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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, Lance Ringler, Sean Martin and Dan Mirocha. At least three of those four are sometimes funny.
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 firsts at the AJGA’s Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic, also held earlier this week. It was the AJGA’s first open event in Mexico, and 12-year-old Pearl Jin won in her AJGA debut.
Jin first made news at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, when she became the youngest player in tournament history to make match play. She lost to fellow 12-year-old Alexis Thompson in the second round.
Jin is the sixth girl from the Class of 2013 to win an AJGA event this year:
– Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J. (Junior All-Star at Jacksonville)
– Simin Feng, Orlando, Fla. (Junior All-Star at Toftrees)
– Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. (Junior All-Star at Marshallia Ranch)
– Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (Aldila Junior Classic)
– Julie Yang, Phoenix, Ariz. (Randy Smith Classic)
– Pearl Jin, San Gabriel, Calif. (Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic)
Vicki Goetze’s record for youngest winner of an AJGA event (11 years, 11 months and 29 days) will never be broken because players must be 12 to enter AJGA events. But the next five on the youngest-to-win list all are from this year (Yang, Chung, Thompson, Feng and Jin). Chung and Feng got their wins at Junior All-Star events.
• Stephanie Kim, No. 76 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, posted a 15-shot victory this past weekend at the IJGT stop at Mystic Dunes. It was the third victory in a Golfweek ranked event in the past four weekends for Kim, who is from Bayside, N.Y., but resides in Orlando. Her average winning margin in those three events is eight shots.
She won the Florida Junior Tour’s event at Ocean Hammock one week earlier and its stop at Summerfield Crossings Sept. 15-16. Kim shot a final-round 64 in the latter – despite a two-shot penalty for hitting the wrong ball – to set the tour’s 18- and 36-hole scoring records.
Posted at 11:33 a.m. Oct. 10 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after The Ping Invitational:
Dan Mirocha (Morgan Hoffmann, Alexis Thompson) went scoreless for the third consecutive tournament, but still holds the lead with 425 points.
Eric Soderstrom (William Kropp, Tiffany Lua) had his sights set on the top early Monday, but late mistakes from Kropp and Lua kept him 15 points behind with 410 points.
Sean Martin (Sang Yi, Mina Harigae) is in third with 385 points.
Yee-haw.
• • •
Remaining fantasy point events:
Golfweek Junior
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 5:41 p.m. Oct. 8 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
Talk about a star-studded threesome. Peter Uihlein, Morgan Hoffmann and Cory Whitsett will tee off at 8:54 a.m. in the first round of the Ping Invitational Saturday at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
Why do I have a feeling Peter and Morgan will spend a lot of that time trying to sell Cory on the merits of Oklahoma State? That’s of course when the two future Cowboys aren’t talking smack to each other.
Posted at 8:42 a.m. Oct. 6 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Picks for The Ping Invitational:
Dan Mirocha (425 points): Morgan Hoffmann, Alexis Thompson
Eric Soderstrom (385): William Kropp, Tiffany Lua
Sean Martin (380): Sang Yi, Mina Harigae
• • •
Remaining fantasy point events:
Golfweek Junior
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 9:19 p.m. Oct. 5 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
Jennifer Johnson, the No. 6 player in the Class of 2009, has made a verbal commitment to Arizona State.
Johnson may be one of the most underrated players in the country. The quiet Californian has won three of her past four AJGA starts – at the Mission Hills Desert Junior, Fidelity Investments Stars of Texas Junior and Ping Phoenix Junior.
Johnson is No. 14 overall in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
More and more juniors are making early commitments, and it’s not just the boys. Johnson’s commitment comes just a couple weeks after Rachel Morris – a high school sophomore – made a commitment to Southern California.
Posted at 3:22 p.m. Oct. 3 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Cheyenne Woods, Tiger’s niece, has made her verbal commitment. She’s going to Wake Forest.
Woods’ last name draws the most attention, but she’s an accomplished player in her own right. She's No. 49 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings and finished third against a strong field at last month’s AJGA Ping Phoenix Junior. She won last year’s Arizona state high school title while helping Xavier Prep to its 25th state championship.
Posted at 3:42 p.m. Sept. 26 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Maybe there’s some light at the end of the tunnel for Andrew Yun.
Yun shot a final-round 69 Sunday at Desert Mountain’s Outlaw Course to win the Arizona Stroke Play Championship by seven shots over Bryan Hoops and Pacific Coast Amateur champion Michael Knight.
Yun finished at even-par 288, rebounding from an opening 76 with three consecutive rounds of par or better.
Yun won two AJGA invitationals last year, but has just one top-10 in an AJGA event this year and has finished outside the top 25 in four of his past five starts. He’s fallen to No. 30 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
Yun told me at the Rolex Tournament of Champions that he’d been struggling with swing changes.
“I was trying to be more clean, take out the extra movement, but the extra movement is what made my swing,” he said. “I was timing it perfectly. As long as you know where the ball is going at impact, you’re fine.
“Now that I’ve noticed what I’ve done wrong, I’ve tried to fix it. I’ve gone through a valley, I’ve hit rock bottom. I’m coming back up that mountain.”
Posted at 10:16 p.m. Sept. 23 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Give Patrick Winther an ‘A’ for effort this weekend at the IJGT tournament at ChampionsGate (Fla.) Resort.
Winther has moved up to No. 13 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings thanks to his domination of the IJGT. Last season, he won five of 14 starts, was runner-up another six times, and finished outside the top 3 just once.
He was on pace for his worst finish after a first-round 78 at ChampionsGate’s International course, his first IJGT tournament of the season. Winther was 1 over after a bogey on No. 6 in the second round, then made birdie on eight of his final 12 holes for a 68. He finished third at 2-over 146, one shot out of a playoff.
Winther only had one par over that stretch, mixing in three bogeys with those eight birdies.
Posted at 6:32 p.m. Sept. 23 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
This puts the ‘early’ into early commitment. Rachel Morris, No. 2 in the Class of 2010, has already committed to Southern California, according to the North County Times. She’s the first high school sophomore (boy or girl) that I know of to already make a commitment. And we thought Cody Gribble was on the ball.
Posted at 6:11 p.m. Sept. 19 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Another reminder why we love Tadd Fujikawa. The kid can bottle lightning.
Playing in the Nationwide’s Boise Open, Fujikawa, who started his day on the 10th hole, came to the 133-yard, par-3 17th even-par on the day. His tee shot landed behind the hole, spun back and fell directly into the hole for an ace.
That infectious smile spread across his face, and he tossed his club in the air.
The spirited teen – who recorded a double eagle from 285 yards in the European Masters two weeks ago – finished the day at 1-under 70.
No word yet on if he won a car or has his license for that matter.
Posted at 7:25 p.m. Sept. 19 by assistant editor Ray McCarthy. To reach him e-mail mailto:rmccarthy@golfweek.com
HALMSTED, Sweden – Thank goodness for the Junior Solheim Cup teams. Without them, the atmosphere would have been dead on the first tee for the start of the Solheim Cup.
The two teams gathered behind the first tee at around 7:30 a.m. and whooped it up big time from then until the last foursomes match went off at 8:50. They sang songs, cheered individual players and even hailed the caddies.
The European team may have won the Junior Solheim Cup, but they lost the singing battle.
The Europeans turned up with song sheets and looked like they’d spent all their time working on their games rather than the songs. The U.S. kids had no such problem. They could have passed for a cheerleading team.
Their song choices were a little strange for a golf tournament. They sang “She’ll be Coming ’Round the Mountain,” “Yellow Submarine” and a version of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” with “putts” replacing “butts” in the line “We like big putts and we cannot lie...” – Go figure!
Still, it made for the sort of brilliant, convivial atmosphere you don’t get at the Ryder Cup. Well done kids.
Posted at 12:11 p.m. Sept. 14 by senior writer Alistair Tait. To reach him e-mail mailto:atait@golfweek.com
U.S. Girls' Junior runner-up Ayaka Kaneko has made a verbal commitment to Pepperdine. Kaneko, of Honolulu, is No. 4 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings. Click here to see the rest of the Class of 2008's commitments.
Posted at 12:38 p.m. Sept. 8 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
More from Tadd. He shot 77-75 at the European Masters to miss the cut by eight shots, but he closed the tournament in style. The Taddster holed a 3-wood shot from 285 yards to make double eagle on the 632-yard, par-5 9th, his final hole of the event.
“A happy memory, for sure,” he said. “I was pretty sure it would be on the green at least. But I didn't know it would go in the hole. I couldn't see it, but I heard it from the crowd. I could definitely tell it went in. It was pretty nice to finish like that.”
Posted at 8:24 a.m. Sept. 8 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
We have a Tadd Fujikawa sighting. He turned up in Switzerland at the European Masters. Fujikawa shot 77-75 to finish at 10-over 152 and miss the cut by eight shots. Fujikawa, who made a splash by qualifying for last year's U.S. Open and finishing T-20 in this year's Sony Open, missed the cut in his first PGA Tour event as a pro at the Reno-Tahoe Open earlier this year.
Among other youngsters turned pros, brothers Tony and Gipper Finau both missed the cut at the Nationwide Tour's Utah EnergySolutions Championship. Tony shot consecutive 74s, while Gipper shot 74-80; the cut came at 4-under 138. Gipper made the cut in this tournament last year to become the youngest player to make a Nationwide Tour cut. Tony Monday qualified for the Greater Milwaukee Open earlier this year and made the cut after a second-round 65.
Posted at 8:35 p.m. Sept. 7 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
A few items of note as perhaps the greatest junior of all time Phil Mickelson deletes my e-mail explaining to him the coincidence of him winning The Players Championship and then the Deustche Bank Championship, played the same week of the Junior Players Championship:
• The Class of 2007 will be deleted from the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings this week, so expect a lot of movement. If you think you’re better than your current ranking, just wait a few days.
• The last two times my colleague Dan Mirocha and I have done a video at an AJGA invitational, it has included the eventual champion. First, it was Mu Hu. This week, it was Morgan Hoffmann, who tried some trick shots with a few friends at TPC Sawgrass’ famous 17th hole.
Who wants to be in the next one? E-mail me.
• In what year will Augusta National host its first AJGA event?
Posted at 8:25 p.m. Sept. 3 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the Junior Players Championship:
For the second week in a row, Mirocha gets blanked. But he still holds a sizable lead with two events to go. Martin, who scored 20 points with Bud Cauley’s third-pace finish, is just five points out of second place. Soderstrom’s Peter Uihlein pick bumped him up 10 points.
Dan Mirocha: 425 points
Eric Soderstrom: 385
Sean Martin: 380
Remaining fantasy point events:
Golfweek Junior (new addition)
Ping Invitational
Polo Golf Junior Championship
Posted at 6:47 p.m. Sept. 2 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.
U.S. Junior champ Cory Whitsett has some pretty good accomodations while he tries to tackle TPC Sawgrass at the Junior Players Championship – the home of a former NFL offensive tackle.
Whitsett is staying at the home of Tony Boselli, the first player ever selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Boselli, the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NFL draft, played seven seasons for the Jags and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
Posted at 1:39 p.m. Sept. 2 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
Two big commitments to announce: Luke Guthrie, No. 6 in the Class of 2008, is going to stay in state and go to Illinois. No. 11 Gregor Main will join fellow Californians Taylor Travis and Alex Shi Yup Kim at UCLA. Good grabs for new coach Derek Freeman.
The only top-20 player yet to commit is No. 19 Hyun Seok Lim.
As always, I encourage you to send in your commitments so we can post them on the site.
Posted at 6:45 p.m. Sept. 1 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Picks for Junior Players Championship:
Dan Mirocha (425 points): Cory Whitsett. Can’t go wrong with the U.S. Junior champ.
Eric Soderstrom (375): Peter Uihlein. Because he beat me by 45 shots in the junior-am, and made birdie on the final hole after I said “Make birdie here and Ill pick you.”
Sean Martin (360): Bud Cauley. Here’s hoping a little local knowledge helps him deal with the pressure of TPC Sawgrass’ closing holes. Plus he’s had a heck a summer playing in amateur competitions.
Remaining fantasy point events:
Ping Invitational
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.
Posted at 11:28 p.m. Aug. 30 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
It doesn’t get much better than the Junior Players Championship – one of the strongest fields of the year playing famed TPC Sawgrass.
Here’s another nice touch – the PGA Tour is providing the players with caddies from the course.
I wonder what advice they'll give to players stepping to the 17th tee for the first time.
Posted at 7:51 p.m. Aug. 30 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Mina Harigae is going to play against the pros. Dan Brooks, don’t worry. It’s just for a week.
Harigae, the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, will join 77 other juniors that will play alongside Champions Tour professionals at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, which starts Friday.
Harigae, No. 1 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, lives in nearby Monterey. She was given one of eight exemptions by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation.
The other exemptions went to Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif.; T.J. Kua, Honolulu, Hawaii; Tucker Harper, Pebble Beach, Calif.; David Pastore, New York; Nicko Dodd, Sugar Land, Texas; Arianna Patterson, Carmel, Calif.; Roberto Rosas, San Diego.
They will join 60 First Tee participants who qualified at the Participant Selection Process at Kansas State University and ten juniors who qualified through a regional qualifier that took place in June.
Posted at 3:39 p.m. Aug. 28 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Fall is in the air, which in the world of junior golf means the AJGA is winding down, while the FCWT and IJGT are preparing to start their seasons.
The International Junior Golf Tour’s 2007-08 schedule’s opens in two weeks with events in Hershey, Pa., and Hilton Head Island, S.C. The IJGT will conduct more than 60 events throughout the country at some of the nation’s top venues – including PGA West, TPC Sawgrass, Kiawah Island, La Costa and Harbour Town.
Contact the IJGT at (843) 785-2444 or visit online at www.ijgt.com.
The FCWT gets underway Sept. 22-23 with the TPC Tampa Bay Open in Florida. The FCWT also plays a nationwide schedule, and visits venues like ChampionsGate, TPC Sawgrass, Grayhawk Golf Club, site of the PGA Tour’s Fry’s Electronics Open, and Purdue’s Kampen Course, site of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship.
The FCWT can be reached at (727) 540-0473 or www.fcwtgolf.com.
Posted at 8:01 p.m. Aug. 27 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the U.S. Amateur:
Sihwan Kim, who advanced to the third round, helped inch Martin closer to contention. Bud Cauley’s first-round defeat was a tough break for Soderstrom. And despite being shut out this week, Dan Mirocha still holds a comfortable lead with just three events to go.
Dan Mirocha: 425 points
Eric Soderstrom: 375
Sean Martin: 360
Remaining fantasy point events:
Junior Players Championship
Ping Invitational
Polo Golf Junior Championship
Posted at 11:46 p.m. Aug. 27 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.
Cheng Tsung Pan, 15, of Chinese Taipei beat fellow junior Derek Ernst, 5 and 4, in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Amateur. Pan, who lives in Upland, Calif., is the only junior to make it to the quarterfinals.
At 15 years old, Pan is the youngest U.S. Am quarterfinalist since 14-year-old Bobby Jones reached the Elite 8 in 1916.
A little background on Pan:
• He was a silver medalist at the 2006 Asia Games
• This is his first USGA championship
• His older brother, Fu Chiang Pan, also played in this year's Amateur
• He played his only AJGA tournament, the TomatoBank Southern California Classic, three weeks ago, finishing fourth after rounds of 72-71-69.
• Pan was medalist at the U.S. Amateur sectional qualifier at Warner Springs (Calif.) Ranch, where all three spots were won by juniors. Pan finised at 133, one shot ahead of Josh Dupont and two ahead of New Zealand's Danny Lee.
Dupont, who is about to start his freshman year at Northwestern, finished fifth in stroke play and made it to the second round of match play, where he lost to NCAA champion Jamie Lovemark in 21 holes.
Lee also finished fifth in stroke play, then lost to Lamar’s Casey Clendenon in the first round. Clendenon just beat Eddie Olson to advance to the semifinals.
Posted at 4:22 p.m. Aug. 24 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
Derek Ernst, a high school senior from Clovis, Calif., just beat Walker Cupper Billy Horschel, 4 and 3, in the first round of the U.S. Amateur. Ernst, No. 118 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, closed out the match with a birdie on the par-3 15th.
Ernst was an FCWT first-team All-American last season after winning two of five starts on the FCWT last season. He's finished sixth in two AJGA starts this summer (with a 70.2 scoring average).
Posted at 6:58 p.m. Aug. 22 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
Tough day for U.S. Junior champ Cory Whitsett at the U.S. Amateur. After an opening 70 on the more-difficult Lakeside course at Olympic Club, he looked like a lock to be the youngest player to make match play. Whitsett shot a second-round 79 – including a triple bogey on No. 18 – to miss the playoff for match play by two shots. Whitsett was only 1 over par after 27 holes, but shot a back-nine 43.
Posted at 12:35 p.m. Aug. 22 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf:
Picks for U.S. Amateur:
Dan Mirocha (425 points): Cody Paladino
Eric Soderstrom (355): Bud Cauley
Sean Martin (335): Sihwan Kim
Remaining fantasy point events:
Junior Players Championship
Ping Invitational
Polo Golf Junior Championship
(Points: 50 for medalist; 20 for advancing to match play. Additional points: win (50 points), finalist (30 points), semifinalist (20 points), quarterfinalist (10 points), third round (5 points). )
Posted at 9:56 p.m. Aug. 19 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
While many were surprised to see Maria Jose Uribe take down college golf queen Amanda Blumenherst at the Women’s Am, I was not. Maria is a kid mature beyond her years.
Last fall I wrote a Junior Extra feature on Maria (which I would link to, but the story was lost in the Web redesign shuffle) and came away impressed with her mature, candid attitude. She was just 16 at the time.
“People have complimented me,” she told me.
She also told me that if professional golf doesn’t work, she’d like to be a sports psychologist. That mental edge may also be attributed to her international upbringing – growing up in Colombia and also spending part of her high school career in South Carolina at the IJGA. She also traveled to South Africa last year for the World Amateur Team Championship.
For someone who hasn’t started college yet, Maria is a worldly teenager with a ton of life experience. I think that helps immensely in keeping a steady mind in stressful situations.
So it’s no wonder that her 5-footer on the 36th hole found the bottom of the jar.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I cheered when it dropped. Partly because I was happy to see her win, and partly because she was my Fantasy pick to win the whole thing.
Posted at 3:03 p.m. Aug. 13 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com.
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the U.S. Women’s Amateur:
Dan Mirocha: 425 points. (Picked winner Maria Jose Uribe.)
Eric Soderstrom: 355.
Sean Martin: 335.
Remaining fantasy point events:
U.S. Amateur
Junior Players Championship
Ping Invitational
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.)
For match play, win (50 points), finalist (30 points), semifinalist (20 points), quarterfinalist (10 points), third round (5 points).
Posted at 2:25 p.m. Aug 13 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:
Results after the U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior:
Dan Mirocha: 355 points. (Picked Kristen Park as medalist. Oops.)
Eric Soderstrom: 325. (Won U.S. Junior week by five points.)
Sean Martin: 295. (Went scoreless, again.)
Picks for U.S. Women’s Amateur:
Mirocha: Maria Jose Uribe
Soderstrom: Mina Harigae
Martin: Kim Kim
(Points: 50 for medalist; 20 for advancing to match play. Additional points: win (50 points), finalist (30 points), semifinalist (20 points), quarterfinalist (10 points), third round (5 points). )
Remaining fantasy point events:
U.S. Women’s Amateur
U.S. Amateur
Junior Players Championship
Ping Invitational
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.)
For match play, win (50 points), finalist (30 points), semifinalist (20 points), quarterfinalist (10 points), third round (5 points).
Posted at 3:26 p.m. Aug 5 by managing editor/Golfweek.com Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.
AUGUSTA, Mo. – For the final time it’s...
DAN’S FUN FACT OF THE DAY:
Texas head coach John Fields was the final coach left standing after a long, humid week at the Junior. It makes sense that he stayed until the very end to watch Cory Whitsett and Anthony Paolucci, two Texas natives who haven’t yet comitted to a college.
So logically I asked Whitsett what it meant to him that Coach Fields was there to shake his hand on the green right after he had won.
“No comment,” Cory said trying to hold his best Texas Hold ‘Em face.
Hook ‘em baby!
Posted at 11:23 p.m. July 28 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com.
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – The morning round is in the books and that was a big waste of time. All square!
Do we really need a 36-hole final? Last year was the first year the U.S. Girls’ Junior went to a two-round championship match. Why? I just don’t get it. Eighteen holes – and in this case it would be a sudden-death playoff – is plenty to decide our national champion.
At 37 years old, I still play a lot of pickup basketball. Games at my club generally end when the first team gets to 9 points, but on the weekend they like to play to 15. I never understood that. It prompted me to do a study: the team that usually gets to 9 is more than likely the team that gets to 15 and wins.
Here we are, all square after 18. My prediction now is whoever gets to 1 up first will win. It sure would be nice to be in a playoff right now. Instead we get 18 more holes and maybe more.
Posted at 12:25 p.m. July 28 by assistant editor Lance Ringler. To reach him e-mail mailto:lringler@golfweek.com
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – Talk about multi-tasking. Andrea Watts has been a player, caddie and now a pianist at the U.S. Girls' Junior.
Watts – winner of this year's FCWT National Championship – got into the field at as an alternate, and shot 76-78 to miss match play by three shots. She caddied for Kimberly Kim in match play, and now she's playing "Fuhr Elise" for everyone eating lunch during the mid-day break.
Posted at 12:20 p.m. July 28 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
AUGUSTA, Mo. – Inspired by Anthony Paolucci’s lucky steak and salmon with vegetables dinner at LongHorn Steakhouse – the same meal he’s eaten since Tuesday night – I decided to make it three nights in a row at J. Buck’s, a sports bar that shares a parking lot with my hotel.
On Tuesday night I had a salad with chicken and roasted vegetables. Last night I had some pasta tossed with shrimp. And tonight, I figured I might as well go Paolucci-style and try the salmon. It came with mashed potatoes and green beans...and let me tell you, it’s a damn fine meal.
As I ate my dinner, I started thinking that if the steak and salmon with vegetables bring Anthony luck the next day on the course, I’m counting on this salmon at J. Buck’s to help me write the best gamer possible tomorrow.
Oh, and as long as we’re here...
Dan’s Fun Fact of the Day:
The official title of Anthony’s lucky meal is... Flo’s Filet & LongHorn Salmon – Our tender filet with our flown in fresh, bourbon-marinated grilled salmon. Served with rice, your choice of side dish and a crisp salad. $21.49.
Posted at 10:29 p.m. July 27 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com.
AUGUSTA, Mo. – Boone Valley Golf Club sits on 440 acres of rolling farmland. And I’m pretty sure I’ve inspected more than a good chunk of that.
Which leads me to America’s fasted growing Blog Jr. creation...
Dan’s Fun Fact of the Day:
I have walked 29.3 miles, sweated off 2.1 lbs, and consumed 62 combined bottles of water and Gatorade through three days at the steamy U.S. Junior.
OK, so maybe these aren’t exact numbers, but I’m officially spent. I fell asleep last night at 10 p.m., the earliest I think I’ve gone to bed in about two years.
And to think, I’m only carrying a notebook, pen, and recorder. Mad props to the caddies this week, and even bigger props to the kids lugging their owns bags up and down the hills here. If you need an extra bottle of water, I’d be happy to swipe a few from the media room.
(Note: That was the first and last time I will ever write the word ‘props.’)
Posted at 9:03 p.m. July 26 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com.
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – Eight players remain at the U.S. Girls' Junior. Prior to match play, I thought someone unfamiliar might be crowned champion.
We have a candidate: Haley Sanders of Rogers, Ark., checks in at No. 110 this week in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings. Sanders is from Arkansas and a member of the 2009 graduating class. She will face Kristen Park, the top-ranked player in the 2011 class, in one of this afternoon’s quarterfinal matches.
Another candidate could be Canada’s Sue Kim. People may not be that familiar with Kim, who is not ranked and is from north of the border. She is not ranked due to the fact she has not played enough ranked events, but would probably fall somewhere in the neighborhood of 75.
The Final Eight
3. Kimberly Kim
5. Stephanie Kono
6. Ayaka Kaneko
24. Kristen Park
31. Michelle Shin
46. Sarah Brown
110. Haley Sanders
N/R Sue Kim (would be in the 75 range)
Posted at 12:25 p.m. July 26 by assistant editor Lance Ringler. To reach him e-mail mailto:lringler@golfweek.com
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – Tessa The birdied four of the last six holes in her second-round match to come from 5 down with 5 to play and win on the 19th hole. So, what were the first words I heard come out of her mouth?
"Can I go jet skiing now?" she said.
The dining room at Tacoma Country & Golf Club overlooks a giant lake. I'm sure everyone in the field has wanted to take a dip at some point this week.
"My parents think I'll mess myself up," The said. "I'm not a guy. I'm not going to do anything stupid, like flips or something."
Posted at 10:54 p.m. July 25 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com
AUGUSTA, Mo. – Sean Brannan is my kind of guy.
First of all, he’s among the only kids here this week carrying his own bag.
“All of junior golf is no caddie except for this tournament, so I just wanted to keep things the same here,” he said.
Second, after Brannan rolled in a clutch 15-footer for par to dispatch Danny Lee in 19 holes in the final match of the afternoon, he let out a loud, “YES!” then slammed his hat to the ground.
“I’m pretty boisterous when it comes to golf,” he said. “I’m pretty competitive.”
And finally, after shaking Lee’s and Lee’s caddie’s hand, Brannan skipped over to his dad, Mickey, for the biggest hug seen this week. After all, Mickey, drove 12 1/2 hours yesterday from the family’s Hollidaysburg, Penn., home to arrive just in time to see Brannan make the cut on the number.
So when a USGA official offered Sean and his dad a ride into the clubhouse, they both declined and decided to hoof it back.
“I wanted to be with my dad,” Brannan said.
Posted at 6:54 p.m. July 25 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com.
AUGUSTA, Mo. – Back by popular demand, it’s...
Dan’s Fun Fact of the Day:
The 18th green at Boone Valley Golf Club measures a whopping 26,000 square feet and is shaped like a boomerang. My two bedroom, two bathroom apartment in Orlando, Fla., clocks in at 1,151 square feet. The one-level house I grew up in in suburban Minneapolis is 3,200 square feet, including the basement.
Think about the house party that I could throw on that bad boy!
Posted at 2:30 p.m. July 25 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail mailto:smartin@golfweek.com.
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – The scorecard reads 6,391 yards. That’s not short for these youngsters, but scores here at the U.S. Girls’ Junior suggest scoring at Tacoma Country & Golf Club is not too difficult. Kimberly Kim shot 62 in the opening round to go along with 42 other players that managed par or better. Round 2 did bring the scoring average up a bit, but not much – the cut was a record low 7-over 151.
Missing from the match play bracket is last year’s champ Jenny Shin and the biggest surprise of all – Vicky Hurst, a finalist in last year’s tournament. Hurst, ranked No. 2 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, came to the Northwest fresh off a 5-shot win at the McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Championship and you could sense she may not have been pleased with the course playing not very long.
“These kids just pop it out there and don’t miss a fairway,” the |
