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Jin shoots 4-under-par 67 to capture Girls Division at El Camaleón Golf Club
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Quintana Roo, México – Jeffrey Kang of Fullerton, Calif., fired a final-round 5-under-par 65 to come from six shots behind and capture the Boys Division title at the inaugural Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic Monday. Pearl Jin of San Gabriel, Calif., carded a 4-under-par 67 to take the Girls Division crown with a 4-under-par 209 tournament total.
 | | Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic Champions Pearl Jin and Jeffrey Kang. |
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Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic was the AJGA's first Open event in México. The field consisted of 75 players, 18 of whom were from México, as well as from 16 U.S. states and Canada. The 54-hole stroke play event was held at El Camaleón Golf Club, which played at 6,911 yards, par 70 for the Boys Division and 6,047 yards, par 71 for the Girls Division. El Camaleón Golf Club is home to the PGA TOUR's Mayakoba Golf Classic, the first-ever TOUR event in México.
Beginning the day six shots off the lead, Kang said he did not start his round with thoughts of winning. But an impressive up-and-down on the third hole got his momentum going. Kang plugged his tee shot in a fairway bunker, and took two shots to reach the green. He drained a 20-foot uphill putt to save par.
"My putting is really what carried me through the day," Kang said. "I struggled a little with my tee shots on the front nine, so my putting really saved me."
Kang played in the group in front of the leaders and never knew what else was happening on the course. Gaining confidence after No. 3, Kang went on to record five birdies and no bogeys en route to a 3-under-par 207 tournament total. The victory is Kang's first AJGA win. His previous best finish was third place at the 2006 Mission Hills Desert Junior.
"It's really exciting that my first win came in México," Kang said. "Now I've got to win at home too."
Second-round leader Juan Pablo Hernandez of México City, finished one shot back at 2-under-par 208. Sebastian Szirmak of Toronto, and Colby Smith of Auburn, Calif., tied for third place with matching 2-over-par 212s. Diego Castilla of Monterrey, México, finished in fifth place with a 3-over-par 213.
In the Girls Division, Jin started her day tied for the lead with Alicia Malagon of Tampico, México. Competing in her first AJGA event, Jin said she was nervous heading into the final round with the lead. Her strategy was to take each shot one at a time and not get too overwhelmed.
"I was nervous, but I knew I had to be able to concentrate today," Jin said. "Once I started playing, I felt like I could really score out there."
On No. 2, her 11th hole of the day, Jin found herself one shot back of Malagon. A birdie gave her renewed confidence, and Jin went on to card birdies on No. 4 and 8 for a back-side 3-under-par 33. Jin, at 12 years and four months old, becomes the third-youngest AJGA winner this season. She was the youngest player to compete at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, where she reached the second round of match play.
"I'm definitely looking forward to playing in more events," Jin said. "The level of competition helps me play better."
 | | Larson Segerdahl, tournament director for the Mayakoba Golf Classic, with Kang. |
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Malagon shot a final-round even-par 71 for a tournament total even-par 213. Stephanie Meadow of Hilton Head Island, S.C., and Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash., tied for third place with matching 7-over-par 220s.
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 more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 countries.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.
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 Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic, please call AJGA national headquarters at (770) 868-4200 or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.
Results & Scores
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Quintana Roo, México — Final results from the Mayakoba Junior Golf Classic conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at El Camaleón Golf Club. Par: Boys: 35-35—70; Girls: 36-35—71. Yardage: Boys: 6,911; Girls: 6,047. Rating/Slope: Boys:
73.3/136; Girls: 74.4/130.
BOYS DIVISION
Jeffrey Kang, Fullerton, Calif. 72-70-65—207
Juan Pablo Hernandez, México City, México 70-66-72—208
Sebastian Szirmak, Toronto, Ontario 73-68-71—212
Colby Smith, Auburn, Calif. 70-70-72—212
Diego Castilla, Monterrey, México 69-70-74—213
Minsuk Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. 77-69-71—217
Diwen Chen, Coto De Caza, Calif. 73-73-72—218
Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn. 72-75-71—218
Jordan Epstein, Carlsbad, Calif. 74-71-74—219
Rodolfo Cazaubon, Tampico, Tampas, México 76-77-67—220
Andrew Perez, Oxnard, Calif. 72-74-75—221
Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. 72-74-75—221
Eric Frazzetta, Long Beach, Calif. 66-73-83—222
Patrick McCormick, Weston, Fla. 74-74-74—222
Eduardo Chavez, Hillsborough, Calif. 72-75-76—223
Carlos Ortiz, Zapopan, México 73-78-74—225
Jeff Quinn, Anthem, Ariz. 77-74-75—226
Fu Xue, Richmond, British Columbia 76-76-74—226
Colton Knedler, Honolulu, Hawaii 79-76-72—227
Eduardo Luque Gutierrez, Metepec, México 76-72-80—228
Henry Plager, Indianapolis, Ind. 79-74-75—228
Alexander Choi, Beverly Hills, Calif. 84-74-70—228
Andrew Tursky, Hillsborough, N.J. 76-75-79—230
Tyler Davis, Santa Barbara, Calif. 75-76-79—230
Jason Peters, Atascadero, Calif. 79-73-78—230
Nicholas Gunthorpe, Ovid, Mich. 70-83-77—230
Carson Weinand, Naples, Fla. 76-79-76—231
Ryan Conner, Fort Worth, Texas 77-81-73—231
Reid Hutchinson, Encinitas, Calif. 77-78-77—232
John Antle, Graham, Texas 78-80-74—232
Fernando Cuevas, Merida, --, México 74-79-80—233
Daniel Chian, Covina, Calif. 77-76-80—233
Taylor Hart, San Clemente, Calif. 74-79-80—233
Alan Sereno Rivas, Metepec, México 76-73-85—234
Luis Ballesca, México City, México 77-78-79—234
Patrick Deichert, Dallas, Texas 78-78-78—234
Scott Dow, Dallas, Texas 80-78-77—235
McCoy Willey, St. George, Utah 80-79-76—235
Rafael Gomez, Lerma, México 77-78-81—236
Jordan Lewis, Marion, Ill. 80-78-78—236
Justin Lavine, Sugar Land, Texas 79-80-77—236
Wayne Yoon, Carson, Calif. 78-77-83—238
Santiago Gavino, San Luis Potosi, México 77-83-79—239
Bryan Barach, Niskayuna, N.Y. 78-82-79—239
Austin Roberts, Carmichael, Calif. 77-78-86—241
David Dewey, Monterrey, México 81-80-80—241
Nicholas Lee, Chino Hills, Calif. 82-81-78—241
Quinn Kauffman, Colleyville, Texas 80-87-76—243
Brandon Liu, St Albans, Mo. 75-86-83—244
Bou-An Fujieki, Honolulu, Hawaii 77-84-87—248
Daniel Garcia, Las Canadas, , México 80-82-87—249
Diego Alarcon, Zapopan, --, México 79-90-80—249
Jay Woodward, Bridgeport, W.Va. 81-88-84—253
Ryann Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif. 86-84-84—254
Skyler Hong, San Diego, Calif. 78 JWD
GIRLS DIVISION
Pearl Jin, San Gabriel, Calif. 71-71-67—209
Alicia Malagon , Tampico, Tamps., México 70-72-71—213
Stephanie Meadow, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 73-75-72—220
Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. 74-74-72—220
Lila Barton, Dallas, Texas 72-76-75—223
Margarita Ramos, México City, México 76-77-74—227
Anna Jang, Aiea, Hawaii 77-77-73—227
Kristen Schelling, Mesa, Ariz. 77-72-79—228
Evan Jensen, Belleair, Fla. 75-79-74—228
Paola Valerio, Atizapan Zaragoza, --, México 82-72-75—229
Ani Gulugian, Irvine, Calif. 76-79-75—230
Esther Lee, Los Alamitos, Calif. 77-78-77—232
Paloma Martinez, Monclova, México 78-79-76—233
Simin Feng, Orlando, Fla. 79-79-75—233
Maria Maymon, Huixquilucan, Estado De México 82-74-78—234
Maria Santisteban, Tampico, , México 84-76-74—234
Maria Castellanos, Stuart, Fla. 74-82-82—238
Alexandra Oviedo, Brownsville, Texas 75-82-82—239
Diana Rabago, Tampico, Tamps., México 76-88-85—249
Mayko Chwen Wang, Taipei, Taiwan 82-83-84—249
Melisa Gonzalez, Saltillo, Coah., México 88-83-86—257
** JWD=Justified WD
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