June 15, 2007–At the 18th annual Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship presented by Meadow Gold Dairy, consecutive birdies gave Ryan Sheffer of Tucson, Ariz., the lead he needed to finish the tournament with a 10-under-par 203 and take the championship title. Sarah Salvo of Glendale, Calif., won the girls division by one stroke by firing a 10-over-par 223 to claim her first victory at an American Junior Golf Association open tournament. The Las Vegas golfer contingent was lead by Kevin Colignon who fired three rounds of 71-69-67–207, to finish in fifth place. His final round 67 equaled Sheffer's total, and was good for best of the day. The best finish for a girl from Las Vegas was In-ah Park, who fired rounds of 73-81-74–228, good for 9th place.
Conducted by the AJGA, The Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship presented by Meadow Gold Dairy was a 54-hole stroke play event held at Angel Park Golf Club Mountain Course. The 84-player event featured 63 boys and 21 girls, 48 of them from California, 14 from Arizona and 11 from Southern Nevada.
The event has been played at other Las Vegas golf courses including Legacy Golf Club and Boulder Creek Golf Club, and has been operated by the Las Vegas Founders, who operated the Las Vegas PGA Tour event from 1983-2006.
Sheffer's shot out of the bunker to three feet on No. 17 earned him his third birdie and first lead of the day. The two-shot cushion allowed him to relax and concentrate on his tee shot off No. 18, where he carded his fourth birdie for the round.
"I aimed at the bunker and hit a decent second shot," Sheffer said of the par-5 on No. 17. "After I finished No. 17 I felt pretty good about my chances of winning."
Tied for second place in the tournament was Michael Gideon of Lancaster , Calif., Tyler Weworski of Carlsbad, Calif., and Nicholas Losole III of Scottsdale, Ariz. with 7-under-par 206. Kevin Collignon of Las Vegas, Nev. rounded out the Boys Division with 6-under-par 207.
It was a head-to-head competition in the Girls Division between Salvo and Lindy LaBauve of Scottsdale, Ariz., but it was Salvo who claimed the championship by one stroke after saving par on Nos. 17 and 18.
"I knew that I needed the putt on No. 17 to stay alive," Salvo said. "It was going to come down to the last hole, so I kept telling myself that I've done this before."
Tied for second place in the Girls Division were LaBauve and Robyn Kim of Cypress, Calif. , at 11-over-par 224.
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 an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 foreign 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.
BOYS DIVISION RESULTS
Ryan Sheffer, Tucson, Ariz. 67-69-67203
Michael Gideon, Lancaster, Calif. 70-68-68206
Tyler Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif. 67-66-73206
Nicholas Losole III, Scottsdale, Ariz. 72-63-71206
Kevin Collignon, Las Vegas, Nev. 71-69-67207
E.J. Kahn, Los Angeles, Calif. 71-69-69209
Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. 70-70-69209
Rak Cho, Torrance, Calif. 68-70-72210
Zachary Blair, Ogden, Utah 71-69-70210
Ji Park , Fullerton, Calif. 68-71-71210
Max Homa, Valencia, Calif. 72-68-71211
Coy Breen, San Antonio, Texas 69-68-74211
Daniel Miernicki, Santee, Calif. 72-68-71211
John Huh, Montrose, Calif. 69-71-71211
Justin Spray, Colorado Springs, Colo. 71-68-72211
Beau Schoolcraft, Englewood, Colo. 70-69-72211
Benjamin Lein, Diamond Bar, Calif. 70-71-71212
Ramsey Sahyoun, Reseda, Calif. 72-70-70212
Troy Anderson, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 72-70-70212
Matt Carroll, Heathrow, Fla. 74-73-68215
Sam Smith, Turlock, Calif. 68-74-73215
C.J. Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 72-71-72215
Bobby Lee Robinson, Fountain Hills, Ariz. 71-75-71217
Eric Kim, San Jose, Calif. 73-71-73217
Mark Pollak, San Antonio, Texas 74-69-74217
Johnny Mac Arthur, Santa Clarita, Calif. 74-66-77217
Dustin Rhone, Culver City, Calif. 73-73-72218
Marco Fortades, Glendale, Calif. 71-74-73218
Dillon Hakes, Coronado, Calif. 74-78-67219
Andrew Haggen, Walnut Creek, Calif. 76-75-68219
Sean Madera, Houston, Texas 72-72-75219
Christopher Plappert, Las Vegas, Nev. 72-76-71219
Dennis Carson, Burlingame, Calif. 76-71-72219
Henry Park, Waikoloa, Hawaii 70-77-73220
Justin Lee, Tarzana, Calif. 76-73-71220
Kevin Stratton, Las Vegas, Nev. 73-72-75220
Chris Ortiz, Rio Rancho, N.M. 70-75-75220
Jason Peters, Atascadero, Calif. 73-73-74220
Ryan Dagerman, Dallas, Texas 76-72-73221
Dusty Craddock, Boulder City, Nev. 75-74-73222
Glen Scher, Agoura Hills, Calif. 74-74-74222
Jeffrey Stevens, Del Mar, Calif. 81-71-70222
Jin Song, Scottsdale, Ariz. 76-71-76223
Kaleb Mahanes, Erie, Colo. 74-77-72223
Matthew Siporin, Tarzana, Calif. 76-76-72224
Robert Perrott III, Rio Rico , Ariz. 76-71-77224
Brian O'Regan, Walnut Creek, Calif. 77-72-75224
Hunter Hullett, Scottsdale, Ariz. 79-74-71224
Niall Platt, Santa Barbara, Calif. 75-72-77224
Tom Callahan, Sierra Vista, Ariz. 76-74-74224
Gordon Webb, Malta, Mont. 74-75-77226
Zak Carroll, Las Vegas, Nev. 74-75-77226
Skyler Hong, San Diego, Calif. 78-72-77227
Kevin Lim, Las Vegas, Nev. 75-73-79227
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. 75-77-75227
Seungrok Cheon, Indio, Calif. 77-76-75228
Ty Spinella, Aledo, Texas 73-80-76229
Kory Harrell, Colorado Springs, Colo. 75-74-80229
Zachary Baker, Scottsdale, Ariz. 78-73-81232
Michael Mueller, Mesa, Ariz. 77-78-80235
Raymond Gillip II, Las Vegas, Nev. 75-82-79236
Taylor Meadows, Boerne, Texas 78-82-76236
Robert Nicanor, San Diego, Calif. 82-80-78240
GIRLS DIVISION
Sarah Salvo, Glendale, Calif. 72-76-75223
Lindy LaBauve, Scottsdale, Ariz. 79-70-75224
Robyn Kim, Cypress, Calif. 76-75-73224
Grace Chung, Fullerton, Calif. 79-71-75225
Kelsey Vines, St. George, Utah 76-74-75225
Alice Kim, Diamond Bar, Calif. 74-76-75225
Beverly Vatananugulkit, Cerritos, Calif. 84-71-72227
Michelle Piyapattra, Corona, Calif. 80-74-73227
In-Ah Park, Las Vegas, Nev. 73-81-74228
Sehee Kim, Maricopa, Ariz. 75-74-82231
Katie Allare, Scottsdale, Ariz. 76-81-74231
Kelsey Conway, Ventura, Calif. 79-80-77236
Lauren Oh, Pleasanton, Calif. 83-78-77238
Rachel Kim, Diamond Bar , Calif. 84-75-79238
Bethany Glassford, Henderson, Nev. 79-79-81239
Sydnee Mack, Las Vegas, Nev. 80-81-80241
Jennel Alexander, Gardena, Calif. 82-76-84242
Kristen Hagan, Charlotte, N.C. 82-81-81244
Janelle Song, Oxnard, Calif. 82-82-80244
Alexandra Borcherts, Las Vegas, Nev. 85-81-85251
Cristina De Tomasi, Lafayette, Calif. 97-93-96286