FIDELITY INVESTMENTS JUNIOR CLASSIC
The International – The Pines
Bolton, Massachusetts
August 10-12, 2004
CARROLL DIPS BELOW PAR TO TAKE FIDELITY INVESTMENTS JUNIOR CLASSIC
Wang records third AJGA title of summer in Girls Division
BOLTON, Mass. – A 40-foot-putt on the final hole capped off Cornelius Carroll’s second sub-par round of the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic and sealed the Boys Division title by four strokes with a tournament total of 1-under-par 215.
Catherina Wang of Orlando, Fla., held off a late charge by Marika Lendl of Goshen, Conn., to take home the Girls Division title.
The Fidelity Investments Junior Classic was a 54-hole event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association on The Pines Course at The International. The event featured 98 of the nation’s premier junior golfers, ages 12-18, from 14 states and Canada.
Carroll entered the day with a one-shot lead atop a packed leader board. A birdie on hole No. 2 quickly gave Carroll the advantage he needed to separate him from the pack and record his second AJGA crown.
“I was 1-under through the first two, but was happy to make the turn at even par,” said Carroll, from Windermere, Fla. “I just wanted to come out here and hit fairways and greens.”
After making two 20-foot birdie putts on Nos. 13 and 14, Carroll let his experience take over.
“It was a matter of experience today,” Carroll said. “I have learned how to grind it out and stay in it each shot. I have been playing solid all summer, so it is very nice to have it end this way.”
Jon Curran of Hopkinton, Mass., and Michael Slovitt of Winnetka, Ill., tied for second at 3-over-par 219. Matt Giftos of Nashua, N.H., finished in fourth place, while Cody Paladino of Kensington, Conn., and Brent Blaum of Coral Gables, Fla., tied for fifth.
Wang found herself coasting along with a three-stroke lead entering the final two holes, but a bogey on No. 17 and a birdie by Lendl left Wang with a one-shot advantage entering the final hole. After hitting a short tee shot, Wang regrouped and saved par, while Lendl bogeyed.
“It got really close there,” said Wang, who was also 3-1 in this year’s Canon Cup to help bring the Cup back to the East team. “I just hung in there and pulled it out.”
Wang finished the day with a 4-over-par 76 and a 7-over-par 223 for the tournament, giving her a third title in 2004. She also won the Dunlop Carolina Junior Championship and the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic.
Finishing behind Wang and Lendl was Lala Anai of Lexington, Mass., and Brittany Skoda of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The duo tied for third at 11-over-par 227.
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest association of its kind, the AJGA has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.
Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Beth Bauer.
For more information about the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic, please contact the AJGA at (770) 868-4200.
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