Newsmakers: July 6, 2007

Professional Round-up

Cristie Kerr earned her first major title at the U.S. Women's Open, outlasting a strong contingent of AJGA alumni. Kerr, the 1995 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, turned pro right out of high school. It took some time, but she eventually became one of the top players on the LPGA Tour.

Kerr finished at 5-under-par, two shots better than Lorena Ochoa, who is No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings, and Angela Park, a 2004 and 2005 Rolex Junior All-American First Team member, who led after the first and second rounds. In-Bee Park, who was the 2002 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, tied for fourth with Se Ri Pak. Another pair of recent Rolex Junior Players of the Year, Julieta Granada and Morgan Pressel, hovered near the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament and ended up tied for 10th.

On the PGA TOUR, Brian Bateman birdied the final hole to win by one shot, earning his first PGA TOUR victory. Bateman was one of the top junior golfers of his generation, earning first-team Rolex Junior All-America honors three times from 1989-91. Three AJGA alumni tied for second, one shot behind: Justin Leonard, Jason Gore and Woody Austin.

Amateur Round-up

Webb Simpson won the Dogwood Invitational, closing the tournament with two straight rounds of 63 to finish at 19-under-par 265. It was the second major victory of the year for the Wake Forest senior. He won the Azalea Amateur in April.

College Round-up

Greg Allen, former AJGA Director of Tournament Operations, announced his acceptance of the women's head coaching postition at Vanderbilt University.