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AJGA LOCKTON
KANSAS CITY JUNIOR
Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate
Overland Park, Kansas
July 28-31, 2003
KELLY AND KOBAYASHI CLAIM
FIRST AJGA VICTORIES
Tough winds cause high scores at LionsGate
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - John Kelly of
St. Louis and Mayumi Kobayashi of Santa Monica, Calif., stayed
in control of their golf games despite late-round winds and
were able to capture their first AJGA wins. Kelly carded a
final round 75 to finish 5-under-par for the tournament. Kobayashi
led all three rounds at LionsGate and was able to prevail
despite a final-round 78.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the AJGA
Lockton Kansas City Junior was held at the par-72 Nicklaus
Golf Club at LionsGate and featured a field of 68 boys and
18 girls from 21 states.
Kelly entered the final round with a five-stroke lead but
went on to card two birdies, four bogeys, and one double bogey.
Despite the tough round, he still claimed victory by four
strokes.
"I played pretty solid up until No. 15 when the wind
really started to pick up," commented Kelly, who played
the final four holes at 3-over-par. "It's okay though,
because the conditions at the end of the day were difficult
for everyone. It feels great to finally win an AJGA event
after all of these years."
After conquering the junior field in Overland Park, the University
of Missouri signee hopes to carry the momentum of his victory
to another level as he heads to Columbia, Mo., for Big XII
competition.
With a final-round 3-under-par 69, Pat Collogan
of Ponca City, Okla., brought his tournament total to 215
and moved up the leaderboard from eighth to claim second.
Despite the high winds, Collogan's round was bettered only
by Linc Townsend of Stillwater, Okla., who carded a final-round
68 to claim the low round for the day. Townsend entered the
day in 13th place, but finished with a tournament total of
216 to clinch third.
Kyle Yonke of Lubbock, Texas and Paul Haley
of Dallas finished with tournament totals of 217 to tie for
fourth place.
In the Girls Division, Kobayashi's round of
78 brought her tournament total to 224.
"I played decently until No. 16 when the wind started
blowing really hard," Kobayashi said. "Then I realized
that I had a chance to win and that got me nervous."
Affected by the late winds, Kobayashi went on to bogey No.
16, quadruple bogey the par-3 No. 17, par No. 18 and still
grab her first AJGA victory by two strokes.
"It feels really good to get my first AJGA win,"
Kobayashi commented. "This is a hard course, so I'm happy
to play well and win here. Hopefully I'll continue to do well
at other AJGA events."
Mandi McConnell of Grand Blanc, Mich., claimed second in the
Girls Division. The Michigan State signee carded a final-round
77 to shoot the low girls round Thursday, bringing her tournament
total to 226.
Ashley Freeman of Belleville, Ill., took third with a tournament
total 227 after firing a final-round 78 Thursday.
For more information on the AJGA Lockton Kansas City Junior
or any other AJGA event, please call the Association's headquarters
at (877) 373-2542.
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