AJGA INDIANA JUNIOR CLASSIC
The Links at Heartland Crossing
Camby, Ind.
July 16-19, 2001

SMITH FINISHES STRONG TO CLAIM LEAD AT AJGA INDIANA JUNIOR CLASSIC
Wade sits atop Girls Division at even-par

CAMBY, Ind.-Ben Smith of Westlake, Ohio, made birdies on the final three holes of the day Tuesday to finish with an opening round of 5-under-par 67 and currently stands in first place in the Boys Division at the AJGA Indiana Junior Classic. Whitney Wade of Glasgow, Ky., fired a first-round 72 to claim the lead in the Girls Division.

The Indiana Junior Classic, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The Links at Heartland Crossing, features a field of 97 players representing 18 states. The 54-hole event, now in its second year, also features three Polo Golf Junior All-Americans and 20 Indiana natives.

"Keep getting stronger as the week goes on," Smith said of his intentions to continue playing well. "That is the plan. There are things for me to improve on and hopefully, it happens."

Smith credited accurate iron-shots for his success in Tuesday's first round.
"I've been working on my wedges and that paid off today," Smith said. "I hit some great shots on the last few holes. I put my wedge shots pretty close."

The 16-year-old hit 15 greens in regulation and only found himself in three of Heartland Crossing's 80 bunkers throughout the day. Smith finished strong, making five birdies while shooting 4-under-par 32 on the back nine.

Brett Kaufman of Dubuque, Iowa, sits in second after firing a first-round 69. Kaufman used a consistent round to position himself near the top of the leaderboard, carding a 2-under-par 34 on the front nine and 1-under-par 35 on the back nine. The 18-year-old made only one bogey in Tuesday's first round.

Aaron Harrell (34-36--70) of Bedford, Ind., Nathan Piller (36-34--70) of Duncanville, Texas, Kyle Bush (35-35--70) of Carmel, Ind., Bobby Bennett (34-36--70) of Wilmette, Ill., Kenton Hobbs (36-34--70) of West Chester, Ohio, and Max Harres (34-36--70) of Belleville, Ill., are all tied for third at 2-under-par.

"I just avoided the bunkers," the 18-year-old Piller said about his strategy on the bunker-laden course. "I tried to take all the trouble out of play. I just wanted to give myself opportunities to make birdie on every hole. You have to pick your spots with these traps. On some of them, you have to lay up and on others, you have to go at them and drive it over them."

In the Girls Division, Wade's even-par performance left her two strokes ahead of 13-year-old Morgan Pressel, who stands in second at 2-over-par 74. Sally Shonk of Noblesville, Ind., is third at 3-over-par 75.

Wade scorched the back nine with a 3-under-par 33 to put her at even-par for the round after struggling with her putting on the first nine holes. The difficulty of the course and the presence of bunkers on every hole affected Wade's shotmaking ability, she said.

"(This course) is hard because you have to land it in the right place," the 15-year-old Kentucky native noted. "Sometimes, you think you have a perfect shot but you end up in the bunker."

Pressel, from Boca Raton, Fla., leapt into the national spotlight in May after qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open, before even being eligible to compete in AJGA tournaments.

Second-round actions begins Wednesday at The Links at Heartland Crossing with tee-times starting at 7:00 a.m.

For more information regarding the AJGA Indiana Junior Classic, contact tournament headquarters at (317) 630-1785.

#AJGA#

CAMBY, Ind. -- First-round results from the AJGA INDIANA JUNIOR CLASSIC conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The Links at Heartland Crossing. Par: 36-36--72. Yardage: Boys: 6,882 Girls: 6,026

BOYS DIVISION

Ben Smith (2003) Westlake, Ohio* 35-32--67
Brett Kaufman (2001) Dubuque, Iowa* 34-35--69
Aaron Harrell (2002) Bedford, Ind.* 34-36--70
Nathan Piller (2001) Duncanville, Texas* 36-34--70
Kyle Bush (2002) Carmel, Ind.* 35-35--70
Bobby Bennett (2003) Wilmette, Ill.* 34-36--70
Kenton Hobbs (2001) West Chester, Ohio* 36-34--70
Max Harres (2003) Belleville, Ill.* 34-36--70
Nicholas Schenk (2002) Batavia, Ill.* 37-34--71
Tad Sacheck (2003) Zionsville, Ind.* 34-37--71
Wes Homan (2002) Cincinnati, Ohio* 36-35--71
Andy Pope (2002) Glen Ellyn, Ill.* 36-35--71
Scott Strickland (2001) Bloomfield, Mich.* 38-34--72
Gregory Parker (2003) Chapel Hill, N.C.* 39-33--72
James Sacheck (2004) Zionsville, Ind.* 37-35--72
Rob Ockenfuss (2001) Perkasie, Pa.* 38-35--73
Bradley Farmer (2001) Hermitage, Tenn.* 38-35--73
Zac Zedrick (2002) Danville, Ill.* 35-38--73
Jonathon Schram (2002) Buffalo Grove, Ill.* 36-38--74
Scott Weber (2002) Lake Forest, Ill.* 36-38--74
Brendan Jonland (2001) Palatine, Ill.* 35-39--74
John Baker (2004) Indianapolis, Ind.* 38-36--74
Scott Seibert (2002) Chesterfield, Mo.* 40-35--75
Andrew Deye (2001) Cincinnati, Ohio* 37-38--75
Brad Marek (2002) Arlington Heights, Ill.* 37-38--75
Bradley Ruch (2003) Louisville, Ky.* 38-37--75
Pravin Asokan (2003) Oak Brook, Ill.* 37-38--75
David Noe (2001) Monroe, Mich.* 37-38--75
Jonathan Pauli (2002) St. Johns, Mich.* 38-38--76
Brent Holmes (2002) Glen Carbon, Ill.* 37-39--76
Andrew Turner (2002) Lititz, Pa.* 40-36--76
Norman Olsen (2002) Park Ridge, Ill.* 40-36--76
Creighton Page (2001) Louisville, Ky.* 37-39--76
Braxton Weaver (2003) Bloomington, Ill.* 38-38--76
Christopher Musgjerd (2001) Wilmette, Ill.* 39-37--76
Kyle Moore (2004) Dublin, Ohio* 39-37--76
Jeff Parry (2001) Columbia, Md.* 39-37--76
Blake Sattler (2002) New Philadelphia, Ohio* 39-37--76
Ryan Mayberry (2002) Germantown, Tenn.* 39-37--76
Chris McLaughlin (2002) Northport, N.Y.* 39-38--77
Sam Morton (2003) Dayton, Ohio* 38-39--77
Eddie Sandrick (2002) Naperville, Ill.* 39-38--77
Dane Sandridge (2002) Westfield Center, Ohio* 42-35--77
Michael Berg (2002) Belden, Miss.* 39-38--77
Chris Wilson (2003) Dublin, Ohio* 40-38--78
Jason Farling (2002) Indianapolis, Ind.* 38-40--78
Ethan Roush (2002) Decatur, Ill.* 38-40--78
Del Thebaud (2002) Severna Park, Md.* 39-39--78
Jon Boguth (2002) Sterling Heights, Mich.* 38-40--78
Tyler Riffe (2002) Byron, Ill.* 38-40--78
Nick Petro (2002) Louisville, Ky.* 41-37--78
Bob Molina (2001) Skokie, Ill.* 41-38--79
John Locke (2002) Ashland, Ohio* 39-40--79
Joe Meglen (2002) Mentor, Ohio* 41-38--79
Scott Phegley (2002) Morton, Ill.* 39-40--79
Shawn Standen (2001) Avon Lake, Ohio* 39-40--79
Frank Morris (2001) Peru, Ind.* 39-40--79
Evan Lamone (2004) Weirton, W.Va.* 39-40--79
Scott MacDonald (2002) Playa Del Rey, Calif.* 36-43--79
Mike Hughes (2001) Mooresville, Ind.* 40-40--80
Adam Johnson (2002) Warsaw, Ind.* 40-40--80
Jordan Tabereaux (2001) Bloomington, Ind.* 39-41--80
Jeffrey Pontius (2003) Galloway, Ohio* 36-44--80
Daniel Switser (2003) Plano, Texas* 42-38--80
John Hettinger (2002) Hinsdale, Ill.* 42-39--81
Thomas Carlson (2005) Sioux Falls, S.D.* 40-41--81
Scott Spranklin (2002) Columbia, Md.* 40-42--82
Kyle Thomas (2001) Avon Lake, Ohio* 40-42--82
Brett Kretchmar (2002) St. Louis, Mo.* 43-39--82
Danny Dorazio (2002) Danville, Calif.* 41-42--83
Benjamin Stranzl (2002) Cherryville, Pa.* 44-39--83
Adam Fulton (2003) Kingwood, Texas* 46-38--84
David Ford (2002) Oak Harbor, Ohio* 45-39--84
Michael Niegsch (2002) Dublin, Ohio* 41-44--85
Brent Hubert (2001) West Chester, Ohio* 43-42--85
Dylan Pelletier-Ross (2002) Chicago, Ill.* 47-41--88
Josh Armstrong (2002) Auburn, Ind.* 51-42--93
Brian L'Esperance (2002) Ann Arbor, Mich.* 52-47--99
Chris Leake (2002) Centerville, Ohio* WD (Illness)

GIRLS DIVISION

Whitney Wade (2003) Glasgow, Ky.* 39-33--72
Morgan Pressel (2006) Boca Raton, Fla.* 37-37--74
Sally Shonk (2003) Noblesville, Ind.* 38-37--75
Mandi McConnell (2003) Grand Blanc, Mich.* 40-36--76
Kristen White (2001) Doylestown, Pa.* 37-40--77
Amber Prange (2003) Noblesville, Ind.* 40-38--78
Becky Berzonski (2001) North East, Pa.* 39-40--79
Kimberly Thompson (2002) Indianapolis, Ind.* 40-39--79
Gretchen Zoeller (2002) Floyds Knobs, Ind.* 40-40--80
Whitney Myers (2004) East Berlin, Pa.* 41-40--81
Lissa Putnam (2001) Bloomington, Ind.* 40-41--81
Polly Reddick (2002) Kingsport, Tenn.* 42-41--83
Amanda Blumenherst (2005) Fort Wayne, Ind.* 42-42--84
Laura Hinds (2004) Noblesville, Ind.* 44-45--89
Kristine Cook (2004) Fishers, Ind.* 44-45--89
Mookie Janyasak (2003) Nashville, Tenn.* 43-47--90
Clare Lucey (2002) Winnetka, Ill.* 47-44--91
Stephanie Turner (2002) Martinsville, Ind.* 52-40--92