YUN SURVIVES PLAYOFF TO WIN INDIANA'S CHICAGO JUNIOR OPEN
Yun, Grilli earn first AJGA tournament victories

CROWN POINT, Ind. — Fourteen-year-old Andrew Yun of Tacoma, Wash., survived a playoff with Erich Johnston of Fort Wayne, Ind., to win his first AJGA title at the Indiana's Chicago Junior Open. Michelle Grilli of Lutherville, Md., also took home her first American Junior Golf Association victory with a 5-under-par 211.

Conducted by the AJGA, Indiana's Chicago Junior Open was held at the White Hawk Country Club — Red Hawk & Black Hawk Courses. Eighty-four junior golfers from 18 states, including 11 from Indiana, competed in the 54-hole stroke play event.

Yun and Johnston finished the tournament with a 6-under-par 210 to set up the sudden-death playoff. Yun said he did not feel he played as well in the final round as the previous two. He prayed on No. 18 for the strength to win before tapping in a 2-foot putt for par.

“I was hitting the ball great, but I was struggling — mostly with my putter,” Yun said. “I just kept asking Him to give me the opportunity to win and the opportunity to finish. It feels great. AJGA has national events — to win one is really hard to do.”

Johnston bogeyed No. 10 in the playoff against Yun to finish in second place with a 6-under-par 210. Tied for third were Fletcher Coonan of Maitland, Fla., Brendan Gielow of Muskegon, Mich., and Charlie Hendrickson of Columbus, Ohio, with 4-under-par 212s.

After carding her personal best finish with a 5-under-par 67 in the second round, Grilli posted a final-round score of 1-under-par 71. She entered the final round with a six-stroke lead, which stretched to nine over Becca Huffer of Denver, Colo. Grilli said she knew she needed to focus on keeping her scores low for the round.

“I'm really happy — really excited,” she said. “I came into the week playing well and I knew I had the opportunity to go low.”

Huffer finished second with a 4-over-par 220. In third place with a 4-under-par 68 final-round score — 5-over-par 221 overall — was Marlowe Boukis of Lutherville, Md. Boukis, a Princeton signee, was a recent qualifier for the 2005 U.S. Women's Open.

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, the largest Association of its kind, 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, Dottie Pepper, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Beth Bauer.

For more information about Indiana's Chicago Junior Open, call National Headquarters at (877) 373-2542.