MASTER Miller rises to the occasion
If this were the late 1800s and these players were gunslingers instead of golfers, one might have seen a re-enactment of the Showdown at the O.K. Corral. However, golf is a gentlemen's sport and so no six-shooters were needed, only 6 irons. At the end of round one on Saturday the leaderboard was stacked tighter than a row of dominoes waiting for the fall. On Sunday, everyone knew they needed their "A" game. So while Saturday had no sub-par rounds, Sunday produced 8 sub-par rounds in the Boys 16-18 division. The Low Round of the day went to Gregor Slabe of Ljubljana, SLOVENIA (2007), who fired a round of 6 under par 66 which put him in 2nd place when all was said and done - just one stroke off the leader. For Slabe, who won at Tiburon and has two other top 10s this season, his 7 birdies on Sunday improved his round score by 10 strokes from Saturday's opening round, but the day belonged to Master Miller.
William Miller of Venetia, PA (2007), who played in the final group of the day after opening with a round of +1 on Saturday, carded a round of 4 under par on Sunday to finish at 141 (-3) for the event. Miller began the day tied with Jhared Hack of Heathrow, FL (2007), Alexander Sitompul of Bradenton, FL (2008), Craig Tallent of Haverford, PA (2006), Sean Dale of Jacksonville, FL (2008) and Bryan Harris of Rancho Mirage, CA (2007). He knew what he had to do to pull away from these other top-ranked players. He opened with par-birdie and went on to make two more birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 3 under par. He started the back nine with a birdie on #10 and later made his only bogey of the day on #14. He finished as a true champion and avoided a playoff with Slabe by making birdie on # 18 and earning his first FCWT title of the season.
Miller's playing partner, Jhared Hack of Heathrow, FL (2007), made 5 birdies on the front before making bogey on #9. He rebounded on #10 and carded another birdie, but it would be his last of the day. Numbers 14 and 16 did not go favorably for Hack on Sunday and caused him to finish 2 off the pace at 143 (-1) in third place. Three players finished T4: Tommy Mou of Bradenton, FL (2009), who fired a final round of 69; Jordan Lewis of West Frankfort, IL (2008), who posted a final round of 2 under par 70 and Craig Tallent of Haverford, PA (2006), who led this division in birdies for the event with 10.
In the Boys 13-15 division, William Sjaichudin of Queensland, AUSTRALIA (2010) fired a final round of 69 and came from one stroke back to earn his 3rd FCWT title of the season. Sjaichudin who opened with a round of 77 on Saturday carded 4 birdies and one bogey on Sunday to improve his score by 8 strokes. Also carding a final round of 69 was Benjamin Palanski of Budapest, HUNGARY (2009) who began the final round in a tie for 5th after opening with a round of 78 on Saturday. Fourteen year old Palanski, playing in his first FCWT event, finished in 2nd place. Finishing in third place was Tanapol Vattanapisit of Rayong, THAILAND (2012), who just celebrated his 13th birthday on Wednesday. Luke Benford of Hampshire, ENGLAND (2008) and James Tallent of Haverford, PA (2010), finished T4.
Three in a rOH for Ji Young Oh
.jpg) Ji Young Oh of Kyumggito, SOUTH KOREA (2007), has played an FCWT event for the last three weekends and is 3 for 3. Miss Oh, who carded a round of 2 over par on Saturday, posted a final round of even par to win by 4 strokes over Jessica Korda of Bradenton, FL (2011). Miss Oh, the Korean National Champion, has been fine-tuning her game since arriving in the United States. She has played in 4 events in the last 5 weeks and has won all 4. Her current scoring average is 71.12, including two rounds in the 60s; she now leads the girls division in scoring average. She carded 7 birdies to give her 24 thus far; she is averaging 3 per round, and is tied for the lead in that category.
Thirteen year old Jessica Korda of Bradenton, FL (2011) earned her second consecutive 2nd place finish. Miss Korda who opened with a 75, carded a one over par 73 on Sunday to earn second place honors by 4 shots over Elisa Aoki of JAPAN (2009). Miss Aoki started the day in 5th place but moved into 3rd with her round of 75. Christina Miller of Bradenton, FL (2010) finished in 4th place and earned her third Top 5 of the season. So-Hyun Park of Bradenton, FL (2007) and Victoria Tomko of Lontzen, BELGIUM (2006) finished T5 at 154. |
