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CLUBCORP JUNIOR AT MISSION HILLS
Mission Hills Country Club, Arnold Palmer Course
Rancho Mirage, California
June 24-27, 2002
FIFTEEN JUNIORS QUALIFY FOR CLUBCORP JUNIOR
AT MISSION HILLS
Lopez, Park earn medalist honors with Division leads
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Thirteen boys and two girls
qualified for the ClubCorp Junior at Mission Hills, taking
place June 24-27 at Mission Hills Country Club.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the ClubCorp
Junior at Mission Hills Qualifier was played on the Pete Dye
Course at The Westin Mission Hills. It allowed 100 juniors,
86 boys and 14 girls, the opportunity to play their way into
the 54-hole event.
Joe Lopez of Chino Hills, Calif., earned medalist honors in
the Boys Division with the low round of the day, firing a
5-under-par 65. In the Girls Division, Angela Park of Torrance,
Calif., took the top spot with a 2-over-par 72, seizing one
of two spots open in the tournament.
Despite facing 85 other competitors for 13 available berths,
Lopez said he was only concentrating on his own game during
the round.
"I felt relaxed today," he said. "When I put
myself in trouble, I didn't get down and kept my head up."
The 16-year-old dropped seven birdies and only two bogeys
on the day to put him on top of the Boys Division. Lopez powered
through the front nine, carding birdies on holes No. 2, 4,
5 and 9, and put away birdies on three of his last four holes
to go 5-under.
Lopez attributed his low round score to solid putting.
"I could see lines really clearly today," he said.
"I was able to hit where I was aiming."
Brian Abelson of Pasadena, Calif., is in second place, carding
a 3-under-par 67. Abelson shot a bogey-free back nine, including
five birdies to earn a spot in the tournament. Daniel Cho
of Diamond Bar, Calif., scored a 1-under-par 69 to take third
place in the Qualifier field.
Six California natives tied for fourth place at 1-over-par
71, including Kurt Taylor of Thousand Oaks, Todd Angel of
Clovis, Ryan Citarella of Santa Ana, Ben Choe of La Quinta,
Sean King of Ventura and Garrett Lipus of Trabuco Canyon.
A six-way tie at 72 was determined by a four-hole, sudden-death
playoff for four remaining spots in the Boys Division.
Rounding out the Boys Division qualifiers are Christopher
Heintz of Brea, Calif., Greg Moss of Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
Nicholas Janneck of Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Ryan Keeney
of Redmond, Wash.
With a lone birdie on No. 13 and two bogeys headed into the
final nine, Park closed the round in solid fashion. The 13-year-old
nailed birdies on her last two holes, Nos. 7 and 8, to go
2-over on the day and take the Girls Division lead.
"Putting was key for me today," she said. "I
just tried to get on the greens, but I barely hit them and
had to two-putt a lot."
The Girls Division also saw heated competition at the end
of the day. Three girls tied at 74 and battled in a sudden-death
playoff for the single remaining spot in the Girls Division.
CJ Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif., made par on the second playoff
hole to secure second place in the Qualifier and a berth in
the tournament.
The ClubCorp Junior at Mission Hills will feature 84 players,
both boys and girls, from nine states, with the majority of
the field from California. The field includes both of last
year's defending champions, Keeney and Allison Martin of Bakersfield,
Calif., as well as 15 Polo Golf Junior All-Americans.
First-round competition will begin at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday off
the No. 1 and 10 tees of the Arnold Palmer Course at Mission
Hills Country Club.
For more information on the ClubCorp Junior at Mission Hills
or other AJGA events, please contact AJGA tournament headquarters
at (760) 324-9400.
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