| BLOSSER MEDALS AT FLINT ELKS LODGE 222 WITH 3-UNDER-PAR 69
Chen medals in Girls Division with even-par 72
FLINT, Mich., — Scott Blosser of Upper Arlington, Ohio carded a 3-under-par 69 to medal in the Boys Division of the Randy Wise Junior Open Srixon Qualifier Series, Monday. Justine Chen of Lake Forest, Calif., recorded an even-par 72 to medal in the Girls Division.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Randy Wise Junior Open Srixon Qualifier Series was an 18-hole stroke play event held at Flint Elks 222 Lodge Golf Club. The 100-player field featured players from 13 states and South Korea. The course was played at 6,922 yards for the Boys Division and 6,093 yards in the Girls Division.
In the Boys Division, Blosser said his strategy for a good round was to use the wind to his advantage and hit to a good spot below the green. He birdied Nos. 4, 6, and 9 to put him at 3-under-par 33 on the front nine and birdied Nos. 11 and 13 for even-par 36 on the back nine.
“I just tried to keep it in the fairway, be patient and hunt the flags,” said Blosser. “I waited until I had a wedge to get aggressive.”
Ten boys qualified for the tournament. Joey Garber of Petoskey, Mich., fired a 2-under-par 70. Barrett Kelpin of Kalamazoo, Mich., and David Wien of Orange Village, Ohio tied with 1-under-par 71s. Alex Bennett of Rochester, Mich., David James of Warren, Mich., and Sheldon Keyte of Portage, Mich., all carded even-par 72s. Scott Busch of West Lafayette, Ind., Nicholas Prokop of Novi, Mich., Ben Peacock of Marshall, Mich., and Jae Han Chun of Ansung-City, South Korea qualified in a sudden-death playoff posting 1-over-par 73s.
Blosser chose to opt out in lieu of accepting a tournament exemption for his Performance Based Entry status. Also qualifying but opting to take a tournament exemption in lieu of playing in this week's event were Zachary Bates of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, shooting a 2-under-par 70 and Timothy Shield of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., carding an even-par 72.
Chen, who was the medalist in last week's Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands Srixon Qualifer Series, said her putting has improved and she hit her irons straight.
“I found today that if you put the ball on the right side of the green, they're pretty easy,” Chen said. “But if you hit it over, you have a really hard putt.”
Chen birdied Nos. 1 and 17 to get to an even-par 36 on the front and back nine.
Also qualifying for the tournament were Breanna Patz of Plainfield, Ind., shooting a 5-over-par 77, local Shana Bauer of Grand Blanc, Mich., carding a 6-over-par 78 and Kelsey Burrell of Franklin, Ky., posting a 7-over-par 79.
SRIXON Sports USA, Inc., based in Lawrenceville, Ga., has been distributing premium golf balls and equipment in the U.S. since 1997 and is a subsidiary of SRI Sports Limited. SRI Sports Limited is the number one golf club manufacturer in the world's second largest market, Japan, and is one of the world's leading patent holders in golf ball technology. SRIXON golf balls earned 26 tournament victories on multiple professional tours around the world in 2006..
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 Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
First-round tee times will run from 7-11:48 a.m. off the No. 1 tee Wednesday through Friday. For more information about the Randy Wise Junior Open, please contact tournament headquarters at (810) 743-0730.
#AJGA#
|
