Wingo Wins First AJGA Championship With Wire-to-Wire Victory at the AJGA Junior at Kingsmill Resort & Spa

Shon comes from behind to win at Kingsmill Resort & Spa – River Course

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Tyler Wingo of Fairfax, Va., made a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to win the AJGA Junior at Kingsmill Resort & Spa by one shot with a 5-under-par 208. Kelly Shon of Port Washington, N.Y., fired the low round of the tournament in the Girls Division with a 4-under-par 67 at Kingsmill Resort & Spa – River Course for a 4-under-par 209 tournament total.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the AJGA Junior at Kingsmill Resort & Spa was a 54-hole stroke play event with a 36-hole cut held at Kingsmill Resort & Spa – River Course. The field featured 107 boys and 34 girls, ages 12-18, from 21 states, Canada and Italy. The par-71 course was played at 6,814 yards in the Boys Division and 5,848 yards in the Girls Division.

After making a bogey on No. 16 to drop back into a share of the lead at 4-under-par for the tournament, Wingo drained a 30-foot birdie putt from just off the green to regain a one-stroke lead heading into the final hole.

“I just wanted to put it in the fairway then on the green and two-putt for a par,” Wingo said. “I wasn’t sure where I was on the leaderboard, but I knew I was right there.”

 Wingo pushed his drive into the right rough on No. 18, then hit his approach shot to about 40 feet. He relied on his flat stick the rest of the way as he had done all day, lagging his birdie putt up for a tap-in par.

“I putted well today. I made quite a few comeback putts from four and five feet,” Wingo said. “And obviously the birdie putt from off the green on No. 17 was huge.”

Evan Russell of Essex Junction, Vt., shot a 2-under-par 69 to finish one shot behind Wingo in second place with a 4-under-par 209. Motin Yeung of Orlando, Fla., and Sawyer Shaw of West Palm Beach Fla., finished in third place with a 3-under-par 210 tournament total. In a tie for fifth place with a 2-under-par 211 were Choo Teck Ng of Buies Creek, N.C., and Alex Wunderlich of Ann Arbor, Mich.

In the Girls Division, Shon got out to a hot start, making birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 to record a 2-under-par 34 on the front side. A bogey-free round and two more birdies on the back nine led her to recording the lowest score of the tournament in the Girls Division. 

“I stayed patient the whole round and made some putts,” Shon said. “My putting was rock solid. It’s hard to believe because entering the tournament I had little faith in my putter, but today it was rock solid.”

Daniela Lendl of Vero Beach, Fla., finished in second place at even-par 213. Amira Alexander of Alpharetta, Ga., finished at 2-over-par 215 to claim third place.

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.

For more information about the AJGA Junior at Kingsmill Resort & Spa, please contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.