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MITZEL COMES FROM BEHIND TO
STEAL VICTORY AT PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY JEFF TROESCH
Dong closes in to claim
first AJGA trophy at Trophy Lake Golf & Casting
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – After shooting 78-69 on the first two days
of the tournament, Paul Mitzel of Mercer Island, Wash., fired an even-par 72 in
Thursday’s final round for a three-day total of 219 to claim the victory in the
Pacific Northwest International Junior presented by Jeff Troesch and bring home
his first career American Junior Golf Association title. In the Girls Division,
Tiffany Dong of Sacramento, Calif., also claimed her first AJGA victory,
shooting even-par 72 for the final round and 75-71-72—218 for the tournament.
Conducted by the
American Junior Golf Association, the Pacific Northwest International Junior
presented by Jeff Troesch was a 54-hole stroke play event featuring 57 boys and
21 girls. Included in the 78-player field were 18 players from Washington and 40
from California. The Boys Division played from tees set at 6,969 yards and the Girls Division plays
from tees set 5,904 yards.
Mitzel said his
stomach was in knots all day, but decided to take a risk and play his own
aggressive game during the final round. It was that aggressive game that helped
him tally five birdies on the day.
“The whole
back-nine today was a turn-around for me,” Mitzel said. “I played aggressive
through the whole tournament and just kept scrambling around. Things just
really started working today.”
Jose Contreras of
El Paso, Texas, and Zach MacDougall of Coquitlam, British Columbia finished the tournament tied for second
place with tournament totals of 8-over-par 221. Tying for third place were Ty
Chambers of Brush Prairie, Wash., and C.J. Kim of Chandler, Ariz., at
9-over-par 222.
In the Girls
Division, a birdie on No. 14 put Dong in position to take the lead. She said she
entered the final-round with a different mindset than she had the previous two
rounds and kept reminding herself to have fun and enjoy the beautiful golf
course.
“I kept score on
every hole, but I wasn’t adding it up,” Dong said. “I didn’t really pay
attention to what I had. I never really knew whether or not I was going to win.
I just wanted to enjoy today.”
In the Girls
Divison, Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash., finished second with a tournament total
of 222. In third, Michelle Yang of Los Angeles, Calif., finished with a 225.
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 49 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 AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007,
after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier
Partner.
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 Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk,
Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany
Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
For more
information about the Pacific Northwest International Junior presented by Jeff
Troesch, contact AJGA Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 .
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