BUICK JUNIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY GOLFWEEK
Spring Meadows Country Club
Linden, Michigan
June 15, 2003

SUDDEN-DEATH PLAYOFF DETERMINES FINAL SPOTS IN GIRLS AND BOYS QUALIFIER
Four boys and three girls advance to championship in Linden

LINDEN, Mich.-Pete Tomkie of DeWitt, Mich., Jimmy Burns of Plymouth, Mich., Clark Klaasen of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Richard Chinonis of Grand Blanc, Mich., all qualified Sunday to earn a spot in the Buick Junior Open Presented by Golfweek at Spring Meadows Country Club. Dolores White of Lakeland, Fla., Vanessa Hanba of Flushing, Mich., and Jenny Calkins of Greenville, Mich., also advanced to the championship.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the tournament qualifier allowed seven juniors to earn a spot into the 54-hole championship event, which runs Tuesday through Thursday in Linden, Mich.

The event will feature 99 players representing 21 states and Canada. The event was held in Flint, Mich., five years ago but this is the first time it is being hosted by Spring Meadows Country Club.

Tomkie carded a 3-over-par 75 to take top honors in the Boys Division. He started the front nine making one birdie and seven pars.
"My goal for today was to qualify and then do well in the tournament," the 15-year-old said. "Hopefully this tournament will help me get into others."

Burns and Klaasen carded 4-over-par 76s to tie for second place. Both players recorded two birdies on the day to qualify them for the championship.

Five players tied at 77 to force a sudden-death playoff to determine the final spot in the Boys Division. In his first AJGA tournament appearance, 17-year-old Chinonis qualified after playing only one hole in the playoff. He birdied the 412-yard, par-4 first hole to take the final spot for Tuesday's tournament.

"I bogeyed the first couple holes and I wasn't feeling it," Chinonis said. "I did better on the back nine when I didn't think about the scores and just played golf."

White scored a 79 to clinch the top spot of the Girls Division. Making an eagle on the 432-yard, par-5 11th hole set the tone for the back nine.

"I started putting really well on the back nine," the 15-year-old said. "I chipped in for an eagle on the 11th hole. It hit the stick and just went in."

Hanba clinched the second place spot, followed close behind by Calkins. A sudden-death playoff in the Girls Division between Calkins and Stephanie Koske of Swartz Creek, Mich., determined the final spot.

First-round tee times will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday off the No. 1 tee at Spring Meadows Country Club.

For more information on the Buick Junior Open presented by Golfweek, contact tournament headquarters at (810) 735-4363.