FIDELITY INVESTMENTS JUNIOR CLASSIC
The International – The Pines
Bolton, Massachusetts
August 11, 2004
CARROLL LEADS, BUT 16 PLAYERS WITHIN 5 SHOTS OF THE LEAD IN MASSACHUSETTS
Wang leads equally packed Girls Division by one shot
BOLTON, Mass. – Cornelius Carroll of Windermere, Fla., is the only player to stand at even par after two rounds of the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic. His second-round 73 propelled him into a one-shot lead entering the final round, but 16 players are within five shots of the lead.
In the Girls Division, Catherina Wang of Orlando, Fla., only had two bogeys during a second-round 73, as she slid into first place at 3-over-par 147.
The Fidelity Investments Junior Classic is a 54-hole event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The International – Pines Course. The event features 98 of the nation’s premier junior golfers, ages 12-18, from 14 states and Canada.
Carroll began his round two strokes back, but made one up early with a birdie at the par-5 third hole. After plodding through the middle of his round, Carroll finished six straight pars to give him momentum heading into Thursday.
“I managed to scrap around,” said Carroll, who has five top-five finishes in AJGA events, including a win at the 2003 Buick Junior Open presented by Golfweek.
The 17-year-old said the turning point in his round came on the back nine. After a bogey at No. 11, where Carroll said he “played ping-pong around the green,” he came right back with a birdie at No. 12.
That set off the stretch of pars to finish his round, and safely positioned Carroll in the last pairing for the final round.
“Hopefully, if I’m within one or two shots of the lead, I can just grind it out,” he said.
Tied for second are Max Schechter of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Matt Giftos of Nashua, N.H., and Cody Paladino of Kensington, Conn. All three stand at 1-over-par 145.
Alone in fifth place is Nicholas Park of Ithaca, N.Y., and in sixth place is Kyle Parsons of Wethersfield, Conn. Five players are tied for seventh at 148 and five more are tied at 149.
Wang , who is seeking her third AJGA title of 2004, only hit five greens in regulation but managed to save par when she said it mattered the most. She leads Lala Anai of Lexington, Mass., who followed up on her first-round leading 73 with a 3-over-par 75.
“I’m pretty pleased,” said Wang, who is ranked No. 17 in the latest Golfweek/Titleist rankings. “I got up and down a lot on the last few holes – mostly when I really needed to.”
Wang is trying to continue what has already been a successful summer. She won the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic by eight shots after a first-round 63, the third-best single round in AJGA history. Two weeks later she won the Dunlop Carolina Junior Classic by twelve shots, and on August 5, she helped the East Team come from behind in dramatic fashion to win the Canon Cup.
Playing with Wang and Anai in the final group is Marika Lendl, who stands alone in third place at 5-over-par 149. Wang said playing with her Canon Cup teammate will make the final round even more exciting.
“We’ll have fun together,” she said, looking toward Lendl. “We really bonded at Canon Cup, didn’t we?”
Lendl only smiled.
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 largest association of its kind, the AJGA 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, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Grace Park, Christie Kerr and Beth Bauer.
The final-round of the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic will start at 7 a.m. off the No. 1 tee Thursday, August 12, at The International – Pines Course. For more information about the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic, please contact tournament headquarters at (978) 779-1339.
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