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THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR
Grayhawk Golf Club, Raptor Course
Scottsdale, Arizona
May 25-28, 2001

WASHINGTON NATIVES TAKE TITLES AT THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL
Moore fires a 68 in Boys Division, while Elston cards a 73 to take Girls Division

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Ryan Moore of Puyallup, Wash., carded his third consecutive round in the 60s to take the Boys Division crown at the AJGA Thunderbird International Junior on Monday. It was a Washington sweep as Lani Elston of Spokane won the Girls Division. The pair also took their respective titles last week at the Washington State 4A High School Championships.

The 54-hole event, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, was held at the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club, the home club of AJGA alum and PGA Tour standout Phil Mickelson. The second annual invitational featured 90 of the top juniors from around the world, representing 20 states and 12 countries, with 63 AJGA Polo Golf Junior All-Americans and 24 international players.

The 18-year-old Moore, who led the entire tournament, fired rounds of 67-67-68 for a total of 14-under-par 202 on the par-72, 7,103-yard layout for a three-shot victory. His biggest lead of the day came after a chip-in on No. 16 from 50 feet to go to 15-under. He followed the birdie with a bogey on No. 17, only his second of the three-round tournament.

"I didn't make any mistakes and did not have too many errant shots," the UNLV-signee said. "I controlled the ball really well. I kept it in the fairway, hit a lot of greens and made putts."

This event was Moore's second AJGA victory, his first coming in 1999 at the AJGA Boise Junior Classic. It was also his third win in row after taking the crown at the Pugent Sound Amateur and the Washington State 4A High School Championship in the two weeks prior.

"This win is huge for me," Moore said. "This is an incredible field and to win this, which is one of my last junior events, is awesome. To go out this way feels good."

Anthony Kim of La Quinta, Calif., fired a second consecutive 67 to finish three shots off the lead at 205. Chan Song Wongluekiet of Bradenton, Fla., who won the inaugural event last year, placed third at 210. Rounding out the top five were Kevin Na of Diamond Bar, Calif., at 212, and Rick Kulacz of Perth, Australia, at 215.

In the Girls Division, University of Idaho-bound Elston carded rounds of 74-72-73 for a total of 3-over-par 219 to win her first AJGA event. After double bogeys on No. 1 in the first two rounds, she parred the first hole to get the day started. After finishing the front nine at even-par, she birdied No. 10 after playing a 10-foot-break.

"I played consistent today," the 18-year-old said. "I knew where I stood most of the day. I had bogeys on No. 15 and 16, so I told myself that I needed to get back to business and play my game on No. 17. On No. 18, I knew all I had to do was two-putt, so I tried to lag it and I had a tap-in for par.

"I can't believe I won," she continued. "I am so excited to have pulled this one out."

One stroke off the pace at 220 was Aimee Cho of Orlando, Fla. Kelly Husted of Sarasota, Fla., took third with a 222 total, while Jackie Beers of Midlothian, Va., placed fourth at 223. Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario, and Erica Blasberg of Corona, Calif., tied for fifth with three-day totals of 224.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Final results from the THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Grayhawk Golf Club, Raptor Course. Par: 36-36--72. Yardage: Boys: 7,103 Girls: 6,205

BOYS DIVISION

Pos. Name Grad. Year City State Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Total

1

Ryan Moore

2001

Puyallup

Wash.

67

67

68

202

2

Anthony Kim

2003

La Quinta

Calif.

71

67

67

205

3

Chan Song Wongluekiet

2001

Bradenton

Fla.

69

71

70

210

4

Kevin Na

2002

Diamond Bar

Calif.

70

71

71

212

5

Rick Kulacz

2002

Perth

Australia

75

69

71

215

6

Roberto Castro

2003

Alpharetta

Ga.

75

69

72

216

7

Henry Liaw

2003

Rowland Heights

Calif.

69

76

72

217

T8

Grigory Bondarenko

2001

Moscow

Russia

77

71

70

218

Jesse Mueller

2001

Mesa

Ariz.

73

71

74

218

Matt Kern

2001

Castro Valley

Calif.

75

70

73

218

T11

Erik Stenman

2001

Tampere

Finland

73

75

72

220

 

Mark Donnell

2001

Mobile

Ala.

77

74

69

220

 

Ted Smith

2002

Westlake

Ohio

70

77

73

220

 

Casey Wittenberg

2004

Memphis

Tenn.

70

77

73

220

T15

Heath West

2001

Dothan

Ala.

77

71

73

221

Nico Bollini

2001

Yorba Linda

Calif.

72

74

75

221

James Vargas

2002

Miami

Fla.

72

73

76

221

T18

Reid Rader

2003

Kenmore

Wash.

73

75

74

222

 

Nicholas Thompson

2001

Coral Springs

Fla.

76

71

75

222

 

Matthew Rosenfeld

2002

Plano

Texas

73

73

76

222

21

Christo Greyling

2001

Orlando

Fla.

76

69

78

223

T22

Kevin Silva

2002

New Bedford

Mass.

74

74

76

224

 

Drew Pigg

2002

Plano

Texas

76

74

74

224

 

Richard Scott

2001

Kingsville

Ontario

69

77

78

224

25

Joel Gibbons

2001

Ocala

Fla.

74

78

73

225

26

Jay Reynolds

2001

Austin

Texas

70

75

81

226

27

Jeff Bell

2002

Plano

Texas

77

74

76

227

28

John Poucher

2001

Santa Barbara

Calif.

72

82

74

228

T29

Chris Wheeler

2001

Allen

Texas

74

77

78

229

Tarik Can

2004

New York

N.Y.

81

77

71

229

T31

Clay Ogden

2003

West Point

Utah

74

75

81

230

 

Michio Matsumura

2002

Tokyo

Japan

82

71

77

230

 

Clint Provost

2001

Gulf Breeze

Fla.

77

77

76

230

34

Pansing Singhaseni

2002

Beverly Hills

Calif.

79

78

74

231

T35

John Fizer

2001

Trenton

N.J.

76

79

77

232

 

Ashdon Woods

2001

Lander

Wyo.

77

81

74

232

37

David Huestis

2001

Worthington

Ohio

84

74

75

233

T38

Daniel Kush

2002

Tustin

Calif.

77

77

80

234

 

Brian O'Flaherty

2001

Westlake Village

Calif.

81

79

74

234

 

Doug Kingston

2001

Bethlehem

Pa.

81

80

73

234

T41

Yoshio Yamamoto

2003

Guadalajara

Mexico

77

78

80

235

Niklas Lemke

2003

Linkoping

Sweden

78

85

72

235

43

Masaaki Kato

2002

Osaka

Japan

76

88

78

242

44

Masaki Nakanishi

2003

Osaka

Japan

81

75

88

244

T45

Jeff Bopp

2001

Katy

Texas

79

80

90

249

 

Alfonso Collada

2005

Mexico City

Mexico

80

82

87

249

47

Clint Cromwell

2001

Savannah

Tenn.

86

87

84

257

GIRLS DIVISION

Pos. Name Grad. Year City State Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Total

1

Lani Elston

2001

Spokane

Wash.

74

72

73

219

2

Aimee Cho

2002

Orlando

Fla.

71

76

73

220

3

Kelly Husted

2002

Sarasota

Fla.

75

71

75

221

4

Jackie Beers

2002

Midlothian

Va.

70

76

76

222

T5

Jessica Shepley

2001

Oakville

Ontario

75

72

76

223

 

Erica Blasberg

2002

Corona

Calif.

74

73

76

223

T7

Paula Creamer

2005

Pleasanton

Calif.

73

74

77

224

Brittany Lang

2003

McKinney

Texas

71

76

77

224

T9

Elizabeth Janangelo

2002

West Hartford

Conn.

78

72

75

225

 

Jane Lee

2004

Torrance

Calif.

76

71

78

225

11

Mallory Code

2003

Tampa

Fla.

78

72

76

226

T12

Whitney Welch

2002

Las Vegas

Nev.

79

76

72

227

 

Ashley Knoll

2003

The Woodlands

Texas

77

76

74

227

 

Maria Eugenia Martinez

2001

Maracaibo

Venezuela

71

80

76

227

15

Hwanhee Lee

2001

Cerritos

Calif.

75

77

76

228

T16

Whitney Code

2001

Tampa

Fla.

74

80

75

229

 

Stella Lee

2001

Irvine

Calif.

81

72

76

229

18

Ouliana Rotmistrova

2001

Moscow

Russia

75

79

76

230

T19

Jennifer Karr

2001

Scottsdale

Ariz.

78

77

78

233

 

Perry Swenson

2001

Boynton Beach

Fla.

76

78

79

233

T21

Priscilla Park

2002

Santa Ana

Calif.

76

79

79

234

Ina Kim

2001

Encino

Calif.

77

79

78

234

Lisa Ferrero

2001

Lodi

Calif.

72

80

82

234

T24

Devan Andersen

2002

Guadalajara

Mexico

80

79

76

235

 

Lisa Tyler

2002

Lighthouse Point

Fla.

75

75

85

235

26

Golda Johansson

2002

Trelleborg

Sweden

75

82

79

236

T27

Karin Sjodin

2002

Goteborg

Sweden

81

78

79

238

 

Erin Andrews

2002

Las Vegas

Nev.

79

82

77

238

T29

Whitney Wade

2003

Glasgow

Ky.

84

75

80

239

Claire Grignolo

2004

Torino

Italy

78

82

79

239

T31

Tullia Calzavara

2002

Trevijo

Italy

81

79

80

240

 

Cindy Shin

2003

McKinney

Texas

80

84

76

240

T33

Cristina Gonzalez

2004

Durango

Mexico

79

78

86

243

Sofie Andersson

2002

Angelholm

Sweden

81

79

83

243

Alissa Kuczka

2002

Phoenix

Ariz.

81

82

80

243

Becky Berzonski

2001

North East

Pa.

81

82

80

243

T37

Eom Ji Park

2003

Vancouver

British Columbia

80

85

79

244

 

Kyla Welsh

2001

Wellington

New Zealand

84

82

78

244

39

Alejandra Diaz

2003

Guadalajara

Mexico

82

83

81

246

40

Eline Zoethout

2002

Blokker

The Netherlands

86

81

83

250

41

Rachel Overstreet

2002

Pace

Fla.

94

86

85

265