HADLEY HANGS ON FOR ONE-STROKE WIN IN PINEHURST
Carr runs-away with Girls Division by nine strokes

PINEHURST, N.C. — Chesson Hadley, 18, of Raleigh, N.C., sustained a final-round 5-under-par 67 by Andrew Hopkins V, 17, of Maumelle, Ark., to hold his second-round lead and win Thursday at the Country Club of North Carolina's Dogwood Course. Corrine Carr, 16, of Pinehurst shot a final-round 2-under-par 70 to win the Girls Division by nine strokes.

The Golf Pride Junior Classic was a 54-hole event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at the Country Club of North Carolina and featured 99 players from 17 states as well as Peru, and 39 players from North Carolina.

Hadley struggled to score during his final round, and after 16 holes was tied for the lead with the red-hot Hopkins, who birdied 16.

“That ticked me off a little bit,” said Hadley, of finding the five-shot cushion he began the day with had been erased.

Hadley hit a long drive on 17 into the rough, then stuck his approach shot to a foot away, setting-up the birdie that would give him the lead for good.

“It was better to be in the rough today because the greens were so soft,” Hadley said.

The win is Hadley's second of the summer, with his first coming at the 2005 Hargray Junior Classic in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hadley said he won despite not playing his best golf during the final round.

“I'm just extremely relieved,” Hadley said.

Hopkins 67 was good enough for the low final-round and landed him alone in second with his 6-under-par tournament total. Hunter Hamrick of Montgomery, Ala., finished in third for the tournament with a total of 4-under-par 212. Jack Fields of Southern Pines, N.C., shot a final-round of 1-under-par 71 to finish in fourth at 3-under-par for the tournament. Tied for fifth place with tournament-totals of 2-under-par 214 were Fielding Brewbaker of Salem, Va., and Sean Goshert of Conway, S.C.

Carr did not have any close-calls all day on her way to victory, playing nearly flawless golf by missing only two fairways and one green-in-regulation during her final round of 2-under-par 70.

“I'm excited because I finally played well this summer,” Carr said.

Carr, who won playing on her home course, said putting well on Dogwood's greens was the key to her large margin of victory.

“My putts went in, which is so unusual,” Carr said. “I've never been able to say that in my life.”

Cydney Clanton of Concord, N.C., fired a final round of even-par 72 to finish in second with a tournament total of 8-over-par 224. In third with a 227 tournament-total was Amelia Lewis of Jacksonville, Fla.

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 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 280 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 on the Golf Pride Junior Classic or other AJGA events, please call AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.