PRITCHARD SHOOTS 66 TO TAKE MEDALIST HONORS AT THE DOMINION COUNTRY CLUB
O'Connell takes Girls Division after shooting 77

SAN ANTONIO — Kyle Pritchard of Castro, Texas, and Megan O'Connell of Odessa, Texas, took medalist honors at the Srixon Qualifier for the Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout presented by Ingram Park Auto Center. Pritchard beat out fellow competitors by a margin of five strokes, while O'Connell captured the Girls Division by only one stroke.

The 18-hole Srixon Qualifier was conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The Dominion Country Club in San Antonio. One hundred junior golfers from six states, including 90 from Texas, competed for 19 spots in the upcoming Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout presented by Ingram Park Auto Center. Fourteen boys and five girls qualified for the event, which begins Tuesday at The Dominion Country Club.

Pritchard carded five birdies altogether and not one bogey. He started the day off by chipping in for par on the first hole of play and continued his streak with 12 more pars and five birdies. Coming into today, his goal was to shoot under par for the qualifier. Pritchard hopes to continue his success in the tournament.

“I want to win the tournament but I'll take three more days like today. I stayed pretty even and consistent,” said Pritchard.

Also qualifying in the Boys Division were Robert Mayo, of Austin, Texas, Kyle Hoelscher of Jersey Village, Texas, and John Wright of San Antonio, all shooting 71. Jonathan Alden of Austin, Texas, carded a 72. Adam Wennerstrom of Austin, Texas, and Philip Krebsbach of San Antonio, both shot 2-over-par 73s. Bryan Kay of Dallas, Chris Causey of The Woodlands, Texas, Zach Wilson of Austin, Texas, and Tanner Mayo of Fort Worth, Texas, all qualified with 74s.

Sunny Chang of Sugar Land, Texas, Jordan Breaux of Sulphur, La., and Nathan Erwin of Austin, Texas, also qualified for the tournament after competing in a sudden death playoff. All three players shot 75s in the round.

O'Connell ended the day with 11 pars and one birdie, and says that staying positive was her main goal for the qualifier and placing in the top-10 is her goal for the tournament.

“I had to make a lot of chips and putts to stay in the game but I had real positive thoughts all day and that helped,” O'Connell said.

Kinne Schwartz of McKinney, Texas, placed second in the Girls Division and will compete in the tournament this upcoming week. Amy Glazier of Southlake, Texas, Sara Hemingway of Kingwood, Texas, and Joy Trotter of Chino Hills, Calif., rounded out the Girls Division for the qualifier.

SRIXON Sports USA, Inc., based in Norcross, Ga., has been distributing premium golf balls and equipment in the U.S. since 1997 and is a subsidiary of SRI Sports. SRI Sports is one of the world's leading patent holders in golf ball technology and manufactures several golf balls played in the United States. SRI Sports-made balls have won 73 PGA TOUR events since 1989, including seven majors. For more information about SRIXON, please visit www.srixon.com.

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 a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.

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 Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Dottie Pepper, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Beth Bauer.

The first round of the Valero Texas Open Junior Shootout presented by Ingram Park Auto Center begins Tuesday at 7 a.m. off the No. 1 tee at The Dominion Country Club. For more information, call tournament headquarters at (210) 698-7699.