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Welcome to Blog Jr., the official blog of Golfweek’s Junior Extra page. Logging in regularly will be Golfweek's junior gurus Eric Soderstrom, Sean Martin, Ray McCarthy and Dan Mirocha.
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Besides watching some great golf, the best part of the U.S. Junior is getting to know kids we don’t normally write about. Near the top of that list has to be 17-year-old Ernesto Marin of Miami, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-and-2 victory over T.J. Vogel.
“I’m just chillin’ right now,” Marin said. “People don’t know me, so when I win people are like, “Ernesto? Who’s this?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m Ernesto. Everyone in Florida knows me.’ ”
Marin is playing his first U.S. Junior after qualifying at Kenzington Country Club in Naples, Fla., with a course-record 64 on the first day. He plays most of his golf on the Florida Junior Tour and was the 2006 and ‘07 Nicaraguan National champion.
“I’m not the AJGA-kind of player,” Marin said. “I don’t want my dad to spend like, $2,000 on a tournament. I like Miami, I like Florida. But coming up here, I’m having the time of my life.”
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 24
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Most surprised look of the day goes to Boom Sritart, who lost his final two holes and the match to Cameron Peck. When told that Peck was the highest-ranked player left in the field, Boom (it’s just more fun to call him by his first name) looked like he was told there was no Santa Claus.
“I was? I didn’t know that,” said the 17-year-old Boom. “I really didn’t even know he was the highest-ranked kid at all. Actually, I can’t believe that now. It makes me feel a lot better, to be honest. I thought I was just playing another random kid, to now find out I’m playing one of the highest-ranked golfers. That’s an honor. And I gave him a run for his spot.”
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 24
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Big pickup for J.T. Higgins and Texas A&M.
Cameron Peck, a winner of two AJGA invitationals this year, gave
Higgins his verbal commitment Wednesday at the U.S. Junior Amateur.
“I’m really excited,” Peck said. “I really like the people on the team and really like J.T.”
Peck, No. 6 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, won his final two
holes this afternoon to advance to the Round of 16 with a 1-up victory
over Boom Sritart.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 24
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – So who, exactly, is David Persons?
“I’m just an El Paso boy just coming out here to play some golf,” said Persons after advancing to the Round of 16 with a 1-up victory over Richard Werenski.
Two down with four holes to play, Person birdied Nos. 15-17 – two of which were conceded – to go 1 up. The 17-year-old then made an all-world up and down on No. 18 for par to close out the match.
“I know that no one knows who I am,” Persons said. “Yesterday the guy that was playing me (Matthew Ceravolo) said, ‘Who’s this Persons kid?’ But I kind of like it because I don’t have that many people thinking. But I’m moving on and showing people what I’m made of.”
On the media information sheet, Persons listed winning the El Paso City Championship at his home course as his most memorable golf experience. He also wears the initials of a former high school teammate who died of Leukemia last December on his shirt sleeve.
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of this Persons kid this afternoon. He plays fellow Texan Jordan Spieth in the next round.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 24
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – I'm sensing a recurring theme here.
Play has officially been called for all of Day 3 at U.S. Girls'.
Play was halted last night due to darkness with one match remaining on the course. Rachel Rohanna and Julie Yang were all square through 17 when they were called in.
Rohanna and Yang resumed their match this morning and when play was called, the two decided they'd finish despite the rain. As of 10:26 a.m., they're still on the course.
The original plan for today was two rounds of match play, but now everything will be pushed back a day. The second and third rounds will be held on Friday, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be held Saturday, and the 36-hole final will be held Sunday.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 24
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Play has been called at U.S. Girls' with one match remaining on the course. Rachel Rohanna and Julie Yang are all square through 17 holes and will have to finish tomorrow.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Talk about luck of the draw. Gaston De La Torre, a 17-year-old from Brush Prairie, Wash., applied for housing at the U.S. Junior Amateur and was assigned to stay with Shoal Creek president Dr. Martin Bailey, who lives on property.
Staying with the president is a nice perk in itself. But getting to drive his Porsche 911 Carerra this afternoon after qualifying for match play, that’s like hitting the lottery.
“He took me out for a ride, then he let me drive,” De La Torre said. “I just floored it right off the bat. He told me to slow down about five times when I was going around the curves. It was so fun. I got up to like 75-80 mph, so not too bad.”
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 23
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – After a five hour and 12 minute delay, play has resumed at the U.S. Girls'. However, it has been confirmed that there will not be a second round of match play held today.
– Ray McCarthy
July 23, 2008
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Dozens of coaches met Monday night at the U.S. Girls’ Junior to talk about implementing a new recruiting calendar in college golf.
Right now there are only eight quiet days on the recruiting calendar, four leading up to each signing period. That’s not a lot of downtime for a sport that has two seasons. Many coaches are on the road 200-plus days a year.
There are several options on the table, but right now it looks like the majority are leaning toward a total number of days (likely around 50) for recruiting.
Some say it’s difficult to schedule extended mandatory quiet periods in the offseason because it handicaps programs who, for example, go to Florida in the winter to recruit.
Another option would be to limit the total number of events, but then coaches would be less likely to go to their local high school matches. The intention of the calendar isn’t to hurt tournaments.
As it stands now, a coach can recruit 357 days a year. As the competition grows stronger and the talent deepens, recruiting demands have the potential to spiral out of control. If we’re not there already.
– Beth Ann Baldry
July 24, 2008
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Kimberly Kim wanted to see “The Dark Knight” Tuesday night but she couldn’t.
“Everybody went [to see it] last night,” Kim said. “That’s the problem with making the cut.”
What a shame... making the cut and advancing to match play at U.S. Girls. If only we could all be so unlucky.
Kim’s off-the-cuff remark drew loud laughter from the media types around her.
“People who don’t make [the cut] they all have fun together,” she said. “It’s not like when you’re playing you want to hear about Batman... like [from] someone else who went to see it.”
Kim’s match was one of two to finish midway through a rain-soaked, frequently-delayed Day 1 of match play. Kim topped Stacy Kim, 5 and 4, and will most likely face Marina Alex in the next round. Alex is 6 up on Katie Sylvan through 12 holes.
Kim has no choice but to suffer until it finishes.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Best Day 2 comeback? Check out Simon St. Louis. After shooting 82 Monday, the 17-year-old from Montreal shot 68 yesterday to make the cut by two shots.
“Under the circumstances, it was the best score I’ve ever made,” said St. Louis, who is playing in his first USGA event.
St. Louis is a member at Golf Le Mirage, a golf club outside Montreal owned by singer Celine Dion.
“She comes to the club two weeks out of the year and I have met her a few times, but have never golfed with her,” St. Louis said.
No word yet on if they have sung together.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 23
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Ever heard of making a bogey on purpose? Well, let’s not say Cody Gribble’s bogey on No. 18 this morning was a deliberate act, but it did keep him from earning co-medalist honors by a shot. And everyone knows the medalist never ends up winning the championship, right?
“I know all the history and records and everything,” said Gribble, who finished at 4-under 140, a shot behind medalist Jorge Valdes Fernandez. “But I don’t know. Whatever. All I know is I’m hitting the ball well. This is where the game begins.”
Something tells me it may turn out to be the best bogey Gribble’s ever made.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 23
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Cory Whitsett had the professional caddie services of Ryan Rue last year on his way to his U.S. Junior title. Rue was Chris DiMarco’s bagman a couple years ago, and looped for DiMarco at the British Open.
This week, Whitsett has Josh Jones on the bag. Jones, a former Rolex Junior All-American, has played just two AJGA events this year (T-8 at Thunderbird) and also played the Sunnehanna Amateur (49th). He’ll be a freshman next year at LSU.
“Cory called me up a week ago today and was like, ‘Dude, I need a caddie,’ ” Jones said. “I’m like, ‘Cool, I’m not doing anything.’ ”
Jones said this is just his second time as a caddie, and he’s slowly getting used to the hills and humidity at Shoal Creek.
“My feet hurt a little,” Jones said. “But hopefully we’ll be around until the end of the week.”
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 23
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – As predicted, play has been suspended again at U.S. Girls at 12:35 p.m.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Play has resumed once more at U.S. Girls' after a 110-minute delay.
The radar still looks ominous so there's a good chance play will be suspended within 15 minutes.
Fun stuff.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
Anyone has the potential to win U.S. Girls’, but there is a noticeable difference in strength between the upper bracket and lower bracket.
Seven of the top 20 players in the Golfweek/Junior Titleist Rankings are in the upper bracket including Kimberly Kim (No. 1), Pearl Jin (No. 4), and Danielle Frasier (No. 5).
Just three players ranked in the top 20 are in the lower bracket: Tiffany Lua (No. 2), Alexis Thompson (No. 3), and Lindy Duncan (No. 11). However, the lower bracket is more recognizable based on what some players have done in the past. Defending champion Kristen Park, 2006 champion Jenny Shin, 2008 Rolex Girls winner Victoria Tanco, last year’s Rolex Tournament of Champions winner Courtney Ellenbogen, and Madison Pressel are all in the lower bracket.
In no way will the winner of each bracket have an easy road to the finals, and there will always be upsets along the way. Such is the beauty of match play.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
Check that: Play has been suspended again at U.S. Girls' at 10:15 a.m.
This is not a good sign.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Play at the U.S. Girls' Junior has resumed after a 43-minute delay.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – It seems as if the U.S. Junior Championships
have been cursed this year. Play was suspended at U.S. Girls' at 9:18
a.m. due to the threat of lightning.
Updates are upcoming...
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
The Golfweek staff weighs in with their U.S. Junior picks:
Ray McCarthy (140): Cory Whitsett. I’m going to be roasted for this pick, but besides Cameron Peck, is there any player with more momentum heading into this championship? Plus, he’s done it before. I think Whitsett will make history this week.
Victoria Tanco. Tanco has loads of talent but lacks in match-play experience. However, Tanco, who won earlier this year at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, has her coach, Shane Reiser, on the bag this week and will be guided around a tough Hartford Country Club course. Combined with a knowledgeable caddie, Tanco’s talent will carry her to the top.
Eric Soderstrom (130): Cody Gribble. I picked him at his first junior, and I'll pick him at his last.
Kim Kim. I just don't see how a U.S. Women's Amateur champ can go without adding a Junior title as well.
Sean Martin (140): Cory Whitsett. Can he become the first multiple winner of this tournament since Tiger Woods? I see no reason why not.
Kimberly Kim. She's already got a U.S. Women's Amateur title on her resume, plus a finals appearance at last year's Polo and made the quarterfinals at last year's Junior. Kim is tough to beat.
Dan Mirocha (90): No one has more confidence right now than Cameron Peck. He’ll knock off Cory Whitsett in the finals (if they're on opposite sides of the bracket).
The ultra-competitive Alexis Thompson will turn head’s again, this time with a Girls’ Junior title.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 23
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The UCF-Lendl connection got a little stronger this summer when Isabelle decided to join Marika in Orlando. Marika will be a freshman this fall while Isabelle, who committed last month, is entering her senior year of high school.
“I told the coach I might not stay for four years and she was OK with that,” said Lendl, who liked the idea of being close to swing instructor Tim Sheredy. “School is not what I’m looking for, it’s just golf.”
– Beth Ann Baldry
Posted July 22
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Have to admit, I didn’t see this bit of news coming. Kimberly Kim, one of the most laid-back kids I’ve ever met, is headed to Xavier College Preparatory this fall.
“I want to get my academics in order,” said Kim, who has been taking classes online the last year.
Enrolling in the academically stringent Xavier Prep is Kim’s way of gearing up for college life. That’s right, the youngest player to ever win the U.S. Women’s Amateur has decided to put professional golf on hold for a least a little while.
“I’ve never seen anyone regret going to school,” said Kim, who will be a senior this fall.
Kim said her father’s had a bit of a “social outburst” this week, talking to coaches about the ins and outs of college golf. His daughter is a little late to the recruiting party, with many of the nation’s top college programs out of scholarships for the class of 2009. No doubt someone will pick her up. She’s only the most talented player in the country right now, ranked No. 1 by Golfweek.
It’s tough to say how many years Kim will give it the old college try. But if there’s a place that can get her focused and prepared, it’s Xavier. Players like Heather Farr, Grace Park, Amanda Blumenherst and Cheyenne Woods played for Sister Lynn. They’ve won 26 state championships since 1980.
Just don’t look for Kim to show up with blonde streaks in her hair again anytime soon. Sister Lynn runs a tight ship.
– Beth Ann Baldry
Posted July 22
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – So what do people do at the Hartford Golf Club in the winter?
They go bowling! Downstairs of the club members can enjoy a four-lane bowling alley with heat. Talk about relaxing.
Also, today I got to go to Mark Twain's house, which happens to be a five-minute drive from the golf course. Did you know he was a redhead? That explains so much.
How many of these players do you think are reading his books for their summer reading?
– Asher Wildman
Posted July 22
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – An announcement was just made to the large gathering here in the media room that play may be called for the day – the USGA will decide in 30 minutes.
Will keep you updated.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 22
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – The once quiet and sparse media room has been overrun by players, caddies, parents, spectators, rules officials, marshals, and security personnel. We’re in a weather delay at the U.S. Junior.
There’s got to be more than 100 people in here, and everyone got a little anxious when the lights flicked on and off due to the thunder and lightning outside.
One good sign: No one yet has been seen hiding under a table.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 22
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — If you make it to U.S. Girls', it's an accomplishment in itself. If you reach match-play competition, that's another notch in your belt. If you win, then you've achieved the ultimate goal.
But what if you make a hole-in-one at U.S. Girls? Where does that rank?
Brittany Altomare aced the 161-yard sixth hole with a 5-iron on Day 2 of stroke-play qualifying. Altomare, who is currently T51 through nine holes, finished T4 at Betsy Rawls last week where her lowest one-hole score was a 2 on several par 3s.
Not quite an ace.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 22
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. —The U.S. Girls’ Junior may not be the U.S. Women’s Open, but Tiffany Lua is geared up for U.S. Girls’ nonetheless.
After going 74-72, Lua stands at T27, well within the cut midway through Day 2 of stroke-play qualifying.
“You go into every single tournament wanting to win,” Lua said. “You want to do your best.”
Almost a month ago, Lua played to her potential at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she made the cut and was T35 through two rounds before going 80-81 on the weekend to finish T71.
“It was cool, it was really intense,” 17-year-old Lua said. “I was kind of nervous. The intensity of that tournament is so high. It’s the Open.”
– Ray McCarthy
Posted July 22
JUNIOR EXTRA FANTASY GOLF UPDATE
Results after the HP Boys Invitational and McDonald’s Betsy Rawls:
Ray McCarthy (Byeong-hun An, Victoria Kiser) earned just 5 points and has 140 total.
Sean Martin (Cameron Peck, Victoria Sungmin Park) zoomed into a tie for first with Cameron Peck’s victory. He has 140 points.
Eric Soderstrom (Cameron Peck, Jennifer Johnson) earned 55 total points to bring his season standings to 130 points.
Dan Mirocha (Tommy Chung Hao Mou, Allie White) needs at big week at the U.S. Juniors. He did not pick up any points and has 90 total.
Scoring: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified. (Only rule: You can’t pick the same player two consecutive weeks.)
– Golfweek staff
Posted July 21
ORLANDO, Fla. – Forget birdies and bogeys, driving distance and scrambling percentage, the stat of the week from the HP Boys Invitational at Bay Hill was pace of play.
Check this out: In the third round, the average 18-hole trek (twosomes) took 3 hours, 40 minutes. The quickest group clocked in at 3:21 and the slowest was 3:52.
On average, the final round played only six minutes slower at 3 hours, 46 minutes. Most impressive, the final pairing that included champion Cameron Peck and runner-up Christopher Walker, were right on the money at 3:46, too.
Nice work by the AJGA staffers and nice work by the players in moving quickly.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted July 18
JUNIOR EXTRA FANTASY GOLF
Two of the biggest consecutive weeks in junior golf are upon us, beginning with the HP Boys Junior Championship and McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Girls Championship this week followed by the U.S Boys’ and Girls’ Junior Championships next week. More importantly, things are heating up in the race for Junior Extra Fantasy champion. Let’s see if the Golfweek staffers can maintain their momentum (Year-to-date point totals listed in parentheses):
Ray McCarthy (135): For HP, I’m going with a lesser-known player who had a chance at Rolex. Byeong-hun An finished fifth at Rolex only because he faded with a 77-75 finish, but An went 74-77-70-65 at FootJoy and had a T7 at Houston Boys. An’s close, and he’ll get there this week at HP. I know he can win because I was there when he picked up his first title two years ago at the Nike Golf Junior at Marshalia Ranch where he closed with a 68.
I chose Victoria Kiser as a player to watch in Golfweek’s junior preview, and it seems as if I’m onto something. In three AJGA events this season, Kiser has won twice and had a T6 at the Mizuno Junior. Kiser won last week, and has gotten used to being at the top of leaderboards. Look for her to contend at Betsy Rawls.
Sean Martin (90): It’s easy to be overshadowed by what Cory Whitsett is doing, but Cameron Peck has a strong chance of placing himself in the forefront this week at HP. Peck has two wins this season, including one the FootJoy Invitational in June. Peck finished 11th at the Rolex TOC, and if not for two 78s, he could have threatened Whitsett. Perhaps the strongest player at HP, look for him to lift the trophy.
Victoria Sungmin Park has been right there in her past two starts. Park got off to a hot start at Rolex Girls with a first-round 68 but faded to a T6. And if not for a third-round 79 at Rolex TOC, Park was in prime position to do better than her fourth-place finish there. If Park can string together a consistent tournament at Betsy Rawls, she can win.
Dan Mirocha (90): Tommy Chung Hao Mou closed 69-70 to tie for 11th last year at HP. He’s a Florida boy and will handle the heat and humidity like a pro.
Allie White finished second at Rawls last year and has two runners-up this year. This will be her week. Plus, according to Google maps, her Lancaster, Ohio, home is exactly 7 hours, 17 minutes from Malvern, Pa., site of the tournament. Seven plus 17 equals 24. Divide that into 437 total minutes in the car and you get 18, which is Allie’s age. Coincidence? I think not.
Eric Soderstrom (75): Rumor has it when you appear in a pre-tournament GolfweekTV video (upcoming), you play well in that tournament. Cameron Peck is your guy this week.
Since I think Padraig Harrington is going to go back-to-back at the British Open, I’m going with Jennifer Johnson for back-to-back invitationals after her Rolex TOC win.
— Ray McCarthy
Posted July 14
JUNIOR EXTRA FANTASY GOLF UPDATE
Results after the Rolex Tournament of Champions:
Ray McCarthy (Cory Whitsett, Alexis Thompson) picked up 50 points for Whitsett’s win and another 10 for Thompson’s seventh-place finish. McCarthy leads with 135 points on the year.
Sean Martin (William Sjaichudin, Lindsey Weaver) picked up 5 points for Sjaichudin’s 13th-place finish and another 10 for Weaver’s T-8. Martin stands in second with 90 points on the season.
Dan Mirocha (Cory Whitsett, Tiffany Lua) cleaned up this week
with Whitsett’s win and Lua’s runner-up finish, giving him 80 points on
the week. He has 90 on the season and is tied with Martin for second.
Eric Soderstrom (Cody Gribble, Alexis Thompson) earned 5 points for Gribble’s 14th-place finish and 10 points for Thompson’s seventh-place finish. Soderstrom has 75 points on the year.
— Ray McCarthy
Posted July 5
JUNIOR EXTRA FANTASY GOLF
The Rolex Tournament of Champions begins tomorrow, and with several juniors coming off starts at the U.S. Women’s Open, Rolex is ripe with storylines. Among others, Tiffany Lua (T-71) had a strong start and is looking to carry that momentum into this week. On the boys’ side, can Cory Whitsett — perhaps the hottest player in the country — win another prestigious title after taking home the Western Junior title in convincing fashion? The Golfweek staff weighs in with their picks (Year-to-date point totals listed in parentheses):
Ray McCarthy (75): Fine, call me a front-runner, but Cory Whitsett is clearly the one to beat this week. If he doesn’t win, he’s almost a lock for a top-10 finish. If Whitsett claims a Rolex title, and successfully defends his U.S. Junior title in July, his season will go down in junior golf lore as one of the best ever and best since 2006, the year of Philip Francis, who will play in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in two weeks.
Rolex is obviously a strong tournament, but it may seem like a cakewalk to those juniors who played in the U.S. Women’s Open. Alexis Thompson has five top-10s in five AJGA starts this season, and missed the Women’s Open cut by just two shots. She’ll land her second AJGA win of the season at Rolex.
Sean Martin (75): William Sjaichudin first caught my attention when he finished second at the Ventura (Calif.) City Championship. I grew up playing BuenaVentura Golf Course (can’t beat the $6 junior green fee), and played the city championship several times. But this isn’t a sentimental pick; I’m focused on winning Junior Extra fantasy golf this year.
Sjaichudin finished second one week later at the FootJoy Invitational, and was T-4 at the Mizuno Junior at Innisbrook. He can play with the big boys.
Lindsey Weaver finished fifth and first in her only two AJGA starts this year. Can’t beat that. She was 15th at last year’s Rolex Girls’ Junior, her only invitational start to date.
Eric Soderstrom (60): Look for Cody Gribble to avenge his quadruple bogey on the last hole of the Houston Boys Invitational. Gribble has a T-25 at Thunderbird, but will rebound and have a strong finish at Rolex.
Alexis Thompson has been steady throughout the year and will continue her good play at Rolex. She’s due for an AJGA invitational win considering what else she has done in the golf world. Thompson will add a Rolex title to her resume this week.
Dan Mirocha (10): I’ve got to make up some ground, so I’m going with a sure thing. Cory Whitsett will win Rolex going away this week.
I had the pleasure of attending the U.S. Women’s Open last week and caught a glimpse of Tiffany Lua’s game. If not for an 80-81 finish over the weekend, Lua had a chance to finish high in the field and make a name for herself. Using that experience, Lua will hoist the Rolex trophy.
— Ray McCarthy
Posted June 30
Jessica Korda finished T-19 at the U.S. Women’s Open after shooting the low round of the final day. Korda’s 4-under 69 Sunday was one of just eight sub-par scores Sunday at Interlachen.
Korda was the second low amateur, finishing four shots behind UCLA’s Maria Jose Uribe.
Korda, 15, is the daughter of 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda. He caddied for his daughter at Interlachen.
– Sean Martin
Posted June 30
EDINA, Minn. – The youngest player at this year's U.S. Women's Open,
13-year-old Alexis Thompson, may stick around Interlachen for the
weekend. If she does, she'll be watching, though, and not playing.
Thompson,
playing in her second Open, bogeyed three of her last five holes and
shot 77, leaving her at 6-over 152. Too many. And her disappointment
was evident, as she was expecting a little better outcome here.
"I
definitely expected a lot more this year – I'm so much longer," said
Thompson, who figured she's picked up 30-40 yards in length since last
summer's Open at Pine Needles. "I just looked. I'm in 109th place. That
pretty much stinks."
Her dad, Scott, who was on Alexis' bag the
last two days, sees the bigger picture, and realizes the experience his
daughter is getting will be valuable down the road. He knows the
journey. His son, Nick, plays the PGA Tour.
"It's all good,"
he said. "She doesn't realize she's only 13. She wants to do it 'now.'
She doesn't realize she's got a lot of years to do it."
How
many? Well, consider Thompson's two fellow competitors in her threesome
the last two days were Martha Nause, 53, and Sherri Turner, 51.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted June 27
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the FootJoy Boys and Rolex Girls:
Sean Martin (Jordan Spieth, Victoria Tanco) picked up 60 points with a Tanco victory and a Spieth top-10.
Ray McCarthy (Brinson Paolini, Kimberly Kim) posted 40 points with Kimberly Kim’s runner-up finish.
Eric Soderstrom (Austin Cody, Kimberly Kim) notched 30 points.
Dan Mirocha (Mu Hu, Markia Lendl) needs to study. He did not earn any points.
Season:
Martin: 75 points
McCarthy: 75 points
Soderstrom: 60 points
Mirocha: 10 points
Scoring: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified. (Only rule: You can’t pick the same player two consecutive weeks.)
– Golfweek staff
Posted June 14
JUNIOR EXTRA FANTASY
What U.S. Open? Two of the year’s biggest events — the FootJoy Invitational and Rolex Girls Junior Championship — are taking place this week and Junior Extra Fantasy is back to pontificate about who will reign over the world of junior golf. Without further delay, here are our picks (Note: Year-to-date point totals listed in parentheses):
Ray McCarthy (35)
FootJoy: Brinson Paolini. Paolini’s coming off a three-way playoff win in April at the Horseshoe Bend Junior Classic where he went 72-68. Paolini finished T-14 at Thunderbird, and if not for a first-round 76, his 68-72 finish could have done more damage. Paolini will continue his strong play.
Rolex: Kimberly Kim. Going 3-1 at the Curtis Cup will do a lot for your confidence. Kim has staked her claim on junior golf up to this point, and she'll continue to imprint her name on the history books with a win at Rolex. Kim's best AJGA finish this year is a T-3 at Heather Farr.
Eric Soderstrom (30)
FootJoy: Austin Cody. Cody just celebrated his 16th birthday Sunday, and will top off the week with his first AJGA invitational victory. A first-round 76 kept him out of the running at Thunderbird, but he bounced back with 68-72 to finish T-14. A good start this week should go a long way for him.
Rolex: Kim Kim. She’s coming off a life-changing week at St. Andrews at the Curtis Cup, and could ride that excitement to a lopsided victory.
Sean Martin (15)
FootJoy: Jordan Spieth. What can I say? This kid is good. Sure, Big Brown taught us that there’s no such thing as a safe bet, but Spieth hasn’t finished worse than seventh in four starts this year (and has finished inside the top 15 in nine of 10 career AJGA events). He’s coming off a T-5 at Thunderbird, too.
Rolex: Victoria Tanco. If you’ve been following Blog Jr., you know I think big things will come from this 14-year-old from Bradenton (by way of Argentina). Tanco won this year’s Scott Robertson Memorial, and as I wait in the Orlando International Airport, I just received an e-mail that shows she’s in second after the first round of U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying in Florida, two strokes behind Amy Yang, who won two weeks ago on the Ladies European Tour. I think it’s an omen.
Dan Mirocha (10)
FootJoy: Mu Hu. He closed with a 78 at the Thunderbird to fall back to T-18. That won’t happen again.
Rolex: Marika Lendl. Had a nice T-5 at Thunderbird and in an AJGA press release after the first round said that “everything in my life (has) stopped and I just started focusing on golf, and it’s really paying off now.” Who’s to argue with her?
– Ray McCarthy
Posted June 9
Your weekly junior golf roundup...
1. Sunny Hills High School of Fullerton won the California State High School Championship Monday with an impressive lineup, including two girls.
The Lancers’ roster consisted of Michael Jae Woo Im (No. 16 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings), Alex Shi Yup Kim (24), Jeffrey Kang (34), Kevin Lim, U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Kristen Park and Inah Park.
Kang shot 2-under 70 to win the individual title by two strokes, while Kristen Park’s 80 at the 6,505-yard Santa Maria Country Club counted toward the team total. Inah Park’s 83 was the team’s throw-out score, but her contributions were felt earlier in the postseason.
Park’s 75 in the CIF-Southern California Golf Association Southern Regional Championship included a hole-in-one.
2. Julian Suri, No. 17 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, almost made it to the U.S. Open, falling on the ninth hole of a playoff at the qualifier at Jupiter Hills Country Club in Tequesta, Fla. Suri missed a 45-foot birdie putt on the final extra hole, and Lamielle holed a 15-footer to earn a spot at Torrey Pines.
3. Maria Piccio, of Bradenton, Fla., made her first AJGA event memorable, setting a tour record for largest margin of victory. The 17-year-old shot 9-under 135 (66-69) for an 18-shot victory at the Medicus Preseason Junior at Callaway Gardens.
The old record of 16 shots was held by seven other players, the most recent being Morgan Pressel’s victory over Casey Hines in the 2004 Valero Texas Junior Open.
4. The three juniors competing at the U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier in Hawaii have to like their odds. That’s because they’re the only players in the field, and they’re competing for one spot. The three players are Anna Jang, 16, of Aiea, Hawaii; Cyd Okino, 14, of Honolulu; and Margarita Ramos, 18, of Phoenix.
At least none of them will have to watch the leaderboard for hours to see if they got in. They’ll know as soon as they walk off the 18th green.
5. The fifth spot in the lineup is reserved for players who are making a name for themselves outside of national tournaments. This week it’s Mariah Stackhouse, 14, of Riverdale, Ga.
Stackhouse won her second consecutive Georgia Women’s Match Play Championship in April, then finished second behind former University of Georgia player Alina Lee at last month’s Greater Atlanta Women’s Amateur. She finished second in her first AJGA start of the year at the AJGA Cliffs Championship and T-3 this week at the AJGA's Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic.
– Sean Martin
Posted June 5
Julian Suri, No. 17 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, has made a verbal commitment to Duke.
Last fall, Suri won the Golfweek Junior Invitational and Florida 2A High School Championship. He lost in a playoff to Andrew Yun at the Verizon Junior Heritage in February.
Suri will play in U.S. Open sectional qualifying June 2 at Jupiter (Fla.) Hills Country Club.
Suri, of St. Augustine, Fla., is No. 2 in the Class of 2009.
– Sean Martin
Posted May 28
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the Thunderbird International:
Eric Soderstrom (Pontus Widegren, Stephanie Kono) came in as the biggest winner on the week with 30 total points. Widegren finished T-5 to net Soderstrom 20 points while Kono finished ninth to earn him 10 more points. Soderstrom has 30 points on the season.
Ray McCarthy (Jordan Spieth, Marta Silva Zamora) nipped at Soderstrom’s heels this week with Spieth finishing T-5 and Silva placing T-14 for a total of 25 points. McCarthy also leads the year-long competition with 35 points.
Sean Martin (Cody Gribble, Marta Silva Zamora), missed with Gribble but rebounded a bit with Silva for five points on the week. Martin stands in third with 15 points in the year-long race.
Dan Mirocha (Luke Guthrie, Rachel Morris) was shutout on the boys’ side, but picked up five points from Morris, who finished T-19. Mirocha has 10 points on the season so far.
Season:
McCarthy: 35 points
Soderstrom: 30 points
Martin: 15 points
Mirocha: 10 points
Stay tuned...
Junior Extra fantasy is back for the Thunderbird International Junior. Sean Martin and Ray McCarthy are tied for the lead after the Houston Boys Invitational. They have 10 points. Dan Mirocha is third with five points, and with zero points, Eric Soderstrom has been cramming like crazy for weeks in order to get on the board.
Sean Martin (10): Cody Gribble knows how to play Grayhawk, as shown by
his second-round 68 at last year’s tournament. He’ll rebound nicely
from his final-hole disaster at the Houston Boys Invitational to pick
up his first AJGA major. This is the year
we put the “international” back in Thunderbird International. Marta Silva,
who finished third at last year’s event, will follow in the footsteps
of countrywoman Belen Mozo and walk away with a victory at Grayhawk.
Ray McCarthy (10): Jordan Spieth tied for seventh at the Houston Boys, won the Traditions and a finished third at the Wellstone Communities at Craig Ranch. He’ll continue to roll. Marta Silva Zamora is on fire. With a win at the Junior Heritage and a season at Georgia to look forward to in the fall, Zamora will pick up her first AJGA invitational title at Thunderbird.
Dan Mirocha (5): Luke Guthrie is a Midwest guy. I’m a Midwest guy. Keeping this one in the family. Rachel Morris just won a U.S. Women’s Open local qualifying event by two shots in Yorba Linda, Calif.
Eric Soderstrom (0): Pontus Widegren and Stephanie Kono. Enough said.
Scoring: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified. (Only rule: You can’t pick the same player two consecutive weeks.)
– Dan Mirocha
Posted May 22
Sorry for the delay, but here is the top 5 list from the week that was in junior golf, written on a plane somewhere between Orlando and Albuquerque...
1. For those who follow Blog Jr. closely, you may have seen Victoria Tanco’s name back in December. If you haven’t heard of her, she’s a name worth remembering.
Tanco, 14, won the Scott Robertson Memorial, one of the country’s premiere independent events. She’s originally from Buenos Aires, but recently started attending the IMG/David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton.
“This is the first time I’ve won a (15-18) title like this and it’s the most important tournament I’ve won,” Tanco told The Roanoke Times.
Tanco also finished T-3 at the 2007 Junior Orange Bowl. Before that, she dominated age-group competition.
Tanco won the 12-13 age division at last year’s Doral-Publix Junior Classic by 11 shots. Tanco also won the girls’ 13-14 division at this year’s Junior Worlds and the 12-13 flight at the 2006 Optimist International Junior Championship.
The Optimist victory was another 11-shot romp after she posted a 202 total (64-71-67).
2. Yueer Cindy Feng, 12, is a winner for a second consecutive week, and if her winning total of 157 at the AJGA Medicus Preseason Junior at Rochester didn’t impress, how about a first-round 66 at Harmony (Fla.) Golf Preserve in a Junior All-Star event?
“To be honest, last week I wasn’t pleased with my scores and didn’t feel I played that well,” Feng said. “But the win really showed me where I needed to improve and that helped in my preparation for this tournament. I just knew that today I had to really focus on my own shots and not make any silly mistakes.”
3. Memorial Day weekend may be one of the biggest weekends in junior golf. There’s the AJGA’s Thunderbird International Junior as well as the FCWT and IJGT season-ending events.
The IJGT Tournament of Champions will be held at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Fla., while the FCWT National Championship will be at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Take a break from the beach and your barbecues to check golfweek.com for all the results.
4. The Duramed Futures Tour is starting to look like child’s play, as another girl won this past week around the same time she should’ve been graduating high school.
Mindy Kim, winner of the 2006 AJGA Mission Hills Desert Junior and a member of that year’s Canon Cup team, turned pro last year. She was originally scheduled to graduate in 2008, but completed high school more than a year early.
Vicky Hurst’s decision to turn pro didn’t catch many people offguard. Kim’s choice was another story. Sure, she was No. 5 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, but her Mission Hills victory was her only AJGA victory in her self-described “OK” junior career.
Congrats to her. It seems like she’s learned a lot in her year as a pro.
5. There’s plenty of good players who stay close to home and sometimes don’t get the attention they deserve. I want to use this spot to point one out each week. Martin Trainer, a 17-year-old from Palo Alto, Calif., is one name I’ve been seeing a lot of lately.
Trainer, who’s in his junior year of high school, won the San Francisco City Championship March 9 to surpass former U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi as the youngest winner in tournament history. He finished fourth last month at the Alameda Commuters, one of Northern California’s top amateur events. Last week, he was co-medalist at U.S. Open local qualifying with a 67 at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Trainer also qualified for the 2007 U.S. Amateur (T-161 in stroke play), U.S. Amateur Public Links (T-115 in stroke play) and U.S. Junior (T-83 in stroke play). He’s played only one career AJGA event, finishing T-6 at the West Coast Championship.
– Sean Martin
Posted May 20
Georgia coach Kelley Hester now has six players for the 2008-09 season, after the signing of two-time Georgia High School Class AA champion Tess Fordham last week.
Three Bulldogs will return from this year’s team (Mallory Hetzel, Carolina Andrade and Krystle Caithness), while UCF sophomore Leigh Crosby will transfer to her hometown of Athens. Crosby is No. 327 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. Marta Silva, No. 10 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, will also play for Hester next year.
First, Hester has to lead the No. 8 Bulldogs at next week’s NCAA Women’s Division I Championship. Two days later, she’ll head across the Atlantic for her first trip to Scotland to watch Caithness and Stacy Lewis, who Hester coached at Arkansas, compete for opposing sides in the Curtis Cup.
– Sean Martin
Posted May 17
The top five from the week that was in junior golf...
1. Robbie Mamo wasn’t going to let leading a golf tournament get in the way of his senior prom. Mamo lives in Apple Valley, Calif., about two hours from Westin Mission Hills Resort, site of the AJGA Medicus Preseason Junior at Rancho Mirage. He shot a first-round 69 to tie for the lead, went to the dance that night, then only got two hours of sleep before shooting an even-par 71 Sunday to share the title with James Feutz of University Place, Wash.
Mamo would’ve won the title outright if not for a bogey-free 32 on the final nine by Feutz. He eagled No. 11, then made birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 to jump from a tie for 18th after the first round into a tie for first.
2. How about two sixth graders (that’s the Class of 2014, if you’re keeping track) finishing tied for first at the AJGA Medicus Preseason Junior at Rochester?
It’s scary how much talent there is among the Class of 2013, with Alexis Thompson, Julie Yang, Annie Park and Pearl Jin all winning AJGA open events, while Alison Lee, Karen Chung, Simin Feng won Nike Junior All-Star events. This is a different story; these players are in their first year of middle school. Shouldn’t they be playing four-square and dodgeball?
“I really cherish this win,” Feng said. “This is a once in a lifetime tournament and it tells me where I stand. I'm competing with really good girl golfers and it gives me confidence for the future.”
There’s a lot of junior golf in her future, considering high school graduation is still six years away.
3. Courtney Ellenbogen, No. 12 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior, shot 69 to Monday qualify for the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open. Ellenbogen opened with a 1-under 70, but missed the cut after a second-round 77. Ellenbogen also qualified for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open, where she missed the cut by a single stroke the week before her victory in the AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions.
“It was pretty intense out here,” Ellenbogen told the Virginian-Pilot. “I was trying to just focus on the golf ... but it made it hard with the wind and rain. And my ball-striking was just really, really bad.”
4. Marta Silva won her fourth IJGT event in five starts this year (in addition to her Junior Heritage victory). Six of Silva’s eight rounds are in the 60s, and her scoring average is 69.0. Georgia coach Kelley Hester probably can’t wait to get the Spaniard on campus.
5. In other golf news from the Iberian Peninsula, 16-year-old Pedro Figueiredo of Portugal didn’t just win the Irish Amateur Open, he ran away with it, shooting 10-under 278 at Royal Dublin to win by seven. He fired a course-record 67 in the second round, including a holed 7-iron from 154 yards for eagle 2 on the eighth hole. Figueiredo is No. 44 in the Golfweek/Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings.
– Sean Martin
Posted May 12
Taking a page out of Lance Ringler’s book in Blog U., here’s a list of the top five happenings over the weekend in junior golf:
1. The 2009s are starting to make their commitments. Tommy Chung Hao Mou, No. 18 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, will go to Florida next year. Mou is No. 3 in the Class of 2009.
On the girls’ side, Mary Michael Maggio has verbally committed to LSU. Maggio (or M-Cubed) advanced to the third round at last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior and is ranked 12th in her class. The Tigers have a pretty good class coming in this year, as well. Sweden’s Jacqueline Hedwall, runner-up at the recent Scottish Women’s Stroke Play, and eighth-ranked Tessa Teachman are headed to the Bayou this fall.
2. I appreciate the Brits’ frankness when explaining why they’d rather turn pro than attend college. I’m not endorsing anyone’s decision, but these quotes, as told to Golfweek’s Alistair Tait, are entertainingly honest.
“I don’t want to play college golf because education doesn’t interest me that much,” Matthew Haines said Sunday after becoming the youngest winner in the 43-year history of the Lytham Trophy.
“The academic side of college golf doesn’t really interest me. I’m not the sharpest in the class, and I’m quite lazy academically so I don’t think college golf is for me,” Stiggy Hodgson said April 18 after claiming the McEvoy Trophy.
3. Haines could’ve played in the Fairhaven Trophy, the under-18 competition that’s run concurrent with the Lytham Trophy. He decided to take on the big boys, and the decision paid off. He wasn’t the only junior to fare well.
Runner-up Dale Whitnell is also 18; Eddie Pepperell, who finished ninth at Lytham after losing a playoff at the McEvoy, is 17. Pepperell and Haines wil both play the Thunderbird International Junior May 24-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Oscar Sharpe, who attends the IMG/David Leadbetter Golf Academy, finished T-18 at the Lytham; the 15-year-old has three victories and seven top 10s in 10 FCWT events this season. He is No. 77 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
4. Paige Spiranac tied the course record from the women’s tees (5,483 yards) at Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Club with her 5-under 65 in the first round of an IJGT event. Spiranac finished at 3-under 137 for a 12-shot victory. Spiranac spends most of her time competing on the FCWT. She has three victories and three runner-up showings in eight starts this season, and has never finished outside the top five. The 15-year-old is No. 131 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings and 11th in the Class of 2011.
5. Seung-yul Noh is just 16 years old, but he’s already collected three runner-up finishes on the Asian Tour this season. Noh, who is professional, lost a playoff this past weekend at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship to move to 11th on the tour’s Order of Merit; he’s also leading the rookie of the year award race.
– Sean Martin
Posted May 5
The long road of U.S. Open qualifying began today, and juniors are well-represented among the 8,390 entrants hoping to walk the fairways of Torrey Pines in our country’s national championship.
Kyle Kopsick is just one of many hopefuls, but he overcame the first hurdle by advancing past local qualifying with a 71 at the Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla., May 5.
Kopsick held the 36-hole lead at the AJGA's Houston Boys Invitational before finishing third.
How many others from the 18-and-under contingent who advance remains to be seen. A junior has played in each of the past two U.S. Opens – Tadd Fujikawa in 2006 and Richard Lee last year.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted May 5
Katie Sylvan, No. 38 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, is really eager to try to qualify for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. The San Diego resident was the first of 1,236 women to apply for the tournament.
The youngest entrant is 11-year-old Samantha Wagner of Eaton, Pa. The 4-foot-11 fifth grader has won three consecutive tournaments in the FCWT 11-14 age division and finished eighth in the 9-10 age division at the 2007 Callaway Junior World Championships.
– Sean Martin
Posted May 1
It’s not hard to get a coach to speak glowingly about her team, but I have to believe Pepperdine coach Laurie Gibbs when she said about her recruiting class, “These five recruits would be a competitive top-25 team by themselves.”
Pepperdine announced two spring signees – Lisa McCloskey, who was originally scheduled to graduate high school in 2009, and Kaitlin Drolson. Both players made match play at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
All five Waves signees for next year are ranked in the top 40 of the Class of 2008. Pepperdine signed Jessica Wallace, Kiara Hayashida and U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up Ayaka Kaneko in the fall.
For the rest of the spring signings, click here.
– Sean Martin
Posted April 30
John Popeck, runner-up at last year’s AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, recently had a round to remember. He shot 11-under 60 April 20 in a casual round at his home course, The Golf Club of Washington (Pa.), a 6,001-yard, par-71 layout.
Popeck, who played nine of the holes with the club’s head pro, had two eagles and seven birdies, shooting 30 on each side. He has signed a letter of intent with Maryland.
Popeck’s first eagle came on the 298-yard, par-4 ninth hole, where he hit his blind tee shot on the uphill hole to 12 feet and converted the putt. He also made eagle on the 495-yard, par-5 16th, but not the way you would expect.
He hit his tee shot into the trees, punched out, then holed his third shot from 100 yards with a gap wedge.
Popeck’s round bettered by a shot the course record he set last July.
– Sean Martin
Posted April 28
Entries for the U.S. Open closed April 23 after 8,390 golfers applied for the event at Torrey Pines Golf Course. The youngest of the bunch is Rico Hoey, a 12-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Hoey won the 2006 Junior World title in the 9-10 age division, and has two older sisters who’ve also seen success on the course. Kay Hoey is a redshirt senior at Long Beach State who has advanced to two NCAA Division I Women’s Championships as an individual, while Simone Hoey is a high school senior who will play for the 49ers this fall.
– Sean Martin
Posted April 21
REUNION, Fla. – Cassandra Blaney was out at the LPGA’s Ginn Open, watching the pros she one day would like to play along. Blaney, a two-time PGA Junior Series player of the year in the 16-18 age division, was one of the best players yet to announce a commitment in the Class of 2008. She said Sunday she’s going to play for Emilee Klein at Central Florida.
Blaney finished third at last year’s Westfield Junior PGA Championship behind Alexis Thompson and Kimberly Kim. She also holed a 6-foot putt to salvage a tie in the 2006 Junior Ryder Cup.
– Sean Martin
Posted April 21
Margarita Ramos, No. 76 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, made the cut last week at the LPGA’s Corona Championship, finishing T-58 at 12-over 304. Ramos, who will play this fall at Arizona, lives in Arizona but was born in Mexico City.
It was Ramos’ second LPGA event of the season. She missed the cut at the tour’s other event in Mexico, the MasterCard Classic.
Ramos finished T-22 in her only AJGA start of the year, at the ReBath Heather Farr Classic.
– Sean Martin
Posted April 16
Slow play has become an epidemic in the golf world, but the AJGA has a vaccine.
The AJGA’s Pace of Policy — notorious for its multi-colored card system, timing stations, and one-stroke penalties to repeat slow-play offenders — has been an effective tool in combatting five-hour rounds.
Such was the case over Easter weekend at the AJGA Championship at Traditions.
Upon arrival, AJGA staff members were told by The Traditions Club at Texas A&M that they had never had one competitive round shorter than 5 hours. The Traditions has hosted the Texas A&M Women’s “Mo”morial tournament from 2005-08 and the NCAA Women’s Central Regional in 2006.
Needless to say, the AJGA’s Pace of Play policy shone once again. Here are some numbers the AJGA provided us with:
• The averages for the 3 rounds were 4:46, 4:48 and 4:48 for a tournament average of 4:47.
• The number of rounds under 5 hours for the 3 rounds were 39, 35, and 45.
• The fastest round of the week was 4:20.
In light of its success, the AJGA’s Pace of Policy will be implemented at the 2009 “Mo”morial tournament.
– Ray McCarthy
Posted April 4
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Mina Harigae said she was nervous on the driving range at Mission Hills Country Club, site of this week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship. It’s an understandable feeling, except that the tournament doesn’t start for another two days. The butterflies came from the fact that she hasn’t played a tournament since November’s Polo Golf Junior Classic.
“I just took a couple months off to practice,” Harigae said.
It’s Harigae’s first Kraft, but not her first major. She made the cut in last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
– Sean Martin
Posted April 1
Somewhere in Stillwater, Laura Matthews is smiling. Earlier this week, her Cowgirls upset the top four teams in the country to win the Arizona Wildcat Invitational.
Over in Spain, half of the semifinalists at the Spanish Women’s Amateur were Oklahoma State signees, including champion Caroline Masson of Germany. Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall also made the semis.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who will attend Arizona State in January 2009, advanced to the quarterfinals. Ciganda won last year’s British Women’s Amateur.
In the men’s event, France’s Victor Dubuisson (Arizona State) and Germany’s Sean Einhaus (Oklahoma State) lost in the first round of match play. Einhaus lost, 1 down, to European Amateur champion Benjamin Hebert.
– Sean Martin
Posted March 2
Several foreign players who are bound for U.S. colleges are competing at the Spanish Women’s Amateur, and surely making their future coaches proud.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who’s made a verbal commitment to Arizona State and is expected to arrive in Tempe in January 2009, shot 4-under 140 (69-71) to win medalist honors by three shots over Oklahoma State-bound Caroline Masson of Germany (75-68). Ciganda won last year’s British Women’s Amateur.
France’s Isabelle Boineau, who’s signed with Arizona, finished fourth at 146 (74-72). Caroline Hedwall, who’ll also play for Oklahoma State in the fall, finished fifth at 149 (78-71).
Ciganda, Masson and Hedwall all advanced to the quarterfinals, while Boineau lost in the Round of 16.
Check back Sunday for final results.
– Sean Martin
Posted Feb. 29
Nice lil’ T-45 finish by Ayaka Kaneko at the LGPA’s Fields Open. Here are some notable players she beat:
• Brittany Lincicome, last year’s Ginn Open champ
• Michelle Wie
• Julieta Granada, 2006 ADT Championship winner
• Se Ri Pak, LPGA Hall of Famer
• Natalie Gulbis, last year’s Evian Masters champ
• Pat Hurst, five-time LPGA winner (including a major)
• Ai Miyazato, 14-time Japan LPGA winner
Had she been competing as a professional, Kaneko would have won $5,454, which isn’t a shabby three days of work for someone who just turned 18.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted Feb. 24
U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up Ayaka Kaneko is making the most of her sponsor exemption into the LPGA’s Fields Open. Kaneko, who’ll play for Pepperdine in the fall, shot 70 Friday to finish at 2-under 142 and easily advance to the weekend. Golfweek’s second-ranked junior has nine birdies through two rounds.
– Sean Martin
Posted Feb. 22
A couple post-Houston observations:
• Oklahoma State assistant Alan Bratton watched the final group for much of the day. After future Cowboy Morgan Hoffmann closed his junior career on a victorious note, Bratton pointed out that he missed the cut in his final junior tournament, an early version of the HP Boys Junior.
Bratton didn’t turn out too bad. He was a four-time All-American at Oklahoma State, and a first-teamer in 1994 and 1995. He was a co-recipient of the 1994 Jack Nicklaus Award, which honors the nation’s top player, and helped the Cowboys to the 1995 NCAA title.
• Hoffmann earned the prized AJGA putter cover for low final round, but it was after closing with a 73. Scoring conditions weren't ideal – there was an inconsistent breeze blowing Monday – but doesn't it say something when not one player in a strong field can break par? Maybe it's time to move the tees up a little, or the hole locations a little closer to the middle of the green. There wasn't much rough at Redstone, so just a few simple fixes would've done the trick.
The final hole was tipped out much of the week, and played into the wind. Many players were resigned to playing it as a par-5, and I didn't see one player record a GIR in the final two rounds.
• Cody Gribble won’t be deterred by his bogey-quadruple bogey finish. If anything, he said it will inspire him. Gribble was understandably upset after the round, but he took a couple minutes to collect himself and was laughing and joking by the time he left the scoring tent.
Gribble was able to focus on the positive – this was still his best finish in an AJGA invitational, and a good learning experience – which makes me think he’ll be ready to contend the next time he tees it up. And Gribble can win the big one, as evidenced by his victory at last year's Western Junior.
• Fun fact: the Houston Boys Invitational was the first AJGA tournament ever held in February.
– Sean Martin
Posted Feb. 22
I can’t tell you how many e-mails I’ve received in the last week demanding that Junior Fantasy points get updated. And because last year’s contest was so hotly contested, I can understand why. So, without any further delay... here are your updated standings.
Sean Martin (Cory Whitsett) 10 points.
Ray McCarthy (Cory Whitsett) 10 points.
Dan Mirocha (Julian Suri) 5 points.
Eric Soderstrom (Mu Hu) 0 points.
For stroke play, win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified. (Only rule: You can't pick the same player two consecutive weeks.)
– Dan Mirocha
Posted Feb. 22
Junior Extra fantasy golf gets an early start this year thanks to the AJGA’s Houston Boys Invitational, and a fourth member will be added to the mix with Ray McCarthy. Enough with the formalities, let’s get to the picks.
Eric Soderstrom: Mu Hu. He won his first invitational at the 2007 HP Boys Invitational, so Golfweek’s eighth-ranked junior should have good vibes this week at the (take a deep breath before saying this title) Houston Boys Invitational at Redstone presented by HP and Administaff.
Hu's HP slam. I can see the headlines already.
Sean Martin: Cory Whitsett. I’m not very creative, so I’m going to go with the local lefty, who’s No. 4 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings. Whitsett knows how to beat the best. His 80 wins against the top 25 players are the most in the country.
Dan Mirocha: Julian Suri. The Floridian keeps improving, winning the Golfweek Junior Invitational and Florida state high school title last fall. Look for him to make his AJGA breakthroug this week.
Ray McCarthy: Cory Whitsett. I'm even less creative than Sean.
– Sean Martin
Posted Feb. 15
HUMBLE, Texas – The inaugural Houston Boys Invitational gets underway Saturday. Redstone Golf Club’s Tournament Course is located just outside Houston, making U.S. Junior champ Cory Whitsett the hometown favorite.
There’s a copy of Houston Links magazine in the media center, in which Whitsett is named the 2007 Houston Junior Boys Player of the Year. Apparently Whitsett, No. 4 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, has even bigger plans for ‘08.
“As far as specific goals for this year,” Whitsett told Houston Links, “I don’t want to share. But they’re pretty lofty goals. ... I’m really looking forward to the next level, whenever that may be.”
• Redstone will host the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open April 3-6, one week before the Masters. In preparation, Redstone has shaved banks around many of the greens to give the course an Augusta National feel.
It might not play hard and fast this week, though. It’s been raining most of the day, which will make the 7,376-yard course play even longer.
• Texas lefties Whitsett and Cody Gribble (No. 5 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings) will tee off with two-time AJGA player of the year Peter Uihlein at 8:39 a.m. off No. 1.
The next group off the first tee will feature Morgan Hoffmann, Mu Hu and Gregor Main, all of whom won AJGA invitationals in 2007. All three are in the top 15 in Golfweek’s junior rankings.
– Sean Martin
Posted Feb. 15
In light of Marta Silva Zamora’s verbal commitment to Georgia, there are a couple other big international commitments to announce.:
• Fellow Spaniard Carlota Ciganda has made a verbal commitment to Arizona State. Ciganda won last year’s British Women’s Amateur, beating future teammate Anna Nordqvist, 4 and 3, in the final. Ciganda will join the Sun Devils in January 2009.
• Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer has committed to play for Florida, also in January 2009, because he hopes to represent his home country in October’s World Amateur Team Championship. Kieffer has the same home course as Sandra Gal, who played for Florida before turning pro in December, and said Gal spoke very highly of her experience in Gainesville.
Kieffer won the 2006 European Young Masters, and played well in several recent tournaments in the U.S. Kieffer finished T-6 in stroke play at the 2007 Polo Golf Junior Classic and advanced to the Round of 16. He also finished T-4 at the Junior Orange Bowl in December and T-8 at the Dixie Amateur earlier this year.
Ciganda and Kieffer were teammates on the 2006 Junior Ryder Cup team.
– Sean Martin
Posted Feb. 14
Marta Silva Zamora, one of the last big-name players left from the class of 2008, verbally committed to Georgia. That’s huge for the Bulldogs, who are losing Alina Lee one year early. Zamora, No. 10 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, recently won the Verizon Junior Heritage.
– Beth Ann Baldry
Posted Feb. 11
Last year, Tadd Fujikawa followed his Sony Open success by winning Hawaii’s Pearl Open. The professional version of Fujikawa won’t be back to defend his title because he’s playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
There will still be plenty of teens on hand, most notably Stephanie Kono. The first-team AJGA All-American will give it a shot against the men professionals, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
Ryo Ishikawa, who won a Japan Tour event last year as a 15-year-old amateur, will play his second pro event at the Pearl.
Lorens Chan, 13, will also be in the field. Earlier this year, Chan almost became the youngest player to participate in a PGA Tour event before losing a playoff to Alex Ching in the Sony Open’s amateur qualifier.
Chan might not be the youngest player in the Pearl field, though. Twelve-year-old Masamichi Ito will try to qualify for the event after missing by three shots last year.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 31
The Fields Open (Feb. 21-23) sent out a
press release announcing Michelle Wie and U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up Ayaka Kaneko as its 2008
sponsor exemptions. Just how far has Ko Olina Golf Club’s “adopted
daughter” fallen in the last year? In the subject line of the e-mail,
her named was spelled “Wei.” Ouch.
Kaneko is No. 2 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings and will attend Pepperdine this fall.
– Beth Ann Baldry
Posted Jan. 29
The absence of the Junior Players Championship was a glaring omission when the AJGA announced its 2008 schedule. The event was a huge success its first year, attracting one of the year’s best fields to the famed TPC Sawgrass. Well, the Junior Players will be back. The 2008 edition will be played Aug. 29-Sept. 1. Also confirmed was the Polo Golf Junior Classic’s return to Ginn Reunion Resort outside Orlando.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 28
There’s no cover jinx at Junior Extra. Oscar Sharpe won the FCWT Leadbetter Open Jan. 27, his third victory in six starts but first since October. It was a sweep by Great Britain & Ireland at the Leadbetter Open, as Scotland’s Sally Watson, Golfweek’s 19th-ranked junior, won the girls title.
• Sharpe had finished outside the top 10 in his past three starts before winning last week, but that’s nothing compared to the improvement made by Parker Clowers, who won the FCWT Sea Island Open with a 3-over 147 total, 22 shots lower than last year. He shot 83-86 in 2007 to finish T-55.
• Back to international players. New Zealand’s Danny Lee has risen to No. 5 in the Golfweek/Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings after a 10-shot victory at the Lake Macquarie Amateur in Australia. Lee is the highest-ranked junior in the SPWAR (Peter Uihlein is the highest-ranked American junior at No. 15).
Lee, 17, shot 20 under par at Lake Macquarie to tie the tournament record and beat a field that included Australia’s top amateurs and England's Gary Wolstenholme.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 28
A couple random observations:
– PGA Tour rookie Brad Adamonis is in second place at the Buick Invitational after shooting 66 Thursday at Torrey Pines’ North Course. The Rhode Island native may have fond memories of the San Diego area. He won the 11-12 age division at the 1985 Junior Worlds. Adamonis is a stroke ahead of the guy who won the 9-10 age division in ‘85, Tiger Woods.
– Michael Jae Woo Im, No. 24 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, won a mini-tour event Jan. 20 at Black Gold Golf Club in Yorba Linda, Calif. What’s better than the $150 pro shop voucher he earned for his even-par 72? Beating his older brother and former Pac-10 champ Daniel, who shot 73.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 24
It was a good week for the children of Czech tennis players. First, Isabelle Lendl became the second consecutive offspring of former World No. 1 Ivan Lendl to win the Ione D. Jones/Doherty Tournament. It was a good start to the year for Isabelle, who struggled in 2007 and fell to No. 39 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
Three Lendls – Marika, Isabelle and Daniela – made match play at the Doherty. Isabelle beat Marika, the Doherty’s defending champion, in the semifinals and Daniela in the second round.
Cyril Suk, the son of the former Grand Slam doubles champion of the same name, scored his first FCWT victory in six starts this season at the Innisbrook Open, going wire-to-wire to win by three shots (69-71-73). Suk is No. 150 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings and No. 4 in the Class of 2011.
Jessica Korda, No. 41 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings and No. 2 in the Class of 2011, is the daughter of Petr Korda. In 1985, Petr Korda and the elder Suk formed the world’s top-ranked junior doubles team.
Like the Lendls, Suk and Korda attend the IMG/David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 21
Congrats to Kimberly Kim and Mina Harigae for being named to the U.S. Curtis Cup team.
Kim will be just 16 when the match tees off at the Old Course at St. Andrews May30-June 1. She might not be the youngest player at the match, though.
That honor could go to Scotland’s Carly Booth, who has a strong chance of being named to Great Britain & Ireland’s team. Booth, 15, won Scotland’s U-18 and U-21 championships and the European Young Masters in 2007. Booth would be the youngest participant in GB&I history.
In 2005, then-Ladies Golf Union secretary Andy Salmon called Booth the U.K.’s version of Michelle Wie (that was a compliment back then).
Sally Watson, 16, also has a good shot at making the team. Watson, who attends the IMG/David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, was medalist in stroke-play qualifying for the British Girls’ Amateur and made the cut at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. She is No. 20 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
Both Watson and Booth are on the 16-player training squad, from which most of the eight-player team will be selected. Watson and Booth’s chances were helped recently when fellow squad member Jenna Wilson turned pro.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 17
I just got off the phone with Jane Rah. She hasn't committed to a college yet, but has narrowed her choices down to UCLA and USC. Because she knows the area so well and likes both coaches, the deciding factor for her will be who is on both teams. She plans on making a decision later this summer.
Rah is No. 6 in the latest Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, and No. 3 in the Class of 2009.
Tiffany Lua, No. 5 in the rankings, called Carrie Forsyth Dec. 26 to tell her she was coming to UCLA. She visited Duke, USC, UCLA, Cal and Stanford.
Twelth-ranked Courtney Ellenbogen told Dan Brooks the news in mid-December. She had it
narrowed down to Duke, Stanford and Virginia before joining the dynasty.
– Beth Ann Baldry
Posted Jan. 7
Alexis Thompson win at the Dixie Amateur was another impressive feat for the 12-year-old, but the runner-up – Shelby Coyle – should be given a lot of credit.
The 15-year-old from Pembroke Pines, Fla., appears to have made a large leap in her game in the past month. Two weeks before the Dixie, she finished T-12 at the Doral-Publix Junior Classic. Coyle shot 15-over 299 (74-74-76-75) at the Dixie and was tied with Thompson for the lead halfway through the tournament.
That’s pretty impressive considering Coyle had a 79.3 scoring average this season while competing on the Florida Junior Tour’s 13-15 age division.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 7
Lindy Duncan is good friends with Vicky Hurst. Now she’ll be following Hurst’s footsteps to the LPGA’s Ginn Open.
Hurst played in the event in 2007 on a sponsor exemption. Duncan, No. 20 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, won the “Ginn Open Got Game Challenge” Sunday to earn her spot. Duncan may be best known for making the semifinals of the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur as a 15-year-old.
Duncan, who'll turn 17 later this month, shot 74-69 at Ginn Reunion Resort, then won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with pro Sookhee Baek, who shot a final-round 74. The Ginn Open will be held April 17-20.
Golfweek Junior Invitational champion Stephanie Kim and Rachel Rohanna, Golfweek’s 81st-ranked junior, earned spots in the tournament’s qualifier April 15 by being the next two highest amateurs.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 6
It’s been discussed for months, but now it seems one of the Class of 2009’s best players has chosen a college. Courtney Ellenbogen, No. 12 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, has made a verbal commitment to Duke, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Ellenbogen, from Blacksburg, Va., is a first-team AJGA All-American. She won three AJGA events this year – including the Rolex Tournament of Champions – and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, missing the cut by a shot.
– Sean Martin
Posted Jan. 2
Blog Jr. wants to take a second to pat itself on the back. Victoria Tanco is in second place after shooting 70 in the opening round of the Junior Orange Bowl. If you’re not familiar with the 13-year-old Argentinean, scroll down two posts.
Tanco – one shot off the lead of Korea’s Jung-Eun Han – beat the likes of Courtney Ellenbogen, Alexis Thompson, Michelle Shin and the Lendl sisters Friday.
In the boys’ division, Oklahoma State-bound Sean Einhaus leads by two after a first-round 65. He’s two shots ahead of Mathieu Rivard, who finished second last week at Doral. Morgan Hoffmann, another future Cowboy, is another shot back.
Last year’s Orange Bowl featured one of the best leaderboards of the year. Sihwan Kim finished a shot ahead of Peter Uihlein. Western Amateur champ Jhared Hack, Hoffmann and David Chung rounded out the top 5.
That got me thinking. Sihwan Kim quietly put together one of the best junior careers in history (even though he never won an AJGA player of the year award). His eight AJGA victories tied him for second all-time. He won the U.S. Junior, Rolex Tournament of Champions, Orange Bowl and three consecutive times at the AJGA event at Mission Hills (one of the circuit’s original stops).
Kim, now a freshman at Stanford, is No. 21 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
– Sean Martin
Posted Dec. 27
Alexis Thompson is only 12 years old but has already successfully defended a prestigious junior title.
Thompson, No. 20 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, shot 69 Sunday to win her second consecutive Doral-Publix Junior Classic. She finished at 3-under 213, three shots ahead of Kristina Wong, medalist at this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur and No. 25 in Golfweek’s junior rankings.
Thompson’s winning total this year is a six-shot improvement from last year, when she won by a shot over Mitsuki Katahira.
Thompson was probably helped by a growth spurt that now has her standing at 5-foot-8, more than three inches taller than last year. The increased height has given Thompson more length off the tee.
Norway’s Are Friestad shot 8-under 208 to win the boys’ title by six shots over Canada’s Mathieu Rivard and Mexico’s Mauricio Azcue, No. 21 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings. Friestad, a high school sophomore, was a member of last year’s European Junior Ryder Cup team.
Azcue, who shot a final-round 67, has signed a letter of intent to play for UCLA next fall. Rivard, who graduated high school in 2007, had signed a letter of intent to play for SMU starting this fall.
– Sean Martin
Posted Dec. 23
Here’s a name to remember – Victoria Tanco. The 13-year-old from Buenos Aires posted an 11-shot victory Friday in the girls’ 12-13 division at the Doral-Publix Junior Classic.
Tanco shot 69-67 to finish at 8-under 136. Tanco also won the girls’ 13-14 division at this year’s Junior Worlds and the 12-13 flight at last year’s Optimist International Junior Championship.
The Optimist victory was another 11-shot romp after she posted a 202 total (64-71-67).
– Sean Martin
Posted Dec. 21
Michelle Wie, Tadd Fujikawa and Alex Ching. Not familiar with the third name? Well, Ching, a former classmate of Wie’s at Punahou High School, is about to join the first two as Hawaiian teens to tee it up in the Sony Open.
Ching, 17, got in by being the low amateur at local qualifying. Fujikawa, who finished T-20 in 2006, will play on a sponsor exemption.
Ching, winner of this year's Optimist International Junior Championship and Junior America’s Cup, will play for Tim Mickelson at the University of San Diego next fall.
Ching also plays tennis for Punahou, the defending state champions.
– Sean Martin
Posted Dec. 20
Alexis Thompson’s victory as an 11-year-old at last year’s Doral-Publix Junior Golf Classic was one of the first times she made major headlines.
Thompson, now 12, will look a lot different when she defends her Doral title later this week. She’s grown more than 3 inches since last year and is now 5-foot-8, according to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“My dad likes that,” Thompson said. “He wants me taller, taller, taller.”
The added height could lead to even bigger things for Thompson, No. 20 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
“She’s gotten stronger, and she’s longer off the tee,” Thompson’s father, Scott, said. “She’s growing like a weed.”
– Sean Martin
Posted Dec. 19
Tadd Fujikawa finally has a sponsor. He’s going to play Pebble, too.
According to the the Honolulu Advertiser, Fujikawa, the
16-year-old who stole the show at last year’s Sony Open and then turned
pro in July, announced Monday that he has accepted an invitation to
play in next season’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He has
also signed a one-year deal with his first corporate sponsor, Aloha
Petroleum Ltd.
The deal “gives me a little breathing room,” Fujikawa told the Advertiser.
“It’s going to help with a lot of my travel expenses and things like
that,” said Fujikawa. “It’s definitely going to help my game get
better.”
Since giving up his amateur status, Fujikawa has yet to make the cut in a professional event.
– Eric Soderstrom
Posted Dec. 18
A few things you know, a few things you may not about Dustin Johnson,
the former U.S. Walker Cup star who just earned his PGA Tour card on
his first try this week at Q-School:
• Johnson played only six American Junior Golf Association events as a
junior. (His best finish was a tie for 10th at the 2001 Greater
Greensboro Chrysler Junior.) He spent most of his time on the men’s
amateur circuit around South Carolina.
• Johnson went to Coastal Carolina to play for coach Alan Terrell, who
never tried to change Johnson’s un-textbook swing, which leaves his
club face pretty closed at impact.
• Says Terrell, who Johnson still counts as his swing coach (He isn’t
quick to trust anyone else with his unorthodox swing): “He knows he’s
beating most everyone else on the planet with it, so there’s no reason
to change it.”
– Eric Soderstrom
Posted Dec. 4
How good is Bjorn Akesson? Well, the recent Polo champ has moved up to No. 30 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings and No. 19 in the R&A’s rankings.
Those are rankings for all amateurs worldwide, not just juniors.
– Sean Martin
Posted Nov. 24
It’s a question that’s been raised time and time again as youth sports (including golf) become more competitive: Should players specialize in one sport?
Jack Nicklaus contributed his $.02 recently when he said, “You see kids specialize in golf. I think that is idiotic.”
Russell Henley, who plays now at Georgia, and Allie White, an AJGA first-team All-American, are notable players who competed in other sports in high school. But they’re the exception, not the rule.
Playing other sports can pay off, helping kids avoid burnout and develop different motor skills. But every day a player isn’t on the course, one of their competitors is.
Click here to read the story and discuss on Golfweek's discussion boards.
– Sean Martin
Posted Nov. 24
In what happens to be the most improbable outcome in Junior Extra Fantasy Golf history, Eric Soderstrom and Dan Mirocha ended the season in a tie.
Each finished with 510 points. Sean Martin finished with 455 points.
At last word, Soderstrom and Mirocha were still locked in a dance-off to decide the winner.
– Junior Exta Staff
Posted Nov. 25, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – The match that wouldn’t end just ended: AJGA Player of the Year Vicky Hurst escapes again, and is headed to the finals of the Polo Golf Junior Classic.
How?
Stephanie Kono missed a 4-footer for par on the 28th hole. It lipped out on the left side, only leaving Kono to wonder if someone is playing a trick on her.
Last year, Kono lost her semifinal match to last year’s Player of the Year, Esther Choe, on the 21st hole.
– Eric Soderstrom
Posted Nov. 23
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update (Finale edition):
This just in: The semifinals at the Polo Golf Junior Classic are currently being played, but if Kimberly Kim and Vicky Hurst make it to the girls’ final, we have an improbable set of circumstances on hand for the 2007 conclusion of Junior Extra Fantasy Golf.
Thanks to picking both medalists correctly this week, Eric Soderstrom has put himself into prime position for the comeback of the year. However, Dan Mirocha still has a great chance to hold on for the title. Here is the breakdown:
• If Hurst makes it to the finals and Kim loses in the semis: Mirocha wins.
• If Kim makes it to the finals and Hurst loses: Soderstrom wins.
• If both Hurst and Kim make it to the finals and Kim wins: Soderstrom wins.
• If both Hurst and Kim make it to the finals and Hurst wins: Tie game.
• Note: Sean Martin can not win.
Can you dig it?
Happy Turkey Day, everyone.
– Junior Extra staff
Posted Nov. 22
ORLANDO, Fla. – Here’s a list of coaches hanging out at this week’s Polo Golf Junior Classic, most of whom signed in with the AJGA upon arrival this week. I’ve seen a few coaches from top schools who didn’t sign in, which means this list probably isn’t even complete. I’ve been to a lot of these invitationals, but I don’t ever remember seeing this many coaches.
I guess they either really like Disney World, or heard about the hype surrounding the churros here at Ginn Reunion Resort.
Mens’ coaches: Brandon Goethals, Pacific; Bill Montigel, TCU; Sam Puryear, Michigan State; Scott Schroeder, North Florida; Jordan Byrd, Clemson (assistant); Jay Hardwick, Virginia Tech; Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State; Chris Gougenheim, Texas A&M (assistant); Bowen Sargent, Virginia; Derek Freeman, UCLA; O.D. Vincent, Duke; Don Hill, North Carolina (assistant); Conrad Ray, Stanford; Ernest Ross, Ole Miss; David Shuster, Houston Baptist; Michael Burcin, South Carolina; Andrew Crabtree, Tulsa (assistant); Randy Lein, Arizona State; Jay Seawell, Alabama; Chris Zambri, USC; Jamie Green, Charlotte; John Fields, Texas; Chris Malloy, Florida State (assistant); Buddy Alexander, Florida; Bruce Heppler, Georgia Tech; Zach Guthrie, Illinois (assistant); Jeff Thomas, Liberty; Steve Bailey, Northwestern; Drew Scott, Rice; Ryan Cabbage, Auburn (assistant); Mike Phillips, Emory; Brad Sparling, Ohio State (assistant); Chris Haack, Georgia; Dwaine Knight, UNLV.
Women’s coaches: Mic Potter, Alabama; Andrea Gaston, USC; Marci Kornegay, South Florida; Katie Quinney, Florida State (assistant); Paul Gooden, James Madison; Pina Gentile, Iowa State (assistant); Renee Slone, Illinois; Kathy Teichert, Michigan; Carrie Forsyth, UCLA; Sally Austin, North Carolina; Ria Quiazon, San Francisco; Laura Matthews, Oklahoma State; Kelly Hester, Georgia; Sara Doell, Penn State (assistant); Katie Brophy, Indiana (assistant); Emily Milberger, Oklahoma (assistant); Kyle Veltri, Notre Dame (assistant); Michele Drinkard, Ole Miss; Kristi Coggins, South Carolina; Courtney Trimble, Auburn (assistant); Golda Johansson, LSU (assistant); Shelly Haywood, Arizona; Trelle McCombs, Texas A&M; Todd Oehrlein, Wisconsin; Emilee Klein, UCF; Amy Langhals, Ohio State (assistant coach); Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, Michigan State; Martha Richards, Texas; Jill Briles-Hinton, Florida; Mike Akers, Texas State; Lori Tate, TCU (assistant); J.T. Horton, Tulane; Dianne Dailey, Wake Forest.
– Eric Soderstrom
Posted Nov. 21
ORLANDO, Fla. – Highlights from my interview with U.S. Junior champ Cory Whitsett, following his second round of stroke-play qualifying from the Polo Golf Junior classic:
• “Just coughed up a bunch of green crap this morning.” (He woke up this morning feeling sick and didn’t feel much better after the round.)
• “No, because people don’t remember my seed at the U.S. Junior, they just remember who won.” (After being asked if he cared about being medalist.)
• “12, I think.” (After being asked what seed he was at the U.S. Junior.)
• “No. It’s a totally different golf course. There aren’t as many risk/reward holes where the match can swing as much. It’s a lot harder to frustrate people out here, because that golf course (Boone Valley Golf Club) was much more demanding off the tee. I don’t think there will be many blowouts.” (After being asked if his U.S. Junior experience gives him an advantage.)
• “I don’t know about me right now, but I’d say for Gregor (Main) definitely.” (After being asked if he is the favorite.)
– Eric Soderstrom
Posted Nov. 20
ORLANDO, Fla. – A day after missing the cut at the phenom-filled ADT Championship,
Annika Sorenstam drove home to Orlando, Fla., to hang out with
teenagers. She was the special guest Sunday night at the American
Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet,
which was held in the Grande Ballroom at Ginn Reunion Resort, home to
the Annika Academy, the LPGA’s Ginn Open and this week’s AJGA Polo Golf
Junior Classic.
“Without (the AJGA) we wouldn’t have all these great juniors,”
Sorenstam said during a brief speech. “I can tell you that because they
beat me every week on tour. I used to be the young one, and now I’m
called the crusty old veteran...”
Her appearance at what is often billed as “the greatest night in junior
golf” only makes one wonder if the new, diversified Annika is looking
to someday play a bigger role than just featured speaker.
– Eric Soderstrom
Posted Nov. 19
Somebody get Micah Jacobsen a sponsor exemption for the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic. The high school senior from Fernandina Beach, Fla., owns the Champion course at PGA National, having won two events there in two weeks.
First came the FCWT PGA National Open Nov. 3-4, where he shot 1-under 143 (72-71) to beat China’s Zhong Yang Fu by a shot. Then Jacobsen won the Optimist International Tournament of Champions this weekend. He shot 2-under 142 (69-73) for a four-shot victory over Cyril Suk.
Jacobsen, No. 105 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, shot par or better three times in those four rounds and has a 71.25 scoring average.
Posted at 8:29 p.m. Nov. 19 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update (Finale edition):
Picks for this week's season-ending Polo Golf Junior Classic (half points for stroke-play qualifying):
Dan Mirocha (445 points): Pontus Widegren (medalist) – He got funky in the first round at the Junior Players and will get equally as funky early at the Polo. Luke Guthrie (winner) – Still salty from his second-round loss at the U.S. Junior to Wesley Graham, Guthrie steamrolls to victory never seeing the 18th hole.
Stephanie Kono (medalist) – Girls’ Junior semifinalist goes low and makes an ace on Tuesday. Vicky Hurst (winner) – Wins the Ping Invitational, then wins the AJGA player of the year, then wins the Futures Tour Q-School, then wins the Golfweek Rock, Paper Scissors Championship (coming soon on GolfweekTV). She’s the like the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics rolled into a Kangol hat.
Eric Soderstrom (420): Gregor Main (medalist), Cory Whitsett (winner). Vicky Hurst (medalist), Kim Kim (winner).
Sean Martin (410): Cory Whitsett (medalist), Bud Cauley (winner). Vicky Hurst (medalist), Mina Hariage (winner).
• • •
Point system: For match play, win (50 points), finalist (30 points), semifinalist (20 points), quarterfinalist (10 points), third round (5 points).
For stroke play, win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified. (Only rule: You can't pick the same player two consecutive weeks.)
Posted at 10:25 p.m. Nov. 18 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
Christmas comes early for college coaches with the opening of the early signing period today. Several new commitments have been announced, highlighted by a couple of Californians.
Derek Ernst, who’s headed to UNLV, may be ranked 60th in the senior class, but that doesn’t factor in his play at the U.S. Amateur, where he beat Florida’s Billy Horschel en route to the Round of 16.
Kylie Fuller, No. 26 in the class, is going to Northwestern.
Posted at 10:29 p.m. Nov. 14 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Vicky Hurst is undecided about whether to turn pro or go to college. She may have made up her mind after earning medalist honors this week at Duramed Futures Tour Q-School. At least that’s the way it sounds from her post-round quotes.
“It’s like starting my career,” she said. “Playing this qualifier and winning it kind of starts everything with a bang. Now I also know where I stand.
“I’m probably leaning toward turning pro, but anything can change."
Said runner-up Sara Brown, “I’d be surprised if she goes to college and if she doesn’t, I can’t say that I blame her. She’s ready (for the pros) now.”
Posted at 9:18 p.m. Nov. 9 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Mu Hu, No. 14 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, made his annual appearance in the HSBC Champions, a European Tour and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event in his native China. Hu was in last place by two shots after a first-round 83, but the HP Boys Junior winner rebounded with a second-round 71.
Hu was hurt by a front-nine 45 the first day. He had five birdies and an eagle 2 on the par-4 13th in the second round.
Posted at 12:18 p.m. Nov. 9 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Vicky Hurst may be the AJGA player of the year, but last week she came up short in her defense of her Florida 1-A high school title. She finished two shots behind freshman Kyle Roig, who is No. 91 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
Hurst has also set a deadline to decide whether she will turn pro or go to college. She will not sign during the early signing period that begins this month, according to an article in Florida Today, but will make a decision by the end of December.
Hurst has narrowed her list of potential colleges to Duke, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Florida and Georgia. Hurst’s older sister, Kelly, plays for Florida.
Vicky Hurst, No. 4 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, is scheduled to play this week in Duramed Futures Tour Qualifying School.
Golfweek Junior Invitational winner Julian Suri won a Florida state title of his own last week.
Posted at 12:18 p.m. Nov. 5 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
How’s this for a golf name? Karsten Majors.
The high school junior from Bixby, Okla., shares the same first name as the founder of Ping (Karsten Solheim) and Oklahoma State’s home course (Karsten Creek). And who wouldn’t like to win a few majors?
Well, this weekend he walked away with one of the biggest tournaments in the Midwest - the Red River Rivalry, which features the best juniors from Texas and Oklahoma. He shot 4-under 136 at Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Okla., to finish ahead of some big names like Jordan Spieth (No. 50 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings), Josh Jones (No. 18) and Sang Yi (No. 14).
Posted at 8:31 p.m. Oct. 29 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Oscar Sharpe is living up to the hype. Sharpe is something of a wunderkind in his native England, but recently started attending the IMG/David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Sharpe won his first start since moving to the U.S. with a victory Sept. 23 at the Tampa Bay Open. He made it 2-for-2 this weekend at the Westchase Classic. The 15-year-old shot 71-70 to win by two shots. He made only one bogey in 36 holes.
He’s received high praise in his home country.
“Becoming the best in the world has been mentioned and there’s no reason for Oscar not to set his sights on that,” said Peter McEvoy, a former British Amateur champion and Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper. “I don’t think any player of his age has ever been better than Oscar is now and I would include Nick Faldo in that.”
Speaking of young phenoms, 11-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn shot 9-over 297 at the Honda LPGA Thailand to finish T-51. She finished ahead of names like Lorie Kane and Ai Miyazato.
Posted at 4:48 p.m. Oct. 29 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the Golfweek Junior Invitational:
Dan Mirocha (Matt Carroll, Marta Silva) finally scores after going three events in a row without any points. Gracias, Marta Silva. ¡Viva España! 445 points.
Eric Soderstrom (Jacob Burger, Stephanie Meadow) gets 10 points with Burger’s T-8. 420 points.
Sean Martin (Patrick Winther, Marta Silva) picks up 25 points, but stays in third place with 410 points.
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Picks for the Golfweek Junior:
Dan Mirocha (425 points): Matt Carroll, Marta Silva
Eric Soderstrom (410): Jacob Burger, Stephanie Meadow
Sean Martin (385): Patrick Winther, Marta Silva
• • •
Remaining fantasy point events:
Polo Golf Junior Championship
• • •
Point system: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified. (Only rule: You can't pick the same player two consecutive weeks.)
Posted at 6:13 p.m. Oct. 26 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
Ariya Jutanukarn, 11, qualified for this week's Honda LPGA Thailand to become the youngest player ever to play in a major international tour event. She shot 75 in the first round, and is tied with or ahead of 19 players.
Posted at 7:58 p.m. Oct. 26 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
The St. Augustine Amateur is one of about 50 events included in the Golfweek/Titleist Amateur Rankings, but its leaderboard looks more like it's from an AJGA invitational.
Wesley Graham, Mu Hu, Bud Cauley, Julian Suri and Tommy Chung Hao Mou are all in the top 50 in Golfweek’s junior rankings and in the top 10 after the first round of the St. Augustine, which was played today at St. Johns Golf Club.
Graham and Hu are two of three co-leaders after shooting 3-under 67. Graham had five birdies and no bogeys in his first 13 holes, but made a double bogey on the 16th. Hu, who outdueled Graham at the HP in Orlando, had a more up-and-down day. He made seven birdies and four bogeys.
Cauley also got bit by No. 16. He made double there on the way to a 1-under 69. Suri was steady, making one birdie and one bogey in his 70, while Mou is another shot off the lead.
Defending champ Peter Uihlein actually won this event before claiming his first invitational. He’s not in the field because he’s representing his country next week at The Spirit International Amateur (see previous blog entry).
Posted at 7:58 p.m. Oct. 19 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Kimberly Kim, Golfweek’s top-ranked junior girl, has said she’ll always consider herself Hawaiian, partly because it sounds cooler to say you’re from the Aloha State instead of Arizona.
She’ll return to Hawaii next month for the inaugural Hawaii-Japan Junior Cup, after being awarded one of the special exemptions for the Ryder Cup-style team competition. Kim moved to the mainland before her freshman year of high school. Elyse Okada, No. 53 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, will be one of Kim's teammates.
“It will be nice to have Kimberly Kim back home in Hawaii playing with her peers,” Mary Bea Porter-King, president of the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, told the Honolulu Advertiser.
Posted at 5:22 p.m. Oct. 18 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Peter Uihlein, No. 1 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, and U.S. Junior champ Cory Whitsett will represent the U.S. at the The Spirit International Amateur, Oct. 24-27 at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. The Spirit is a 72-hole four-ball competition featuring 24 countries.
Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst and UCLA’s Tiffany Joh will also represent the U.S.
Several other juniors will represent their countries:
• Sean Einhaus, who’ll join Uihlein at Oklahoma State in fall 2008, will play for Germany alongside fellow 17-year-old Maximillian Kieffer. Kieffer was the runner-up at this year’s German Amateur.
• Stanislav Matus, winner of the FCWT’s World Woods Rolling Oaks Classic last weekend, will represent the Czech Republic, as will Jessica Korda. She is No. 24 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings and No. 2 in the Class of 2011.
• Kyle Roig, No. 91 in Golfweek’s rankings, will play for Puerto Rico. Roig is No. 4 in the Class of 2011.
Posted at 1:32 p.m. Oct. 16 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
James Leadbetter doesn’t have to go far for good instruction. He’s the son of famed swing instructor David Leadbetter. That kind of guidance led to victory in the boys 11-12 division Sunday at the FCWT World Woods Rolling Oaks Open. He shot 70-80 to win by seven. The 12-year-old had 10 birdies in the two rounds.
Posted at 4:28 p.m. Oct. 15 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
A couple post-Ping observations:
• Round of the week goes to David Zickler. He didn’t pack it in after opening with scores of 89-84. Instead, he birdied two of his final three holes to shoot 72. The Alabaman was the only player to match par in the final round.
• I bet players are happy the next AJGA invitational – the Polo Golf Junior Classic – is match play. Plenty of high scores have been posted at the invitationals, and The Ping was no different. The boys’ field averaged 78.1 strokes per round at Karsten Creek, while the girls averaged 77.9.
• There were a couple of fi |
