CALM, COOL TANCO CROWNED VICTOR AT ROLEX GIRLS JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHP
White, Kim, Lee and Jin share second place at Carmel Country Club

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Victoria Tanco of Bradenton, Fla., shot a final-round, even-par 72 to finish at 6-under-par 210 and win the Rolex Girls Junior Championship by two strokes Friday. Allie White of Lancaster, Ohio, Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, Pearl Jin, also of Bradenton, and Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash., finished tied for second with tournament totals of 4-under-par 212.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Rolex Girls Junior Championship was a 54-hole stroke play event held at Carmel Country Club — South Course. The 99-player field featured players from 23 states and six foreign countries. The par-72 Carmel Country Club - South Course was played at 6,356 yards.

Tanco, who is an Argentina native, led the pack after the first round and finished the tournament with the same composure and confidence she showed from day one. Despite the talented opposition she faced going into day three, Tanco, a newcomer to the AJGA, was focused on her game until the final putt dropped.

“I know that here, the girls are the best in the world and you have to play good to win,” Tanco said. “You have to think about what you have to do. If I played good, nobody else was going to win, and my goal was to win.”

Today's victory was an excellent catalyst for Tanco who qualified to play in the U.S. Women's Open, June 26-29, at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. Despite not knowing where Minnesota is, she is anxiously awaiting the tournament.

“I don't know where it is but I have heard of it,” Tanco said. “This win gives me confidence and I am going to be excited to play.”

Tanco is well on her way to achieving her goal of everyone knowing her name. She has only been in the United States since May and in addition to the U.S. Women's Open, Tanco will play in the AJGA the remainder of the summer and a few events in the fall.

White and Kim made amazing comebacks in the final round, each shooting 5-under-par 67 to climb from 14th to second. Lee and Jin each carded a final-round, 2-under-par 70.

Second place was the highest Rolex Girls Junior Championship finish for White, who will enroll at the University of North Carolina in the fall.

Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. Along with sponsoring the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, Rolex is also the title partner of the Rolex Tournament of Champions and the proprietors of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams.

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 an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 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.

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.

For more information about the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, please contact AJGA National Headquarters at 877-373-2542.