By Drea Braxmeier
Manager of Media Relations

The first three weeks of the AJGA summer season have made some junior golfers very happy. With three of the 11 AJGA Invitationals taking place between Memorial Day and the second week of June, there was plenty of competition to start the season off on the right foot. Each of these Invitationals also had something in common – first-time Invitational winners.

Arnond Vongvanij finished atop the leaderboard at the Thunderbird International Junior

Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course played host to the eighth-annual Thunderbird International Junior. Current PGA and LPGA Tour players who are past champions of this event include Virada Nirapathpongporn, Ryan Moore, Casey Wittenberg, Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel. This year’s champions hope to follow in the footsteps of these famous names.

In the Boys Division, Arnond Vongvanij of Bradenton, Fla., earned his first Invitational victory during his final year of competing in the AJGA.  Strong opening rounds of 66-67 helped Vongvanij fend off the competition and finish two strokes ahead of defending champion Philip Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Bud Cauley of Jacksonville, Fla. 

Despite holding a seven-shot lead heading into the final hole of the Thunderbird International Junior, reigning U.S. Women's Amateur Champion Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 494-yard, par-5 18th to solidify her hold on the tournament scoring record. Her 10-under-par 67-72-67—206 54-hole total eclipsed the previous record of 209 set by Belen Mozo in 2004 and Morgan Pressel in 2005.

Kimberly Kim took home top honors at the Thunderbird International Junior

The second week of June saw the next bout of AJGA Invitationals get underway. The FootJoy Boys Invitational was held at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., while the girls had the Rolex Girls Junior Championship across the country at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, Colo.

Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla., notched a 10 on the par-5 No. 9 during the first round of the FootJoy Boys Invitational before charging ahead and taking hold of the victory.

“I had to make a 10 to [win],” said Uihlein. “So if that’s what it takes, I might as well make a 10 every time.”

His rounds of 73-66-70-70–279 gave the 2005 Rolex Junior Player of the Year a one-shot victory over David Sanders of Mt. Laurel, N.J., who bogeyed No. 18 ensuring no playoff would be necessary.

After an opening-round 68, Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., held on to her lead to go wire-to-wire for her first AJGA Invitational victory. This is Rah’s second win of the 2007 after being victorious at the PING Junior at The Woodlands over Easter Weekend.

Rah, who finished the event with a 68-75-74–217, did face some tough competition. Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., currently No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings, finished two shots back of Rah. Jessica Wallace of Langley, British Columbia, hung tight and finished third with a 10-over-par 220.

With so many more events left in the year, how many other first-time AJGA Invitational winners will emerge?