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Cox
and Choe claim top honors at British Open Junior Championship |
Californians
dominate international stroke-play event |
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Jordan
Cox of Redwood City, Calif., and Esther Choe of La Quinta, Calif.,
each won their first international crowns July 14, at the British
Junior Open Championships. Cox posted a tournament total of
74-72-69–215 while Choe shot 75-73-72–218 to garner
the tournament’s top honors.
Cox’s rollercoaster final-round 69 included six birdies,
an eagle and a double- and triple-bogey on Kilmarnock Golf Club’s
6,617-yard, par-72 course. His erratic round, he said, can be
attributed to his aggressiveness and the difficulty of the links-style
course. Either way, he knew he needed to go low during the final
round to make up for the three-shot deficit he had at the beginning
of the day.
“There were some holes out there where par or bogey was
good enough to make up a shot on the field,” the 16-year-old
explained. “I feel like I controlled the ball well in
the wind and made a lot of putts. These two things were the
successful combination to winning.”
Choe stayed steady throughout the tournament. Her final-round,
even-par 72 on a course that measured 6,062 yards was hardly
ho-hum, however. Her score included fives birdies, two double-bogeys
and a bogey.
“I’ve worked really hard so this proves it is paying
off,” the honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American
said. “I’ve learned a lot about my game, links golf
and different cultures this week. This was a great experience
and an awesome accomplishment.”
Cox and Choe will continue to be world travelers. After being
special guests of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at this week’s
Open Championship at Troon, the two will fly back to the United
States for their respective U.S. Junior Amateur Championships.
They will then re-unite for the 15th annual Canon Cup in which
they will be teamed with the rest of the top junior players
from the West Coast to compete against their Eastern counterparts
in a team competition.
These two players were chosen to represent the United States
via an AJGA points system that rewarded players for top finishes
in national junior golf events. In order to be eligible, players
had to be U.S. citizens and 16 years old or younger as of Jan.
1, 2004.
Founded in 1994, the Junior Open came under The R&A administrative
umbrella in 2000. Staged every two years, the event is closely
linked to The Open Championship and played on a nearby course.
All golfing nations affiliated to The R&A are invited to
enter their best under 16 boy and girl golfers. This year, 57
countries were represented.
To encourage entries worldwide, there are three categories of
competition defined by varying handicap limits. Gold is for
those with a handicap of three and under, silver 4-9, and bronze
10-21. Both Cox and Choe competed in the Gold category. |
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