GOLF: County's junior players swing to win in boys and girls divisions


For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/16/08

The Atlanta Junior Golf Association schedule began a few weeks ago, and a number of Gwinnett juniors have already scored victories in their age divisions.

At Mystery Valley, Zach Healy of Norcross shot 81 to win the boys 12-under division. Jack Banda of Grayson was the 13-over club division 9-hole winner with a 46, and Austin Mancilla of Lawrenceville shot 40 to win the 12-under open 9-hole division.

At The Hooch, Taylor Allen of Lawrenceville shot 41 to win the girls 9-hole club division.

At Collins Hill, Sloan Shanahan shot even-par 71 to win the girls open division. Bradley Hodoval of Lilburn was the 12-under club division 9-hole winner with a 54. Charles Huntzinger of Duluth shot 43 to win the 12-under open division, and Banda scored a second victory in his age group, posting a 40.

At Sugar Creek, Bailey Tardy of Norcross shot 42 to win the girls 9-hole club division. She also won at Highland Walk at Victoria Bryant State Park. Benjamin Shipp of Duluth scored his second victory, taking first in the boys 12-under open division with a 9-hole score of 38. He also won at Arrowhead Country Club.

At the Trophy Club of Apalachee, Drake Mayhew of Buford won the boys 13-over club division with a 9-hole score of 43, winning in a playoff over Daniel Goeckel of Duluth and Blake Hamlin of Grayson. Kelly Robinson of Suwanee won the girls open 9-hole division with a 42, and Stephen Meadows of Loganville was the 13-over 9-hole open winner in a playoff over Connor Godwin of Suwanee.

WRIGHT WINS: Duluth's Kendall Wright scored her second straight win on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, taking the girls division at Durham Lakes in Fairburn earlier this week.

Wright, who has a total of four SJGT victories, posted scores of 76-75—-151, winning her division by 12 strokes.

Shawn Yim of Buford was third in the boys 16-19 division, finishing with a 147 total after opening with a 69 to take the first-day lead. Ted Moon of Lilburn shot 150 to finish fourth in the 14-15 division.

TOP 10 FOR EDSTROM: Norcross native Reid Edstrom finished seventh in last week's Nationwide Tour event in Raleigh, N.C., his best showing this year.

Edstrom, who played his way into the recent AT&T Classic in a Monday qualifier and made the cut, needed to play his final eight holes in the second round in 3-under par just to qualify for the final two rounds in Raleigh.

The former Auburn golfer then shot 8-under 63 the next morning, matching the low score of the tournament. He was briefly tied for the lead, finishing his round just as the leaders were teeing off.

Edstrom closed with a 1-under 70 for a 9-under 275 total, five strokes behind the winner. He finished the week fifth in fairways hit and tied for fourth in greens in regulation, hitting all 18 in the third round. He earned $16,750 to jump from 197 to 112 on the money list. It was Edstrom's third start of the season, and his top-10 finish will enable him to get into more tournaments on the rest of the Nationwide Tour schedule.

Snellville's Jonathan Fricke was a leader in Raleigh through the first three rounds, but slipped out of the top 10 with a final round 73 and tied for 21st at 278. Fricke stands 103rd on the money list, with his finish in Raleigh his second best of the season.

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