Captain Corey Pavin Chooses Woods, Johnson, Cink and Fowler at Captain's Picks for the 2010 Ryder Cup

Originally published at PGA.com

John Byrwa, Managing Editor

NEW YORK – Ending months of speculation, Team USA Captain Corey Pavin completed his 12-man Ryder Cup team on Tuesday by selecting Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler with his four captain’s picks.

Pavin, seated between three of his four assistant captains — Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Paul Goydos (Jeff Sluman was unable to attend) – and PGA of America President Jim Remy, made the announcement at the New York Stock Exchange, where he will also ring the closing bell Tuesday afternoon.

“I am very pleased to add these four to Team USA,” Pavin said. “I think our team is very good. I think these four players complement those eight very well. That was the goal of these four players.

“I’m very proud to have Team USA completely assembled now, and I’m looking forward to the matches in three weeks.”

Pavin’s four captain’s picks join the eight automatic qualifiers who were announced following the 92nd PGA Championship last month at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.: reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kuchar.

In selecting Woods, Cink and Johnson, Pavin adds proven Ryder Cup experience to his relatively young squad. Woods has competed in five Ryder Cups, Cink four and Johnson one. Fowler, a PGA Tour rookie who has made 16 of 24 cuts, including five top-10 finishes, this season, will be making his Ryder Cup debut. He finished 20th in the U.S. Ryder Cup Points Standings.

Though there had been some who debated whether Pavin would – or should – pick Woods, the world No. 1 who has not won in a year and who just recently started to show flashes of his former self on the course, Pavin said Tiger’s recent form made his decision much easier.

“I asked (Tiger) last night if he … I would like to have him on the team, and he said absolutely, and said, whatever you would like me to do, I will do, just tell me what you would like, which is exactly what a captain likes to hear from any player on the team,” Pavin said of his conversation with Woods.

“So obviously I was happy that he was very excited about playing, and he wants to be on a winning team, just like the other 12 guys, as well.”

Said Woods, “It’s great to be a part of this team. I’m honored to be selected and head over to Wales to represent the United States in The Ryder Cup. I’ve been to Wales previously in the Walker Cup and looking forward to going back and having a great time with the team and hopefully bring the Cup back.”

Cink’s selection marks the third time he has been a captain’s pick. “I’m starting to probably be close to being a record there,” joked Cink, who owns a 4-7-4 career record in 15 Ryder Cup matches. “I guess all that means is I’m not very good in qualifying in the Top 10, I don’t know. I’ll be excited and pumped up to play and representing the U.S.”

Johnson, who qualified for the 2006 team that traveled to The K Club in Ireland, said he is “thrilled and excited to be on the team.”

“Team play, team sports in general, it’s really something that drives me as a competitor and when you incorporate a team element and chemistry into golf, it makes it just that much more special,” said Johnson, who went 1-2-1 in his Ryder Cup debut.

“Having your nation’s flag on your sleeve and being led by Captain Pavin and his associates, just, you know, makes it that much more special.”

Fowler, known for his trademark orange outfits on the course and long hair, said he is looking forward to the experience and hopes to bring some energy along with him.

“I have to thank Corey for giving me the opportunity to go over there,” the 21-year-old Fowler said. “Being a young player, it’s a pretty special opportunity and the last time I played overseas on a team event was for the Walker Cup, so hopefully I can take a little bit of knowledge that I learned there and help the team.”

Pavin said he just had “a gut feeling” about picking Fowler, and never once considered his lack of experience a factor.

“I think, obviously, he’s deserving,” Pavin said. “There’s a lot of guys deserving to be on the team. Like I said, there were a lot of people in the mix. I’ve said that before, and it’s absolutely true.

“We talked a lot about it last night, the three of us here, and as I said, I spoke to Jeff Sluman on the phone, as well. It just came down to feelings. I had a gut feeling about Rickie. He has a good Walker Cup record, 7 1. He’s a very good player. There are a lot of very good players that I had to look at, but that’s the way I went.”

Mickelson will be making his ninth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, while Furyk makes his seventh consecutive, and Mahan and Stricker their second straight. Watson, who finished second in the 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in August following a three-hole playoff, Johnson, Kuchar and Overton will be making their debuts in the Ryder Cup.

Looking to capture consecutive Ryder Cups for the first time since 1993, Team USA heads to the Twenty Ten Course at The Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales, hoping to continue the success it enjoyed two years ago while upsetting the heavily favored Team Europe at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

Powered by the inspired play of six Ryder Cup rookies — Mahan, Stricker, Boo Weekley, J.B. Holmes, Anthony Kim and Ben Curtis – and the leadership of captain Paul Azinger, the Americans shocked the Europeans 16 ½-11 ½ to snap a three-match losing streak.

Team Europe, led by captain Colin Montgomerie, will again be favored over the Americans when the teams meet in a little more than three weeks. Ryder Cup veterans Lee Westwood, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Miguel Angel Jimenez will be joined by reigning PGA Champion Martin Kaymer, reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson and brothers Francesco Molinari and Edoardo Molinari or Italy.

Begun in 1927, the Ryder Cup is among the last great professional sporting events where winning, not prize money, is the ultimate reward. The United States owns a 25-10-2 overall advantage in the biennial competition, but Europe has won five of the last seven Ryder Cups.

Former Trojan Jennifer Song wins again on Duramed Futures Tou

By Tom LaMarre

Jennifer Song made the jump from amateur golf to the pros this season, and now she’s going to the highest level.

The 20-year-old Song, who left USC last spring, holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to turn back Jenny Shin of Torrance and claim her second Duramed Futures Tour victory, winning the $100,000 Greater Richmond Golf Classic at Richmond Country Club in Richmond, Va.

By winning, Song collected $14,000 and ran her earnings to $51,375, fourth on the Futures Tour money list, and virtually assured herself an LPGA Tour playing card for 2011. The top 10 at the end of the season move on to the big tour.

“I feel so relieved,” said Song, of Ann Arbor, Mich. “A lot of players have played a full season and I’ve felt like there was a lot of catching up to do (after turning pro following the Curtis Cup in June).

“I usually don’t make fist pumps, but I’ve wanted this win for quite a while. There was definitely a lot of pressure and I definitely was shaking a lot out there. It was like I saw the line (on the winning putt) burned into the green. I could see exactly where I wanted to hit it. I just needed to hit it a little firm.”

Song, who captured the U.S. Women’s Amateur and thee U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links championships last year, posted a score of 68-70-66–204, 12-under par.

The 17-year-old Shin, who won the 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, finished at  71-67-66–204 and made $10,000, moving to fifth on the money list with $49,296, and also should be heading to the LPGA Tour next season.

Stephanie Na of Australia was third at 68-70-69–207, followed by Jenny Gleason of  Clearwater, Fla., at 72-68-68–208.

Dewi Claire Schreefel of USC and the Netherlands shot 69-72-68–209 and tied for fifth with Cindy LaCrosse of Tampa, Fla., who wound up at 72-69-68–209, and Amelia Lewis of Jacksonville, Fla., who finished at 68-70-71–209.

Christine Song of Fullerton totaled 69-74-69–212 and tied for 14th with Ashley Prange of Newport Beach and the University of North Carolina, who came in at 70-71-71–212, while Tiffany Tavee of Tempe, Ariz., and Arizona State tied for 16th at 72-74-67–213.

Ryann O’Toole of San Clemente and UCLA shot 70-77-67–214 to tie for 18th with

Esther Choe of La Quinta, who finished at 74-71-69–214, Paola Moreno of USC and  Colombia, who turned in a score of 72-71-71–214, and Eileen Vargas of Pepperdine and Colombia, who wound up at 72-70-72–214.

Jessi Gebhardt of Chandler, Ariz., and Oregon State carded a score of 74-71-70–215 and tied for 25th with Veronica Felibert of USC and Venezuela, who totaled 72-72-71–215, and Sophia Sheridan of the University of California and Mexico, who came in at 74-69-72– 215.

Carolina Llano of Pepperdine and Colombia wound up at 73-72-72–217 and tied for 34th with Leanne Bowditch of Pepperdine and Australia, who finished at 73-72-72–217.

Jane Rah of Torrance and Oklahoma State shot 74-73-71–218 and tied for 42nd with Selanee Henderson of Apple Valley and UC Irvine, who totaled 72-73-73–218, and Mo Martin of Altadena and UCLA, who finished at 70-72-76–218.

Tiffany Joh of San Diego and UCLA posted a score of 71-76-72–219 and tied for 49th with Ayaka Kaneko of Pepperdine and Honolulu, who wound up at 73-72-74–219, and

Hannah Jun of San Diego and UCLA, who came in at 74-71-74–219.

Erica Moston Belmont and San Jose State shot 70-75-75–220 and tied for 58th with Sofie Andersson of Cal and Sweden, who finished at 72-72-76–220, and Kristin Ingram of  Pasadena and the University of Arkansas, who finished at 70-72-78–220.

Nicole Smith of Riverside and the University of Tennessee tied for 71st at 74-73-76–223.

Song, who won the Tate and Lyle Players Championship in her Futures Tour and pro debut in June, played bogey-free in the final round at Richmond, hitting 12-of -14 fairways and 16-of-18 greens in regulation while taking 29 putts.

However, Shin also was playing error-free golf and carded three birdies on the back nine to pull even before having a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation skirt the right edge of the cup and hang on the back lip.

“The way I was putting today, I could have putted it with one hand,” said Shin, who claimed the title at the International at Concord, N.H., in July. “It was an easy putt, but I was really nervous.

“I woke up at 6 this morning and told my mom that I was really nervous. I had a feeling that Jennifer would shoot at least three or four under. I was chasing her. I had the fist pump in my mind. I had my speech in my head. I wanted to do it right.”

Song, who left her 20-foot birdie putt barely short on the final hole of regulation, and Shin both made par on the first extra hole and went back to the 18th tee for the third time.

This time, Shin’s 35-foot birdie putt burned the right edge of the cup but would not fall.

“I thought that putt was going in,” Shin said. “When I missed it, I knew Jennifer would make hers.”

And so it was Song who got to make that fist pump.

2010 NCGA Match Play Champion -- John Catlin

By Northern California Golf Association

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 13, 2010) –John Catlin’s trips to Pebble Beach in August each of the last two years produced wildly different results.

The 19-year-old Carmichael resident last played at Spyglass a year ago in the NCGA Junior, making the cut but then finishing in last place with a final-round 83. A year later, he found himself atop the region with a 3 and 2 victory in Northern California’s most prestigious amateur event, the NCGA Amateur Match Play. In doing so, he defeated one of the top mid-amateurs in the state in St. Mary’s Golf Coach Scott Hardy.

The scheduled 36-hole final got off to a roller-coaster start as there were no halved holes within the opening six. Hardy finally established and held a 1-up lead with a kick-in birdie on the par-5 seventh, a lead he would hold for the next 18 holes.

“I just tried to keep hitting good shots,” the champion said. “He’s (Hardy) got such an incredible short game…I knew I’d start to make some putts.”

If the best coaches and teachers lead by example, then, as demonstrated today, the 34-year-old Hardy ranks with the best of coaches. His almost Houdini-esque ability to escape trouble produced par-saving bunker shots, chips and an array of holed five-footers that maintained a lead that bounced between 1 and 2-up throughout most of the day, though the morning 18 ended all square.

But Catlin possesses a solid, whiplash action that produces a ball flight and straight path that Tiger Woods would kill for right now. And the constant avoidance of the big mistake allowed the 2009 Jesuit High graduate to keep the match close. “I’ve always been a straight driver. I felt solid all week on these fairways,” he said.

That consistency, and the grind of a 36-hole match started to take their toll toward the middle of the final 18 holes. Catlin bombed a 25-footer for birdie on the 27th hole, Spyglass’ 9th, and followed that with another long putt on the 28th hole that sparked some momentum and a 2-up lead. “After I made that putt on 10 I thought I had it,” the New Mexico Lobo said. “But I had to stay present and not think about the trophy. Scott’s too good to let up. He put a lot of pressure on me.”

The 28th hole perhaps best exemplified the spirit of the match. After Catlin nuked a drive practically to the 100-yard marker (like most young players, Catlin possessed an almost preternatural confidence in the driver), Hardy drove it wide left nearly into Spyglass’s parallel 9th fairway. After punching out into the 9th fairway, he then hit his third shot over the trees to within five feet of the cup – an absurdly difficult recovery shot. Catlin then answered with a 25-foot birdie putt, producing what CBS basketball announcer Bill Raftery might have labeled a “dagger” moment.

Catlin played 139 holes over the course of two rounds of stroke-play qualifying and five rounds of match play (with the final accounting for 34 holes). Perhaps the demands the championship places on endurance explains why the North Ridge member’s win extends a nine-year stretch of victories by college golfers (the last mid-amateur to win was PGA Tour champion Matt Bettencourt back in 2001). The win also stopped Hardy’s quest to add a sixth NCGA trophy to his case. The Amateur is the only title to elude him of the events he is eligible.

So how did Catlin dramatically improve from the bottom of the junior leaderboard to the top of the Northern California amateur game in one year at the same venue?

“Playing college golf,” he said. “It made me a better player. After playing against Oklahoma State, TCU and USC this course doesn’t seem nearly as hard.”

Catlin heads back to Albuquerque to begin his sophomore season with a major NCGA feather in his cap.

2010 U.S. Amateur Champion -- Danielle Kang

by Beth Murrison, USGA Manager of Championship Communications.

Charlotte, N.C. – Danielle Kang had collected two medals at USGA championships in the last year. This time, she took home the trophy.

Kang , 17, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., earned a 2-and-1 victory over Jessica Korda, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., to claim the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship Sunday at the par-72, 6,559-yard Charlotte Country Club.

Kang, who earned stroke-play medalist honors at the Women’s Amateur a year ago and at the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month, made a 4-footer for birdie on the 35th hole to claim her first national championship.

“It’s so awesome,” said Kang when asked to describe her emotions after winning the title. “I don’t know, but I even told myself I don’t understand why people cry when they win stuff, but now I do. You’re just so happy you did it.”

In the scheduled 36-hole final, Kang got off to a hot start, birdieing three of the first four holes. But Korda started equally well, with birdies on the first and third holes, to keep pace with Kang. Kang’s birdie on the fourth hole gave her a 1-up lead, and a bogey from Korda on No. 5 put Kang 2 up.

Kang, who graduated high school early and started her freshman year at Pepperdine University in January, held that 2-up lead going into the break between rounds.

Korda knew she had to be more aggressive heading to the afternoon round.

“I was a little tentative this morning,” said Korda. “I was getting really frustrated with myself not only because I wasn’t making, like I was making birdies, but then I was frustrated at her making birdies because I wasn’t used to that. All week if I made a birdie then someone else would miss. Then I went to go take a shower [between rounds], and I felt completely calm and I thought I was going to get it back.”

She almost did.

A bogey by Kang on the 23rd hole allowed Korda to cut the deficit to 1 down, and a birdie by Korda from 4 feet on No. 27 squared the match.

Korda took her first lead of the day on the 30th hole when she hit her approach shot to within a foot, which was conceded for birdie. Kang hit her approach shot into a greenside bunker and was unable to get up and down.

But Korda’s advantage would be short-lived. After the two traded pars at the 31st hole, Kang made a 5-footer for birdie on No. 32 to again square the match.

The turning point came at the par-4 16th hole, the 34th of the match. Korda’s approach shot found a greenside bunker – her only missed green of the afternoon round – and she was unable to get up and down from 12 feet. Kang’s birdie attempt from 40 feet went 5 feet past the hole and she converted the par putt to take a 1-up lead.

“I didn’t know she was in the bunker, but I knew she had a chip and she short-sided herself,” said Kang of Korda’s approach shot on 16. “So I told my dad, middle of the green. That’s all I need to do.”

One hole later, Kang hit an 8-iron to 4 feet. After Korda missed her birdie try from 7 feet, Kang calmly made her birdie putt to claim the championship.

The final featured a display of excellent golf from both players. With the usual match-play concessions, Kang was the equivalent of five under par, and Korda was the equivalent of six under par.

Korda, a member of the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team, said the difference in the final was her putting.

“I was a little more conservative,” said Korda, a high school senior. “But Danielle was just making birdie after birdie after birdie, birdies on top of my birdies, birdies before my birdies. It was a birdie barrage.”

For Kang, it was the culmination of a journey that started at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, where she made the cut but struggled with the difficult layout.

“When I medaled at the U.S. [Girls’] Junior, I was like, I always put myself down,” said Kang. “I kept saying I can’t putt, I can’t do this. I was really negative. After Oakmont and the U.S. [Girls’]  Junior I was like, ‘I’m actually not that bad a player.  I’m not that bad.’ ”

And now she is the 110th United States Women’s Amateur champion.

The 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Nick Delio -- 2010 SCGA Match Play Champion

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Aug. 11, 2010) — Nick Delio of Valencia, the No. 6 seed, defended his title at the the 3rd SCGA Match Play Championship, defeating Santa Barbara’s Jack Perry 3 and 2 for the event title.

“I played great all week; this course fits my eye,” Delio said after his win. “I’m really happy to defend and confident in my game right now.”

Delio, 20, a senior at Cal State Northridge and the 2008 California State Amateur champion, carded an eagle-3 on the first hole of the final round, taking a 1-up lead and never falling behind through the 16 holes of play. He’d go on to birdie five holes in the round and shoot 6 under par.

Perry, the No. 12 seed and youngest player in the field (at 18) who’s bound for Northwestern University in the fall, has seen his fair share of second-place finishes this summer. A member of Santa Barbara High School’s State CIF championship team, he lost a playoff for the individual title to finish second. He also placed second at the SCGA Amateur Championship at nearby La Cumbre CC. Perry put up a fight in the final round, however, with a 2-under-par round that consisted of four birdies and two bogeys.

“I’m disappointed at another second-place finish, but I didn’t give it to him; he won it with how well he played,” Perry said afterward. “I look forward to coming back and playing again next year.”

Delio, who won the 2010 NCAA Southwest Regional Championship, dominated the field the entire event and didn’t even reach the 15th hole until his morning semifinal match. He defeated Los Angeles’ Tony Behrstock in the Round of 32, 6 and 4, before dismissing John Adams of San Clemente (5 and 3) and Sam Yi of Northridge (6 and 4).

Delio’s most challenging match would come at the hands of veteran player Kevin Marsh of Henderson, Nev., a two-time SCGA Amateur winner and U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. Marsh lead the entire semifinal match, as much as 2 up on the 16th hole, before Delio birdied the par-4 16th, then the par-3 18th, to square the match. Delio won on the 21st hole with a birdie-3.

Perry’s matches proved to be a bit more work. He defeated San Bernardino’s Scott Clayton (19 holes), Tustin’s Doug Fortner (1 up), Sherman Oaks’ Greg Moss (1 up) and Riverside’s Kevin Fitzgerald, the California State Amateur co-medalist (1 up) to reach the finals.

Both Delio and Perry will practice their games for the duration of the summer before heading off to school in the fall.

* * *

Brad Larsen -- 2010 SCGA Senior Match Play Champion

Brad Larsen of Oceanside, the current SCGA Senior Amateur champion, defeated Greg Hetzer of San Pedro 4 and 3 to win the SCGA Senior Match Play Championship at Sandpiper Golf Club.

Larsen becomes the second consecutive senior player to win both the SCGA Senior Amateur and Match Play championships in the same year, a feat first accomplished last year by past champion Howie Knodt.

In the final match, Hetzer birdied the par-5 first hole at Sandpiper and held a 1 up lead until the fifth hole, when Larsen birdied the par 5 to square the match. He’d begin a string of stellar holes that included birdies on 9, 10 and 13, while Hetzer struggled on the back with a bogey-4 on the signature 11th hole and two double bogeys on 13 and 14. Bogey-6s from both players on the 15th hole gave Larsen the victory.

Earlier this year, Larsen became the first player to win both the SCGA Senior Amateur and SCGA Mid-Amateur, of which he claimed the title in 1995. The 1977 UC Santa Barbara alum and former aspiring Tour pro took a 15-year break from golf competition after that win, and now a regional sales manager for Best Buy Mobile and member of Shadowridge Country Club in Vista, has two major victories under his belt.

In his wake, Larsen defeated Warren Caves 3 and 1; multiple SCGA Senior champion Robert Carver 2 and 1; and Steve Yavorsky 4 and 3 to reach the finals. Hetzer defeated Chris Veich in 19 holes; Don Baker 3 and 1; and 2007 SCGA Senior Amateur champion Rich Tolly 1 up.

Larsen is at the top of the SCGA Senior Player of the Year Points List, just 40 points ahead of Knodt.

Bill Lunde -- 2010 Turning Stone Resort Champion

By TOM LAMARRE,

Five years ago, Bill Lunde quit golf and got a real job, which made him appreciate the one he gave up.

So Lunde returned to the game and made it to the PGA Tour last year, then earned his first victory on the circuit by shooting 6-under par 66 in the final round to win the Turning Stone Resort Championship by one stroke over J.J. Henry at Atunyote Golf Club in Verona, N.Y.

“I started driving it really well, hitting it down the fairway,” said Lunde, whose best previous finish on the big tour was a tie for fourth in the 2009 Frys.com Open. “So, that kind of changed the whole game. I went from scrambling to make pars to having nine irons that I could hit close.

“All these guys out here, you’re never far from playing good. You can sit here and say, ‘I’m playing awful, I don’t know how I’m going to break 80 today,’ but you’re never that far off.”

Lunde, from San Diego and UNLV, carded a score of 73-68-64-66–271, 17-under par, and collected $720,000, while Henry finished at 69-70-70-63–272.

Billy Mayfair of Phoenix and Arizona State shot 70-68-66-69–273 and tied for third with Jerry Kelly, who wound up at 70-70-69-64–273, Josh Teater, who totaled 71-67-69-66–273, Michael Sim of Australia, who finished at 69-71-67-66–273, and Alex Cejka of Germany, who came in at 66-68-67-72–273.

Rory Sabbatini of the University of Arizona and South Africa tied for eighth at 65-70-71-68–274, Charley Hoffman of Poway and UNLV tied for 10th at 71-67-68-69–275, and Scott McCarron of Sacramento and UCLA tied for 16th at 72-70-64-70–276.

Scott Piercy of Las Vegas and San Diego State shot 71-70-70-66–277 and tied for 22nd with Matt Bettencourt of Alameda and Modesto Junior College, who finished at 68-72-71-66–277, and John Mallinger of Escondido and Long Beach State, who wound up at 67-70-71-69–277.

Alex Prugh of the University of Washington and Spokane, Wash., tied for 33rd at 72-68-68-70–278, Dean Wilson of BYU and Honolulu tied for 41st at 72-67-71-69–279, and Chris Tidland of Torrance and Oklahoma State tied for 48th at 66-69-70-75–280.

Tom Pernice Jr. of Sacramento and UCLA tied for 52nd at 70-71-72-68–281, Troy Merritt of Phoenix and Boise State tied for 61st at 72-69-71-71–283, and Graham DeLaet of Boise State and Canada tied for 69th at 72-68-72-74–286.

Lunde birdied three of the last four holes in the second round to make the cut on the number, but still trailed Cejka by four strokes heading to the final round. As the leader faltered on Sunday, Lunde torched the front nine for six birdies.

Then he took the lead for good on the 16th hole by hitting his approach with a seven iron from 177 yards to within four feet and sank the birdie putt before finishing with two rock-solid pars.

“Shooting 30 on the front side was obviously big for momentum and got my confidence going,” said Lunde, the 12th first-time winner on the PGA Tour this season. “I tried not to get too conservative. I tried to keep playing and trying to make birdies where I had a chance, I felt, and tried to stay in the moment, and was able to kind of pull it off.

” . . . I tried to make an agreement with myself when I started playing again. If I could just have a better attitude right off the bat, I’d become a better player than I ever was before. And that was kind of my goal.

“Obviously it doesn’t happen every day, but it’s definitely better than it was and something I’ll probably battle for the rest of my life.”

But he knows it beats working 9-to-5.

O'Sullivan and Hossler Win the 2010 Stockton Sports Commission Junior Open

O’Sullivan Claims Title at her First AJGA Event at Stockton Sports Commission Junior Open
Hossler comes from behind to take victory in Boys Division at The Reserve at Spanos Park

STOCKTON, Calif. –Hannah O’Sullivan of Cupertino, Calif., playing in her first AJGA tournament, wasted no time taking home a win after she carded a 2-under-par 70 in the final round of the Stockton Sports Commission Junior Open. Coming off his win at the Trader Joe’s Junior Championship hosted by Pat Hurst two weeks ago, Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., fired a 5-under-par 67 to win the Boys Division.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Stockton Sports Commission Junior Open was a 54-hole stroke-play event held at The Reserve at Spanos Park.  The 99-player field featured 72 boys and 27 girls, ages 12-18, from seven states, Mexico and Thailand. The Boys Division played the par-72 course from 7,037 yards and the Girls Division played from 6,241 yards.

At age 12, O’Sullivan is the fourth youngest player to win an AJGA Open event. O’Sullivan played a steady three rounds, as she shaved strokes off her score each day and finished the tournament at 2-under-par 214. After qualifying for the event at Monday’s K¹²Qualifier, O’Sullivan was able to come in with a level head and not let the pressure of competition affect her game. She had been anxiously waiting for her twelfth birthday to be able to compete in AJGA events.

“I was just trying to treat this like any other tournament and stay focused,” O’Sullivan said. “I tried to take it one shot at a time and not worry about the ranking or scores.”

Rounding out the Girls Division leaderboard were Lilia Vu of Fountain Valley, Calif., who took home second place with a tournament total of 1-under-par 215, and Lauren Diaz-Yi of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who finished third with a 1-over-par 217.

Coming into the final round, Hossler sat in a tie for fifth place and seven strokes behind the leader, but was able to climb the leaderboard throughout the day as he carded six birdies and just one bogey to finish at 8-under-par 208 for the tournament. Hossler took home his second win of his AJGA career two weeks ago at the Trader Joe’s Junior Championship hosted by Pat Hurst and attributes his recent success to being able to have error-free rounds.

“I’ve reached my goal of getting a win this summer, and it feels awesome to now have two,” Hossler said. “Coming from behind, I had no expectations, but I know that in this game anything can change.”

Byron Meth of San Diego, who led the first two rounds, finished just one stroke back from Hossler at 7-under-par 209 to take second place. In third was Shuai Wu of Beijing, China with a 6-under-par 210. In a tie for fourth was Mark Jensma of Aliso Viejo, Calif., and Yi Keun Chang of Diamond Bar, Calif., each at 4-under-par 212.

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 provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.

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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Seventy-eight junior golfers from The First Tee have been selected to play in

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Seventy-eight junior golfers from The First Tee have been selected to play inthe Home Care & Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an official Champions Tour event that willbe held September 3-5 during Labor Day weekend and televised nationally on Golf Channel.Entering its seventh year, this unique event features junior golfers and amateurs competing side-by-sidewith Champions Tour players at renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course. Itserves as a showcase for The First Tee, an organization dedicated to impacting the lives of young peopleby providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.”Thanks to the National Association for Homecare (NAHC), the 2010 tournament will showcase thishighly successful youth-development program to a global audience and celebrate the values upon whichboth Home Care & Hospice and The First Tee are based,” states Monterey Peninsula Foundation BoardChairman Clint Eastwood.Two hundred and forty-five junior boys and girls, ages 15-18, that participate at The First Tee Chaptersnationwide applied for this year’s tournament. Fifty-one junior boys and twenty-three junior girlsreceived invitations. Participants were selected based on an assessment of their playing ability andcomprehension of the life skills and core lessons learned through involvement with The First Tee. Toround out the final field of 78 juniors that will compete in the tournament, the host organization, TheMonterey Peninsula Foundation, awarded four exemptions.”The opportunity these young people will receive by participating in the tournament will be somethingthey remember for life,” said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., CEO of The First Tee. “The participants selectedhave proven themselves on the golf course and through demonstrating their understanding of The FirstTee Nine Core Values and life skills they have learned at their Chapters. It is an honor for them toparticipate, and we thank Home Care & Hospice for their involvement in this year’s event.”The Home Care & Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach will air on Golf Channel Friday andSaturday, September 3-4 from 6:30-8:30 pm ET and 7:00-9:30 pm ET on Sunday, September 5.Will Bishop from The First Tee of Lexington and David Eger are the defending champions in the pro-junior competition. Jeff Sluman is defending champion and a two-time winner of the professional event.To learn more about the Home Care & Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, visit www.thefirsttee.orgor www.thefirstteeopen.com. You can also follow the Home Care & Hospice First Tee Open at PebbleBeach blog www.tftopenpebblebeach.wordpress.com.