Note: This list of players only includes those advancing from the K12 Qualifier to the main tournament. Some participants in K12 Qualifiers use their experience to earn entry into future tournaments. Players posting lower scores that are not shown above have either opted not to play in the main tournament or have already qualified for the tournament through normal entry procedures.
Four Share Medalist Honors in Boys Division at AJGA
New Jersey Junior Qualifier
Lager takes top spot in Girls Division at SkyView
Golf Club
SPARTA,
N.J. — Ben Katz of New
Canaan, Conn., Robert Gelber of Scarsdale, N.Y., Ted Brennan of Newtown Square,
Pa., and Brad Burgess of St. Catherines, Ontario all carded 2-over-par 72s
Sunday to share medalist honors at the qualifier for the AJGA New Jersey Junior.
In the Girls Division, Viktoria Lager of Longboat Key, Fla., turned in a
6-over-par 76 to take medalist honors.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf
Association, the K12 Qualifier for the AJGA New Jersey Junior was an
18-hole stroke play event held at SkyView Golf Club. The field featured 84 boys
and 15 girlsages 12-18, from 13 states, Canada and Colombia. The
par-70 course was played at 5,789 yards for the boys and 5,424 yards for the
girls. K12 Qualifiers give juniors an opportunity to “play their way
in” to coinciding AJGA Open tournaments or earn a Tournament Exemption or
Performance Star for a future event. The K12 Qualifier Series offers
opportunities for AJGA juniors at approximately 50 AJGA Open events.
Burgess was determined to make his
appearance count with a long drive home awaiting him at the end of his round. After
two bogeys early on, Bu rgess made a point to turn his play around. From there,
he made four birdies to card a 2-over-par 72 to co-medal with Katz, Brennan and
Gelber.
“I had to drive about six hours to get here
so I didn’t want to come here and not qualify,” Burgess said. “So I decided to
really turn it on and I guess it worked.”
Brennan also got off to a rough start, but
his luck turned when he eagled the par-5 fourth. Using his 3-wood, he shaped a
draw around some trees to leave himself 210 yards to the hole. He then grabbed
his 6-iron and stuck his downhill approach to three feet, just narrowly missing
for double-eagle. Brennan tapped in for eagle and picked up a birdie on his way
in to shoot 72 but chose to take an exemption in lieu of playing in the
tournament.
“That got me energized,” Brennan said of
his eagle. “I was just trying to tell myself to be calm. I had to take a couple
deep breaths before my next drive because I was a little on edge.”
Katz picked up four birdies on the day
and was pleased to turn in a solid showing in his first AJGA showing.
“It’s really nice,” Katz said of making
it into the tournament. “This is actually my first AJGA event, so it’s awesome
that I played well.”
Gelber grabbed two birdies midway
through his round to get himself into the mix but also chose to take an
exemption over playing in the tournament.
Ryan Snouffer of Sparta, N.J., Stephen
Pastore of Greenwich, Conn., and Scott Davidson of Round Hill, Va., all shot
3-over-par 73 to qualify for the tournament.
Robert Seebold of Danville, Pa., Vincent
Sirianni of Blue Bell, Pa., Michael DiTursi of Rye, N.Y., Derrick Kim of
Congers, N.Y., all shot 4-over-par 74s. Seebold and Sirianni chose to take a
tournament exemption, while DiTursi and Kim chose to play.
Conor McGovern of Darien, Conn., Richard
Le of Bellaire, Texas, Charles Cai of West Windsor, N.J., and James Park of
Deerfield, Mass., all qualified for the tournament via a sudden-death playoff.
Lager, who also chose to take a
tournament exemption in lieu of this week’s tournament, finished two shots
clear of the field and credited her birdie on her first hole of the day for
getting her to that point.
“It feels pretty good,” Lager said. “It’s
shocking a little bit just because the course was so tough. We really had to
fight to get a good score because everything was so uphill.”
Tiffany Su of Irvine, Calif., qualified
for the tournament with an 8-over-par 78. Abby Lim of Tenafly, N.J. shot 81 but
chose to take a tournament exemption. Noelle Maertz of Clark, N.J., Alessandra
Liu of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., Victoria DeGroodt of Walden, N.Y. and Emily Garrahan
of Coram, N.Y. all shot 82 but Maertz is the only one of the four who will play
in the tournament. Anne Troy of Stamford, Conn., shot 84 and Catherine Gonzalez
of California, Md. shot 87 to qualify for the tournament.
Ką˛ Inc., a
technology-based education company, is the nation’s leading provider of
proprietary curriculum and online education programs to students in grades
K-12. Ką˛ provides its curriculum and academic services to online
schools, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to
families. Over 55,000 students in 23 states and the District of Columbia are
enrolled in online public schools that use the Ką˛ program. Ką˛ Inc. also
operates the Ką˛ International Academy, an accredited, diploma-granting online
private school serving students worldwide. The K12
academic program is used by many young people pursuing careers in athletics,
music, art, acting, and other professions that require a high degree of
scheduling flexibility. More information can be found at www.k12.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 provides valuable exposure for
college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls
ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30
countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have
the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant
program to provide financial assistance to young players in need. Titleist, the AJGA’s
National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the
Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade
of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007,
after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier
Partner. AJGA alumni have risen to
the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have
compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and
Morgan Pressel.
The first round of the AJGA New Jersey
Junior will be Tuesday, July 13 with tee times from 7 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. off
the No. 1 tee. For more information, please contact Tournament Headquarters at 678-617-2427.
The American Junior Golf Foundation is the primary recipient of all charitable giving to the AJGA and as such administers a variety of programs designed to compliment the AJGA and the members and families who make up our community. Learn more about these important programs and how your contributions to the Foundation secure the AJGA’s financial future for future generations to come.
The Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program provides financial assistance to junior golfers who wish to play in AJGA events. Its goal is to give top-flight golf opportunities to young golfers regardless of financial resources. This program helps to fulfill the AJGA’s mission of developing young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.
Leadership Links
What is Leadership Links?
Leadership Links is a new program whereby the AJGA is able to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA youth development programs. Please click here to learn more about the program and the different opportunities available.
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.
