| GRAY, PARK EARN ENTRY INTO AJGA RICHMOND JUNIOR AT INDEPENDENCE
Champions seal medals by one stroke
GLEN ALLEN, Va. — William Park of Chapel Hill,
N.C., took home his first Srixon Qualifier medal Sunday after firing a
3-under-par 69 to win by one stroke. Christina Gray of Tampa, Fla.,
used her new golf swing to take the Girls Division with an 80.
The Srixon Qualifer was an 18-hole event conducted by the American
Junior Golf Association at The Crossings Golf Club. The field included
99 players, including 88 boys and 11 girls, ages 12-18 from 17 states.
The top 12 players from the Boys Divison and the top three players from
the Girls Division qualified to play in the AJGA Richmond Junior at
Independence July 10-13, 2006.
Four birdies and a 35-foot putt on No. 8 helped seal the victory for Park.
“I hit a chunk 8-iron into the wind. My ball was plugged in the
bunker and I had to flop it out,” Park said. “It rolled to the back of
the green and I made a 35-foot putt for par, which really got my game
going.”
Other qualifiers in the Boys Division were Connor Wielgus of
Bethesda, Md., Logan Harrell of Huntersville, N.C., William Herring of
Lillington, N.C., Alex Kang of Hickory, N.C., Justin Harding of
Fredericksburg, Va., Malcolm Jennings of Richmond, Va., Robert Burrow
of Charlotte, N.C., Ben Lasso of Falls Church, Va., Chad Mozingo of
Culpeper, Va., Paul Hammerschmidt of Westerville, Ohio, and Scott
Hopkins of Smithfield, Va.
Michael Cromie of Cary, N.C., Joseph Goldstein of Potomac, Md., Wade
Wawner of Virginia Beach, Va., Brooks Beanland of Cary, N.C., and
Justin Bryant of St. Louis, Mo., chose to take a tournament exemption
in lieu of playing in this week's event.
In the Girls Division, a new swing helped Gray to her first Srixon Qualifier medal.
“My coach completely rebuilt my golf swing last week,” Gray said. “I insisted on working it into my game.”
Gray, who consistently relied on her driver, said she was nervous about playing an AJGA event after such a large adjustment.
“I didn't know what to expect with the change, but I pared the first two holes so I stuck with it,” Gray said.
Megan Smith of Atlanta, and Samantha Arena of Lansdale, Pa., also qualified for the AJGA Richmond Junior at Independence.
Alex Brown of Potomac, Md., and Emily Endres of Bryn Mawr, Pa.,
chose to take a tournament exemption in lieu of playing in this week's
event.
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 AJGA, the largest Association of its kind,
has an annual 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, which is in its third decade of support, 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, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr, Candie Kung
and Paula Creamer.
The first round of the AJGA Richmond Junior at Independence will be
July 11, 2006, at the Independence Golf Club with tee times starting at
7:00 a.m. For more information about the AJGA Richmond Junior at
Independence please contact tournament headquarters at (804) 897-8641
ext. 130 or call Tournament Director Whitney Ross at (770) 861-0519.
#AJGA#
|
