NEWBURGH, Ind.—Cory Whitsett, 16, of Houston posted a final-round even-par 72 and tournament total 2-under-par 286 to claim a five-stroke victory at the Rolex Tournament of Champions. In the Girls Division, Jennifer Johnson, 16, of La Quinta, Calif., carded a 3-over-par 75 to win by two strokes.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Rolex Tournament of Champions was a 72-hole stroke play event held at Victoria National Golf Club. The 141-player field featured players from 26 states and seven foreign countries. The Boys Division played the par-72 Victoria National Golf Club at 7,169 yards, while the Girls Division played it at 6,375 yards. This year marked the 31st edition of the AJGA's flagship tournament. Past champions of this event include Esther Choe, Philip Francis, Charles Howell III, Jamie Lovemark, Phil Mickelson, Grace Park and Morgan Pressel.
Whitsett carded two birdies and two bogeys en route to his even-par 72, and attributed his success this week to a solid first round on a very demanding course.
“It was a very long week, especially in the mental capacity,” Whitsett said. “You could never really take a shot off. I really grinded in the first round which set me up well for the rest of the week.”
Jeffrey Kang of Fullerton, Calif., finished in second place with a tournament total 3-over-par 291. Andrew Yun of Chandler, Ariz., and Troy Anderson of Paradise Valley, Ariz., finished tied for third with four-round totals of 4-over-par 292. Second-round-leader Byeong-hun An of Seoul, South Korea rounded out the top five with a tournament total 5-over-par 293.
In the Girls Division, Johnson held a one-stroke lead entering the challenging par-4 18th hole, but calmly stuck her approach shot to three feet to seal the victory.
“I looked at the leaderboard on No. 16 and knew I had the lead,” Johnson said. “I just tried to play the final hole smart and the ball rolled out pretty nicely for me.”
Johnson held off a late charge by Doris Chen of Taipei, Taiwan and Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif., who finished tied for second place with four-round totals of 7-over-par 295.
Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. Along with sponsoring the Rolex Tournament of Champions, Rolex is also the title partner of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and the proprietors of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams.
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA, the largest Association of its kind, has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 25 foreign countries.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
For more information about the Rolex Tournament of Champions, please contact National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit ajga.org.
Third Round Results
NEWBURGH, Ind.—Third-round results from the Rolex Tournament of Champions conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Victoria
National Golf Club. Par: Boys: 36-36—72; Girls: 36-36—72. Yardage: Boys: 7,169; Girls: 6,375. Rating/Slope: Boys: 75.6/145; Girls: 77.2/139.
BOYS DIVISION
Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas 74-70-70-72—286
Jeffrey Kang, Fullerton, Calif. 76-76-67-72—291
Andrew Yun, Chandler, Ariz. 76-74-72-70—292
Troy Anderson, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 74-72-72-74—292
Byeong-hun An, Seoul, South Korea 70-71-77-75—293
Chan Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 70-73-82-71—296
Jace Long, Dixon, Mo. 75-74-73-75—297
Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas 77-74-72-74—297
Crawford Reeves, Greenville, S.C. 74-77-71-75—297
Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla. 70-75-76-77—298
Ethan Tracy, Hilliard, Ohio 73-71-82-73—299
Cameron Peck, Olympia, Wash. 70-78-73-78—299
William Sjaichudin, Carindale, Australia 81-72-71-76—300
Cody Gribble, Dallas, Texas 72-78-71-80—301
Alex Shi Yup Kim, Fullerton, Calif. 78-74-74-75—301
Andre De Decker, Cape Town, South Africa 78-73-77-73—301
James Back, Seoul, South Korea 74-77-72-79—302
Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla. 76-76-75-75—302
Tommy Chung Hao Mou, Bradenton, Fla. 71-78-84-70—303
Derek Chang, Alpharetta, Ga. 73-81-75-74—303
Jake Sarnoff, Manhattan Beach, Calif. 72-83-76-73—304
Hojin Kang, Longwood, Fla. 74-70-79-81—304
Hyun Seok Lim, Pusan, Korea 81-71-77-76—305
Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. 72-81-73-79—305
Michael Cromie, Cary, N.C. 85-68-81-72—306
Corbin Mills, Easley, S.C. 72-79-74-81—306
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. 75-76-75-81—307
Trey Sullivan, Fort Worth, Texas 82-72-73-80—307
Andrew Green, Edmond, Okla. 73-81-74-79—307
Ronnald Monaco, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 73-80-81-74—308
Juan Pablo Hernandez, Mexico City, Mexico 76-77-80-75—308
Mark Pollak, San Antonio, Texas 76-78-79-77—310
Luke Guthrie, Quincy, Ill. 71-84-79-80—314
Brandon Dalinka, Newtown, Pa. 76-79-76-84—315
Bo Andrews, Raleigh, N.C. 75-78-82-81—316
Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. 76-79-84-81—320
Pete Kellermann, Jacksonville, Fla. 74-79-91-77—321
Yao-Chun Yang, Troy, Mich. 85 QWD
Sean Dale, Jacksonville, Fla. 73-77 DQ (Rule 6-6d)
GIRLS DIVISION
Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif. 72-74-72-75—293
Doris Chen, Taipei, Taiwan 79-75-69-72—295
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. 73-75-76-71—295
VictoriaSungminPark, Irvine, Calif. 75-72-79-70—296
Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas 70-80-70-77—297
Luz Alejandra Cangrejo, Bogota, Colombia 75-74-78-71—298
Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 78-74-70-77—299
Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. 82-71-75-74—302
Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif. 75-76-77-74—302
Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. 74-74-78-76—302
Christine Song, Fullerton, Calif. 75-76-72-79—302
Katie Sylvan, San Diego, Calif. 78-77-76-73—304
Mary Michael Maggio, Conway, Ark. 75-77-77-77—306
Alexandra Stewart, Peoria, Ariz. 74-78-78-76—306
Danielle Kang, Oak Park, Calif. 78-76-79-73—306
Allie White, Lancaster, Ohio 72-84-80-70—306
Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif. 79-76-76-76—307
Victoria Tanco, Buenos Aires, Argentina 77-79-75-76—307
Lindy Duncan, Davie, Fla. 79-76-77-75—307
Rachel Morris, Carlsbad, Calif. 79-78-76-74—307
Kristina Wong, Bradenton, Fla. 78-79-76-74—307
Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 77-77-76-78—308
Danielle Frasier, Encinitas, Calif. 77-80-75-76—308
Michelle Shin, Cape Coral, Fla. 73-81-76-79—309
Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C. 70-82-76-82—310
Amelia Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla. 75-78-86-71—310
Katy Nugent, Wichita, Kan. 77-76-82-76—311
Stephanie Kim, Orlando, Fla. 72-81-82-78—313
Milena Savich, Carmel, Ind. 73-79-88-77—317
Tessa The, Los Altos, Calif. 73-79-83-83—318
Jennifer Kirby, Paris, Ontario 82-75-78-83—318
Pearl Jin, Bradenton, Fla. 79-75-73 JWD
** JWD=Justified WD
** QWD=Questionable WD
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