Shih goes 5-under-par to jump four places and win the AJGA Northern Virginia Junior by five strokes
White wins at Piedmont Club by four strokes

HAYMARKET, Va. — Harrison Shih of Saddle River, N.J., scored a final-round 5-under-par 67 to jump from fifth to first and win the AJGA Northern Virginia Junior with a tournament total of 5-under-par 211. Alexandra White of Honolulu carded a final-round 1-over-par 73 to place first in the Girls Division with a tournament total of even-par 216.

The AJGA Northern Virginia Junior was a 54-hole tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at the Piedmont Club in Haymarket, Va. The event featured 71 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 21 states, Thailand, United Kingdom and Mexico. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 6,905 yards while the Girls Division played the course at 5,960 yards.

This tournament marks Shih's first AJGA win. He surged ahead on his last two holes with a birdie on No. 17 and eagle on No. 18 to win by five strokes.

“The shot that turned it around was my second shot coming into No. 17,” Shih said. “I was 2-under at that point for the day and I had struggled a little bit on Nos. 14 and 15. As I was stepping onto No. 17, I was told, ‘You're the leader now,' and I figured I had No. 18, which is an easy par 5 to make birdie. I knew if I could sneak in one more birdie I would have a pretty good shot at holding the lead. I had a perfect three-quarter 8-iron into No. 17 green that I could just draw right up with the wind and it ended up 2 feet away, so I had a kick-in birdie there. It was really the second shot on No. 17 that built up the momentum for No. 18.”

Chris Kapsak of Richmond, Va., placed second with an even-par 216 and Thadd Obecny II of Wheeling, W. Va., placed third with a 1-over-par 217. Tied for fourth at 2-over-par 218 were Ryan Cole of Mount Airy, Md., and Dustin Dingus of Palm Harbor, Fla.

Having won the 2011 Aaron's / Bob Estes Abilene Junior in September, this victory marks the second AJGA win for White this year. Leading into the final round, White focused on her putts and making consistent pars.

“My mindset was to just focus on the ball and get the speed of the greens,” White said. “I struggled on my last two rounds because I was always going for birdie and I struggled making the come-back putts. That's why my main focus today was to make it a consistent round, to make easier pars and make it a lot easier than yesterday.”

Lydia Choi of Beverly Hills, Calif., finished second with a 4-over-par 220. Ana Ruiz of Chihuahua, Mexico, and Ju-Hee Bae of Chantilly, Va., tied for third at 5-over-par 221.

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 more than 40 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, 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 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

For more information on the AJGA Northern Virginia Junior, please contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.

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