Press Release
Lone Star Junior Championship presented by PGA TOUR Superstore
The 2011 Lone Star Junior Championship has concluded and our players are preparing for their next event. Its summer time and junior golf is happening! This was our largest junior event to date with 142 entries and we cannot thank our players and parents enough for your support. This was also one of our most challenging with the playing conditions and utilizing two separate courses. This year’s Lone Star event had a few additional layers with our newly awarded AJGA Performance Exemptions along with this event serving as the North Texas Optimist International Qualifier.The Lone Star Junior Championship presented by PGA TOUR Superstore was our third event on our schedule. We have our next event which is our second major June 18th and 19th in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Junior Open presented by PGA TOUR Superstore will be played at Wachesaw Plantation East GC.
With the additional exemptions this event created a lot of excitement but the wind kept everyone in check. With all the events we have hosted over the years from the Golf Channel Tour to the Junior Golf Championships we have never dealt with wind speeds in excess of 50mph. We had 39mph sustained wind speeds and up to 52mph wind gusts…that is incredible!
Wind being a primary factor if was evident that the players were not going to let that spoil their fresh start to the summer! The overall scores for each age group say a lot about the quality of players! It was also great to see the college coaches in attendance for our event.
This was an outstanding start to the summer and we look forward to next year’s event. Jake Gorman made it a second JGC Championship for 2011 by holding off a strong field and coming from behind during the final round to claim the Boys 16-18 Division Championship. By winning the event Jake will be awarded the AJGA Performance Exemption and will represent North Texas in the Optimist International.
The Girls 16-18 Division was much more emotional/exciting to award than the Boys…no offence guys! We had a clear Champion in the Girls 16-18 Division with Kirsten Pike leaving no doubt about her victory. Kirsten also captured the AJGA Performance Exemption and will represent North Texas in the Optimist International. It was the additional qualifying spot for the Optimist International that became excitement. We took five girls into the playoff (Charter Lawson, Macie Seeker, Kellie Martin, Jaqueline Strickland, and Jordy LaBarbera. It was Charter Lawson wining the first playoff hole but she resides in Oklahoma, and that meant we needed to continue on with the playoff until we had a clear winner from North Texas. Charter Lawson will represent her region (OK) for the Optimist International and Jordy LaBarbera will represent North Texas after her birdie on the second playoff hole.
The Boys 14-15 Division was won by Dallas resident Mitch Kaufman. Mitch held off a strong final round charge by runner up Zach Partin and third place finisher Drew Miller. The Girls 14-15 Champion Kenzie Wright is also a repeat Champion for 2011 by capturing her second JGC victory. The runner up honors went to Junior Masters Champion Kallie Gonzales.
When it comes to the 12-13 Boys Division it doesn’t get any tougher than the field we had at the Lone Star Junior Championship! We had most of the top 10 ranked players for this age group participating. I can remember this group playing in the 10-11 division when we started this event with creator Kay Dalke. I know it was hard for her son Brad Dalke to miss this event but winning the AJGA Thunderbird Invitational made it much easier to handle.
The 12-13 Boys Division also came down to a playoff between Ryan Grider of Lewisville, Texas and Brandon Strathe from Owasso, Oklahoma. Ryan was able to close out Brandon on the first playoff hole and start his summer off with a victory. Ryan will represent North Texas in the Optimist International.
Hailee Cooper capture her second JGC title by winning the Girls 10-12 Division. Hailee has a strong track record at the Tribute. Hailee had her first Hole in One last year at the Tribute coupled with her first JGC victory. This would make two victories at the Tribute and we look to see her in Myrtle Beach at the Junior Open. Ariana Saenz was runner up while Hailey Jones rounded out the top three.
It was a strong weekend for repeat champions at the Lone Star Junior Championship presented by PGA TOUR Superstore. The Boys 10-11 Division was no different. Jensen Rogenes from Frisco, Texas claimed his first title for 2011 but his third overall. Jensen held off a strong push from Preston Topper an established player from Alpharetta, Georgia.
The Boys 8-9 Division was won by one of the top ranked player in their age group Tucker Allen. Tucker had the tournament low round after day one with a 65. He was still being pushed by our second low round of 70 by Matthew Watkins. The victory would come down to the final round with wind speeds still in excess of 40mph. Tucker was able to claim his 5th JGC victory and his second for 2011 with a final round 69. Matthew also finished with a great final round 72 to claim runner up honors.
The Girls 8-9 Division was not going to be outdone by the boys! They took their competition down to the wire during the final round with Trinity King holding off a strong field that included our 2011 Junior Master Champion Macy Fox. This was the second JGC victory for Trinity King and her first for 2011. Macy tried to make it two in a row but closed with runner up honors. Macy…blame it on your injured caddie
I know when I was 8-9 years old I was not shooting 5-9 under par! This says a lot about our/your junior players and the junior golf landscape. We will continue to provide a professional platform to help grow junior players and the game of golf.
Sincerely,
Justin Hogue
Junior Golf Championships
