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AJGA
hp JUNIOR CLASSIC AT ENGLISH TURN
English Turn Golf & Country Club
New Orleans, La.
July 21-24, 2003
TROUTMAN
WINS BOYS DIVISION WITH 3-STROKE LEAD AT ENGLISH TURN
Pandolfi claims Girls Division title at even-par 216
NEW
ORLEANS, La. - In a weather-free round Thursday, Beck
Troutman of Fernwood, Miss., claimed the Boys Division title
at the AJGA hp Junior Classic at English Turn with a 2-under-par
214. Jennifer Pandolfi of Navarre, Fla., took home the Girls
Division trophy with a final-round score of 1-under-par 71
and a tournament total of even-par 216.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the hp
Junior Classic at English Turn featured a field of 84 competitors.
The tournament consisted of 54 holes of stroke-play competition
with 24 players from Louisiana.
When both Troutman and fellow competitor Eric Shriver of Cary,
N.C., birdied the scenic island-green par-5 No. 15, Troutman
recognized that the finish for the title was going to be close.
"We were tied going into the last hole," Troutman
said. "I managed to par it, and to make par on No. 18
is great. It's such a tough hole; to par it means you beat
60 to 70 percent of the players out there. Winning this tournament
means a lot to me and I've been playing AJGA tournaments for
four years. Now that I've won here I'm looking forward to
playing at next year's AJGA Thunderbird International Junior."
Finishing three strokes behind the lead at 1-over-par 217,
the 17-year-old Shriver said he was glad to be able to play
against Troutman during the final round.
"Beck's a fun player to watch," Shriver said. "A
couple of chips and putts didn't go my way, but I still hit
the ball a lot better today. I'm disappointed that it didn't
go to a playoff, but I still finished second, and that's always
good."
Admittedly playing a solid round all the way through the tournament,
in third-place at 2-over-par 218 was 18-year-old Chase Watkins
of Fort Collins, Colo.
"I played the same all week," Watkins said. "There
are a lot of good players out here. These Bermuda greens have
a different feel than what I'm used to; they're slower and
hard to read."
Rounding out the Boys Division are Matt Fast of Hattiesburg,
Miss., finishing in fourth-place at 3-over-par 219 followed
by Ryan Spears of Del City, Okla., and Clay Hodge of Tyler,
Texas, in a tie for fifth-place at 5-over-par 221.
In the Girls Division, 17-year-old Pandolfi finished in first
place Thursday at even-par 216. With a commanding 14-stroke
lead and consistency in her irons, Pandolfi started sailing
shots at the pins.
"I played smart but aggressive," Pandolfi said.
"I did miss a lot of short putts on the front nine, but
that's something I can focus on for my next tournament. I
like this golf course since it really sets up well for my
game. In a way this is my tune-up for the AJGA McDonald's
Betsy Rawls Girls National Championship."
Finishing at 14-over-par 230 is Sookhee Baek of Bradenton,
Fla. With a posted (80-76-74), Baek attributed her first round
difficulties to a change in her irons' shafts.
"I couldn't control them at first," Baek said. "I
changed my irons from steel to graphite to get better play-making
ability but I was having trouble hitting them. I went to the
driving range every day and even at night, and things got
better as the tournament went on. I did make some good putts
for par, and that really helped my game."
Finishing in third-place in the Girls Division at 15-over-par
231 is Alexis Rather of Tupelo, Miss.
For more information on the AJGA hp Junior Classic at English
Turn, call tournament headquarters at (770) 868-4200.
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