Chung Claims Back-to-Back Victories at AJGA Girls Championship
Aubert finishes inside the top five for second straight year at The Furman Golf Club

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., claimed her third AJGA career victory at The Furman Golf Club Monday after firing a final-round 71 to claim back-to-back champion titles at the home of the Furman Paladins.

Hosted by the American Junior Golf Association, the AJGA Girls Championship was a 54-hole stroke play competition. The field featured 78 girls from around the world. In all, 17 states were represented along with players from Canada, Japan, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. Competitors played the par-72 Furman Golf Club at 6,124 yards.

Chung, ranked No. 12 in the Polo Golf Rankings, came out firing recording two birdies on the day to finish the round 1-under-par. The front nine provided a challenge for the 15-year-old. Making the turn at 2-over-par, Chung would eagle the par-5 13th hole and follow with a birdie on No. 14 to pull away from the competition.

“The front nine was pretty tough to get through, but I knew I had to grind on the back nine to get ahead,” Chung said. “The birdie at No. 14 was a surprise but helped propel me ahead.”

Arriving to Greenville ahead of time for extra practice, Chung was not expecting a repeat performance.

“It's pretty exciting to win again this year. I knew the field was going to be stronger, so I didn't expect to win again,” she said. “It means a lot and gives me more confidence going into my next tournament.”

Shannon Aubert of Orlando, Fla., who finishing tied for third in 2009, carded a 3-over-par 75 to sit at 2-over-par for the tournament and take second-place honors. McKenzie Talbert of Edgefield, S.C., finished third with a 220 tournament total. Gemma Dryburgh of Bradenton, Fla., Allisen Corpuz of Honolulu, and Rachel Dai of Suwanee, Ga., all finish tied for fourth with 223 tournament totals.

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 provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.

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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

For more information regarding the AJGA Girls Championship, contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.