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SPRINT JUNIOR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP HOSTED BY
THE LAS VEGAS FOUNDERS
Boulder Creek Golf Club
Boulder City, Nevada
June 16-19, 2003
FLORES CLINCHES TITLE IN PLAYOFF AT BOULDER CREEK
Lee secures top honors in Girls Division
BOULDER CITY, Nev. -
Battling extreme winds, Erik Flores of Grass Valley, Calif.,
captured the title of the Sprint Junior Golf Championship
hosted by The Las Vegas Founders in dramatic fashion Thursday.
With tournament totals of 211, Flores and Brett Kanda of La
Crescenta, Calif., were forced into a sudden-death playoff
for first place. Polo Golf Junior All-American Jennie Lee
of Huntington Beach, Calif., took top honors with a 3-over-par
218.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the 54-hole
event was held at the par-72 Boulder Creek Golf Club. The
field featured 84 players, ages 13-18, from eight states,
including 12 Las Vegas-area residents.
With previous rounds of 71 and 65, Flores posted a 75 in his
final round of tournament play with five bogeys and two birdies.
Flores said the wind played a major role in his game Thursday.
"I played just as good as I did yesterday when I shot
65," Flores said. "But the wind was brutal today
and I struggled to finish my up and downs"
Flores clinched his second-career AJGA win after making par
on the first playoff hole, a 399-yard, par-4.
"I didn't do anything differently," Flores said.
"I knew I could par that hole and I did."
Kanda bogeyed the sudden-death playoff hole after flying his
5-iron second shot over the green, leaving him in second place-his
best AJGA finish to date.
"I played too much for the wind that time," Kanda
said. "But overall, I am happy with my play this week."
Erik Coover of Scottsdale, Ariz., Derek Sipe of Yorba Linda,
Calif., and Polo Golf Junior All-American Chad Wilcox of Peoria,
Ariz., tied for third at 3-under-par 213.
Jennie Lee led the Girls Division all week and posted a 74
on Thursday to secure her first AJGA win of the season with
a tournament total of 2-over-par 218. Lee struggled with the
windy conditions, taking two double bogeys on the back nine.
But with birdies on holes seven and 15, she was able to keep
herself at 2-over-par.
"My putting was better than usual today," Lee said.
"I had to use my putts to save strokes."
Lee will look to continue her success next week when she heads
to the Lennar Junior at Mission Hills.
Joh rallied for second place, posting a final-round 70. After
carding a birdie on the first hole, Joh went on to birdie
three more holes in her final round. Joh played consistently
throughout the round and credited Thursday's 1-under-par performance
to her putting.
"My putting was on today," Joh said. "I made
all my short putts and sank some longer ones too. I couldn't
rely on my irons in this wind, so I had to rely on my putting
to save me."
Esther Choe of La Quinta, Calif., finished in third place
at 6-over-par 222.
For more information on the Sprint Junior Golf Championship
hosted by the Las Vegas Founders or any AJGA event, please
contact the association's national headquarters at (770) 868-4200
or visit the American Junior Golf Association's Web site at
ajga.org.
#AJGA#
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