10 finishes
in her junior golf career, while Mina Harigae won her first AJGA event at the
2006 Heather Farr Classic. Taylore Karle of Scottsdale, Ariz., has five junior
victories, including her first event of the 2006 season at the AJGA Craig Ranch
Junior. Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., also earned a victory in 2006 at the CORE
Realty Holdings Junior Championship.
New Zealand/Australia
Boyd Watts of Yeppon, will travel to the United States to represent Australia
in the Boys Division in search of his first AJGA victory. Watts won the 2006
Australian Junior Amateur Championship and notched a third place finish at the
2005 Gary Player Classic (15 years & Under). He was also the champion of
the 2004 Bargara Junior Classic and the 2003/2004 Central Queensland Junior.
Sean Riordan of Nelson, will represent New Zealand in the Boys Division. Riordan
is the Tasnam Under-21 and the Takaka Golf Course Club champion.
In the Girls Division, 14-year-old Zoe-Beth Brake of Whakatane, New Zealand,
will compete against the world’s best female junior golfers. Brake is no
stranger to competition, notching fifth-place finishes at the 2006 Tauranga Under-23
Masters, the 2006 Kaimai Classic and the 2005 Secondary School Girls Championship.
She will represent New Zealand at the 2006 Australian Junior Amateur Championship
and was a member of the New Zealand Junior Tasman Cup Team in 2006.
Asia
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| Mu Hu of Shen Zhen, China,
looks for his first Invitational victory after winning three career
AJGA events. |
Players representing China, Japan and Taiwan will look to bring the title back
to their respective countries.
Mu Hu of Shen Zhen, China, boasts three career AJGA wins, including a victory
at the 2004 Nike Golf Junior Championship and eight top-10 finishes in 2005 alone.
The 16-year-old is ranked No. 17 in the AJGA Rankings and competed on the 2005
Canon Cup West Team.
Reo Aoyama of Miyagi-Ken, and Ryo Ishikawa of Saitama, will represent Japan in
this year’s Thunderbird International Junior. Aoyama boasts a career low-round
of 66. Ishikawa finished T-24 at last year’s event.
Taipei-native Tommy Chung Hao Mao will be representing Taiwan. Mao finished eighth
at the 2006 PING Junior at The Woodlands earlier this season carding a 70-72-73—215
tournament total.
Sweden
Home to one of the best female golfers of all time in Annika Sorenstam, Sweden
has always produced tremendous junior talent. This year, four of Sweden’s
top juniors will compete at the Thunderbird International Junior.
Bjorn Akesson of Malmo, and Pontus Widegren of Danderyd, will represent Sweden
in the Boys Division. Akesson finished third at the 2005 Duke of York Young Champions’ Trophy
with rounds of 72-70-72 for a tournament total of 214 and was runner-up in the
Swedish Under-21 Championship. He will compete for Sweden at the World Boys Team
Championships in June. Widegren has an astounding 18 holes-in-one in his young
career at age 15.
In the Girls Division, Caroline Hedwall of Löddeköpinge, and Camilla
Lennarth of Perstorp, hope to bring home the trophy to their native country.
Hedwall finished second at the Spanish International Ladies Amateur and had a
fifth-place finish at the 2006 French Lady Junior. Lennarth was a member of the
Swedish National girls team that won the silver medal in the 2005 European Championships
and is ranked No. 7 in the 2005 Swedish rankings. |
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