|
California
native Sihwan Kim of La Mirada and Yuki Sakurai of Kyoto,
Japan, were crowned the 2003 champions of the fourth annual
AJGA Nike Golf Junior All-Star Series Championship on Labor
Day.
2003
Nike Golf Junior All-Stars
On
Friday, Aug. 29, the Series' champions were honored
at the Nike Golf Junior All-Star Banquet |
| Boys |
| Kevin
O’Connell; Raleigh, N.C. |
| Mu
Hu; Bradenton, Fla. |
| Sihwan
Kim; Mirada, Calif. |
| Jace
Long; Dixon, Mo. |
| Matthew
Pierce, Jr.; San Juan Capistrano, Calif. |
| Jimmy Markovitz;
Bridgeville, Pa. |
| Girls |
| Jacqui
Concolino; Orlando, Fla. |
| Shannon
Fish; Spring, Texas |
| Alexandrea
Schulte; Broken Arrow, Okla. |
| Ginny
Brown;
Austin, Texas |
| Melissa
Mabanta; Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Natalie Sheary;
West Hartford, Conn. |
|
The 54-hole
event featured 77 boys and girls (13-15 year olds) representing
26 states, Canada and Japan. The event was held at the par-71
Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Ore. To qualify for this
season-ending championship, the participants needed to garner
top finishes in 2003 Nike Golf Junior All-Star Series events.
Kim (69-75-70—214),
who claimed his second consecutive victory after winning the
AJGA PING Phoenix Junior Championship, started the final round
with a bogey on the par-4, 405-yard first hole.
“My
confidence was pretty low during the first few holes,”
he said. “But, after leaving my second shot three feet
from the hole on No.4 for birdie, I was feeling much better
about my game.”
Due to
the breezy conditions, Kim’s overall strategy was to
play his game; which he did.
Sihwan
Kim of La Mirada, Calif.
|
|
“It
was really windy out there and it did not help that the greens
were so hard,” the high school freshman said. “I
concentrated on my short game because chipping is usually
my strongest aspect.”
Kim’s
performance peaked at the turn as he carded eight pars in-a-row
and then finished the round with a birdie on the par-5, 514-yard
No. 18.
Kim, who
was paired in the second-to-last group in the Boys Division,
did not even know that he was in contention for the tournament
honors.
“I
didn’t think I had a chance of winning,” he said.
“I am so excited right now. This feels great.”
Yuki
Sakurai of Kyoto, Japan
|
|
One-stroke
behind Kim at 215 were Case Cochran of Paducah, Ky., and Mu
Hu of Bradenton, Fla., while California natives Alex Resurreccion
of Long Beach and Daniel Miller of Santa Maria round out the
Boys Division top-five with three-day totals of 216.
In the
Girls Division, Sakurai claimed her first AJGA title in dramatic
fashion as she won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff
on the par-4, 371-yard 16th hole against fellow Japan native
Ami Nakagawa of Osaka.
“I
am very happy with my win,” Sakurai said. “I concentrated
very hard on my driver yesterday at the driving range and
it definitely helped.”
Nakagawa
(74-75-77—226) finished in second place and Florida
native So-Hyun Park carded rounds of 85-75-74—234 for
third.
Complete
Tournament Results
|
