Farmingdale, NY - Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Byungho Lee of (South Korea) Plano, Texas, win the 43rd Polo Golf Junior Classic at Bethpage Black. Borovilos and Lee join a long list of past Polo Golf Junior Classic Champions including Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Brian Harman, Morgan Hoffman, Matthew NeSmith, Vicki Goetze, Grace Park, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Ariya Jutanugarn, and Sierra Brooks.
The field, which included 32 boys and 32 girls, was comprised of 38 AJGA Champions, 26 Rolex Junior All-Americans, and 38 players committed to play college golf. The Polo Golf Junior Classic also featured 11 boys and seven girls ranked within the top-25 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings. Eric Lee of Fullerton, California, came in this week the top ranked boy at No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, California, the top ranked girl at No. 6 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
The Polo Golf Junior Classic has occurred annually since 1978, with a variety of host venues over its tenure. Noteworthy host courses have included Liberty National Golf Club, PGA National Resort and Spa – Champion & Fazio Courses, Sea Island Golf Club, Innisbrook Resort and Echo Lake Country Club. The event now in its 43rd year made its first stop at Bethpage State Park - Black Course.
Lee won 2 & 1 over Luke Haskew of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the Boys Division match. Lee jumped out to an early lead keeping a 1-up lead through hole Nos. 1 through 3. Haskew tied the match up on hole No. 4 before moving 1-up on No. 5. Lee won hole No. 7 to bring the match back to all-square. Haskew preceded to win No. 8 and make the turn with a 1-up lead. Lee turned it on as he moved down the back nine. He won No. 11 and didn't look back. After winning hole No. 12 he remained 2-up until he won on No. 17 2 & 1.
"Bethpage Black is probably one of the hardest courses I've ever played. This fescue is just ruthless. So it was a really cool experience."
Lee advanced out of group play by winning Group H. In bracket play, he won his quarterfinal match in 19-holes over Cayden Pope of Lexington, Kentucky, and advanced to the finals by winning 3 & 2 over an undefeated Adam Miller of Phoenix, Arizona.
The 2022 Polo Golf Junior Classic marked Lee's first AJGA win and invitational win. The No. 48 ranked player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings best finish in a prior AJGA event was runner-up at the AJGA Junior at Squaw Creek in 2021. What's next for Byungho? He is hoping for a place on the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup team representing the International Team.
Borovilos jumped out to an early lead in her match and held onto it all morning eventually beating Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California, 5 & 4. Borovilos won hole No. 1 and continued to build on her lead ending the match on hole No. 14 at 5-up.
Borovilos advanced to the elimination bracket by winning all three matches in group play. Then in elimination play had victories of 2 & 1 over last year's runner-up, Katie Li of Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
"Match play kind of required a difference mindset. On some shots it allows you to be more aggressive and go for pins not worrying about the trouble around them. Just trying to put as much pressure on your opponents as possible."
The No. 104 ranked player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings was a member of the 2021 AJGA Junior All-Star Team and earned Rolex Junior All-America honors as well. Borovilos is a past AJGA champion, winning the 2020 Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation Junior All-Star.
The Polo Golf Junior Classic is the only true match play format event on the AJGA schedule. All but two years of the 43-year history have been played as match play.
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About Bethpage State Park Golf Courses - Black Course
The move of the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2022 to Bethpage Black marks the first time the event is being played on a public course. The Black Course is rich in tradition having hosted three major championships, two FedEx Cup playoff events and the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup.
The course which opened in 1936 as part of the Depression Era public-works project that build Bethpage State Park burst onto the scene in 2002 with its first hosting of the U.S. Open. It was this year that a young Tiger Woods, who won the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 1991, captured his second U.S. Open title. The Black Course again hosted the U.S. Open in 2009 where AJGA alumni Lucas Glover took home the title. The ‘extremely difficult course’ recommended ‘only for highly skilled golfers’ also hosted the 2012 and 2016 FedEx Cup playoff event, The Barclays. AJGA alumni Brooks Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship when the course hosted its first major in ten years.
About Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren, a premium lifestyle brand, has been a partner for more than three decades. Since 1995, Polo Ralph Lauren has supported junior golfers who become the next generation of college graduates and business leaders. Every week through AJGA social and digital content, Polo Ralph Lauren celebrates the top performances of AJGA members worldwide, through Polo Ralph Lauren #InspiredPerformances
. Polo Ralph Lauren has hosted the Polo Golf Junior Classic, an Invitational dating back to 1978 and one of the longest-running events in AJGA history.