News from the 2010 World Championship
Round One
Boys 12
The first tee was pushed into the ground at 7:00am this morning and by 8:00am the 2010 World Championship had its first hole-in-one. Li Shi, a 12 year old from China aced the 108 yard, fourth hole on Pinehurst No. 4. Shi finished his round with a 78. Congratulations Li.
Wilson Furr a 12 year old from Jackson, MS. and recipient of the 2010 Peggy Kirk Bell Award is making quite a splash on the 2010 World Championship. On Monday, Wilson won the Boys 11-12 Parent/Child Championship with his dad Bill Furr by shooting a team score of 69. On Tuesday, Wilson snuck in a practice round and later that evening he was able to meet Peggy Kirk Bell at Pine Needles. Ms. Bell was gracious enough to share a few of her many interesting stories with Wilson.
Wilson opened up the World Championship with a 76 which places him 9 strokes behind leader, Philip Barbaree from Shreveport, LA who shot a tournament low score of 67. Three players are tied with 68's including, Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, CA; Ivan Ramirez, Colombia and Brad Dalke, Mansfield, TX. Knocking on the door with a 69 is Andrew Posin from Los Angeles, CA. Six others are tied at 71 including, Justin Goh, San Francisco, CA; Brian Humphreys, Washougal, WA; David Snyder, McAllen, TX; Kyle Cunningham, Sayville, NY; Dominic Foos, Germany; and Sunny Yan, Salinas, CA. Tournament favorite Terrence Zhang from Orlando, FL shot a 73.
Girls 12
The Girls 12 age group refuses to be overshadowed as Sierra Brooks from Sorrento, FL shot a cool 30 on the front nine of Pinehurst No. 3. That’s an incredible 6 under par at the turn. Sierra kept her nerves in check to shoot a first round total of 68 to share the lead with Megan Khang from Rockland, MA. A stroke off the lead is Allisen Corpuz from Waipahu, HI, and two strokes behind the leaders with with a 70 is Alex Wright from Midlothian, VA and Abby Lim from Tenafly, NJ. There are three others tied for third with 71’s including, Jackie Rogowicz, Yardley, PA; Albane Valenzuela, France and Hana Furuichi, Honolulu, HI.
Boys 6
While the World Championship is about competition and sportsmanship, some 6 year olds would argue that it’s also about feeding the turtles. To the left of the first tee at Midland Country Club sits a pond stocked full with turtles and carp. As the youngest players in the Championship wait to tee off they throw copious amounts of Cheez-its into the pond, sending the wildlife into a frenzy. And who provides the Cheez-its? Course Director, Don Law.
While it may sound like its all fun and games at Midland, the tournaments youngest players are proving their prowess as young Jackson Van Paris from Lake Forest, IL shot an amazing 31. Don Law says “Jackson can drive most green’s. Even the long par 4’s”.
Boys 9
The evening began with word of another hole-in-one, this time from the nine year old boys division. James Imai, from Brookline, MA holed out the 96 yard 5th hole on Pinehurst No. 8. Congratulations James
Round Two
A storm swept through Pinehurst last night leaving just enough rain to slow the courses down without any standing water issues. We hope all of the players are well rested and ready to carry the momentum of great play that we saw yesterday.
Temperatures look to be slightly more moderate today as the high temperature for today is projected to top out at 91° so drink a lot of water. There is also a 40% chance of thunderstorms beginning at 3:00pm but we are confident that they will break up and scatter before getting to Pinehurst.
There are some familiar faces making their way up the leader board in both of the boys and girls divisions. After two rounds of competition, several rivalries are due to play out in a suspenseful finish to the 2010 World Championship.
Girls 11
Clare Amelia Legaspi from the Philippines has the opportunity to secure her legacy as one of the most dominant World Championship competitors in its 11 year history. Legaspi has won the 2009, 2008 and 2007 World Championships and finished second in 2006. Standing in the way of a fourth straight title is Haley Moore from Escondido, CA. Haley leads the girls 11 age group with a two day total of 141. Legaspi and Kesaree Rojanapeansatith from Thailand, overcame opening rounds of 75 and 77 by shooting a 68 by Legaspi and a 69 by Kesaree to position themselves in what should be an exciting final grouping at Talamore.
Boys 9
Tyler Lipscomb shot a 69 for a two day total of 139. Tyler from Carrollton, GA, looks to hold his three stroke lead over four international players including Wien Liang Xie (142), Wo Cheng Ye (145), Bo Peng (149) all hailing from China and Bryan Wiyang Teoh from Malaysia (146). Fellow American, Ricky Castillo from Yorba Linda, CA is tied for third place with a 145.
Boys 10
Kyle Cox of Carrollton, TX is seeking his third World Championship title as he sits two strokes off the lead held by Brian Terlesky (141) from Youngstown, OH. Terlesky looks to avenge his second place finish to Cox in 2006 when the two boys were just six years old. Pinehurst’s own A.J. Beechler and two others, Harry Reynolds from Greenville, SC and Trent Phillips from Inman, SC are tied for third place with two day totals of 146.
Boys 11
After an hour rain delay the final two pairings of the day came into the clubhouse with some of the lowest scores on the day. Sully Zagerman of Windermere, FL shot back-to-back 67’s to maintain a one stroke lead over Eddy Lai of San Jose, CA. Eddy also put up a 67 today that included a double eagle on the 431 yard, 16th hole on Legacy Golf Links. The 2009 Boys 10 World Champion, Issei Tanabe from Huntington Beach, CA holds down third place with a two day total of 139, five shots off the lead.
Boys 12
Brad Dalke, boys 12, of Mansfield, TX, shot a back-to-back 68 on Pinehurst No. 4 to take a three stroke lead over yesterdays leader Philip Barbaree (139) of Shreveport, LA and a two stroke lead over Sahith Theegala (138) of Chino Hills, CA. American players own the leader board as 17 out of the top 20 finishers in the boys 12 age group are from the U.S. and will be competing for the 10 available spots given to play in Sunday's World Cup.
Sunday's World Cup will feature the top 10 boys and top 6 girls from the U.S. in the 12 year old age groups against the top 10 boys and top 6 girls of International descent for a match play tournament on Pinehurst No. 2.
Girls 8
Karah Sanford from Escondido, CA looks to win her first World Championship tomorrow after shooting a two day total of 69 (nine hole rounds). In order for Karah to win she will have to fend off Reona Nomura, Japan and Emilie Alba Paltrinieri, Italy, who both shot two round totals of 70. Also in the mix is the 2009 girls 7 runner up, Jenny Bae of Maysville, GA who sits in third place with a two day score of 71.
Boys 7
Over at Mid Pines, Course Director, Greg Hubbard reports that Wolfgang Glawe is causing terror on the golf course with a two day total of 71 (nine hole rounds) as well as in the club house where Greg says, “Wolfgang is keeping things fun over here (Mid Pines), he’s ripping hats off of unsuspecting players and hiding them in the golf shop”. We hope that Juan Camilo Vesga Solano, Colombia, 72; Nicklas Staub, Boynton Beach FL, 73; Kristopher Stiles, Lancaster, CA, 73 and Benjamin James, Waterbury CT, 73, can all keep their hats on tomorrow as they chase Wolfgang for a chance at their first World Championship title.
Boys 8
The big news of a hole-in-one came out of Mid Pines today as Keita Hori from South Africa, playing in the boys 8 group aced the 90 yard, 11th hole. Congratulations Keita.
World Championship newcomer, Andrew Jung from San Diego, CA who shot a two round total of 70 (nine hole rounds). Andrew is throwing himself right into the fire of a fierce rivalry between some of the World Championships most well known golfers including Connery Meyer, Marietta, GA, who is one stroke off of the lead. Tied for third place, with a 72 is 2006 6 and under winner, Brett Sodetz, of Henderson, NV and Digraj Gill, from India. The other usual suspects looking to make a move in the Boys 8 division are Dylan Fritz, Las Vegas, NV holding a two day total of 73 and Ethan Choi of Canada with a 74.
Girls 9
Isabella Fierro Saul from Mexico looks to clinch her first World Championship title in the girls 9 group with a two day total of 69 (nine hole rounds). Isabella finished in second place in the 2009 World Championship and one stroke from a championship in 2008. Isabella maintains a 3 shot lead over Grace Chen of Sunnyvale, CA, Son Woojoo of South Africa and Denise Mikhaela Fortuna from the Philippines.
Girls 10
The Girls 10 age division is led by Hailee Cooper of Montgomery, TX who took the lead by shooting a second round 70 for a two day total of 143. Youngin Chun from Korea, sits in second place and will be looking to retain her first round lead tomorrow. Four strokes off the lead is hometown favorite, Gina Kim from Chapel Hill, NC.
Girls 12
Sierra Brooks from Sorrento, FL. showed up to Pinehurst No. 3 today focused and in control. Sierra backed up yesterdays 68 by firing a second round 69 for a two day total of 137. The four shot lead over Megan Khang of Rockland, MA and Allisen Corpuz from Waipahu, HI, might not be enough as Megan has finished in the top 5 in the last three World Championships and Allisen is a 3 time World Champion. Also, looking to make a move up the leader board is 2008 World Champion Kathleen Scavo from Benicia, CA. who is currently six strokes off of the lead.
Final Round
It’s an absolutely beautiful and inspiring morning here in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The players are teeing off today all-knowing what is at stake. For those on the top of the leader board, a chance at owning the title of World Champion; And for the rest of the field, the opportunity to hit a great golf shot on some of the best golf courses in the U.S. Either way, all of the kids at the 2010 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship will be taking home a lifetime of memories and time well spent with their families.
If you are here with us in Pinehurst and are staying through Sunday we would like to invite you to tomorrow’s World Cup match on Pinehurst No. 2.
The World Cup pits the top 12 year olds from the U.S. against the International top 12 year olds. The 2009 World Cup Last match was won by the U.S. in sudden death playoff.
Boys 12
Brad Dalke shot the World Championship total low score. All three days Dalke posted a 68 to shoot an unprecedented, 12 under par. This is Dalke’s first World Championship title as he has three, third place finishes and one second place finish in 2009. Dalke, or for that matter, the rest of the group, could not seem to overcome the dominance of Terrence Zhang of Canada who has won three World Championships over the years
Zhang finished 2010 tied for seventh place at even par for the tournament. Zhang has qualified for Sunday's World Cup where he will lead the Internationals against Dalke and the Americans.
The 2010 U.S. World Cup teams can be found here.
Bryan Humphreys shot a 71, 69, 68, to finish 8 under par and in second place. Sahith Theegala finished in third place at 6 under par. Philip Barbaree of Shreveport, LA posted a single round low 67 in the first round and coasted into fourth place at 4 under par. Finally, tied for fifth place at 1 under were Eric Bae of Cary, NC and Luis Gagne from Costa Rica.
The World Cup match tees off at 7:30am on legendary Pinehurst No. 2. In World Cup tradition, each team will convene for a Team breakfast and meeting that begin at 7:00am.
If you are in the Pinehurst area, we invite you to come out to watch a spectacular and inspiring golf competition.
Girls 12
Sierra Brooks, of Sorrento, FL took control of the Girls 12 age group right from the start and never relinquished her lead. Sierra won the 2010 World Championship by a single stroke over second place finisher and three time World Champion, Allisen Corpuz from Waipahu, HI. Sierra who shot a three day total of 211, 5 under par, edged out Corpuz who finished 4 under par.
The two girls, along with Alex Wright (214) of Midlothian, VA; Jackie Rogowicz (215) of Yardley, PA; Kathleen Scavo (215) of Benecia, CA and Megan Khang (216) of Rockland, MA. will compete against the top 6 International finishers in the Girls 12 division on Pinehurst No. 2 in the World Cup.
The International World Cup team includes, Eun Won Park (223) from Korea; Cynthia Diaz Rueda (224) from Colombia; Maria Vesga (226) also from Colombia; Monica Dibildox (227) of Mexico; Albane Vaenzuela (227) from France and Ariadna Fonseca (227) from Colombia.
Boys 11
The U.S. Kids Golf staff had to rack their brains and dig through the records when we heard Eddy Lai from San Jose, CA double-eagled the par 5, 431 yard, 16th hole at Legacy Golf Links. Sure enough, Eddy’s double-eagle was the first in World Championship history. Eddy needed the Albatross (golf jargon for a double-eagle due to its rarity) to win his first World Championship title as he edged out 2009 winner Issei Tanabe from Huntington Beach, CA who shot a tournament total, 207. Eddy’s shot 68, 67, 70 over three days for a total of 205.
All of the top 5 finishers finished under par including, Sully Zagerman from Windermere, FL who shot back-to-back 67’s in the first and second rounds and finished in third place with a total of 208. Ashwin Arasu of Ann Arbor, MI put up a 68 in the final round to finish the Championship in fourth place 212 total score. Also shooting a 212 over the three days but landing in fifth place due to a scorecard playoff was Brandon Ahn of Glendale, CA.
The other 11 year-olds who finished under par for the 2010 World Championship were Harry Shuo Huang of Canada (2 under par) and Koichiro Ishika of Japan (1 under par).
There were a total of 151 players in the Boys 11 group and we look forward to see how they will fare as 12 year-olds in 2011.
Girls 11
Clare Amelia Legaspi has the opportunity to become the most dominant player in World Championship history as she caputured her fourth World Championship title by a mere stroke over Haley Moore (215) of Escondido, CA. In its’ 11 year history, the World Championship has never had a five time winner. The golf world will be watching the young Legaspi in 2011 as she plays in her final U.S. Kids Golf World Championship as a 12 year-old.
Dillon Brooke of Prairieville, LA put forth a valiant effort in the final round with a 68 but fell 2 strokes shy of the lead. Finishing in fourth place was Julia Johnson (223) of Baton Rouge, LA and in fifth place with three day total of 223 was Kesaree Rojanapeansatith from Thailand.
Seventy-three girls played in the 11 year-old division.
Boys 10
As a six year-old, Bryan Terlesky of Youngstown, OH placed second in the World Championship behind Kyle Cox of Carrollton, TX. In 2010, Terlesky avenged his 2006 second place finish to win his first World Championship shooting a three day total of 209, an incredible 7 under par. Cox’s round is not to be overlooked as he shot 68, 75, 68 for a three day, 5 under par performance. Could this be the beginning of a long-lasting rivalry?
Rounding out the top 5 was Harrison Corbin (220) of Inman, SC; Harry Reynolds (222) of Greenville, SC; and Pinehurst native, A.J. Beechler who also shot a 222.
Boys 9
The nine year-old boys play one of Pinehurst’s finest golf courses in Pinehurst No. 8. Wen Liang Xie (209) of China shot an amazing 67 in the final round to take the lead from Tyler Lipscomb (213) of Carrollton, GA, who held the lead for two days. Xie earned his first World Championship title with his 7 under par performance. Wo Cheng Ye, (214) also from China finished in third by shooting 2 under for the tournament.
Finishing in fourth place with a total score of 215 was Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, CA and in fifth place Bryan Wiyang Teoh (217) of Malaysia.
The Boys 9 age group had a full field of 145 golfers.
Girls 10
Youngin Chun, hailing from Korea, put on a clinic for all of the girls at Talamore as she shot a tournament total of 212 beating any finisher behind her by nine strokes. Chun finished the tournament with 68.
In second place, finishing the tournament just 5 strokes over par was Hailee Cooper of Montgomery, TX. Rounding out the top 5 were Vanessa Manrique (223), Colombia; Cecelia DeMatteo(225), San Diego, CA and Emily Hwang (226) of Palo Alto, CA.
Chun beat out a field of 69 competitors.
Girls 9
After finishing in third place in 2008 and second place in 2009 Isabella Fierro Saul can finally call herself a World Champion. Isabella, from Mexico, shot an impressive 6 under par (nine hole rounds) for the tournament at Longleaf Golf Club. Five strokes behind the leader was Mikhaela Denise Fortuna (107) from the Philippines. Anna Ku of Basking Ridge NJ, finished in third place for the second year in a row. Ku’s three day total of 108 put her ahead of the fourth place finisher Son Wooju of South Africa and fifth place finisher Grace Chen of Sunnyvale, CA who both shot identical 36, 36, 37 over the three days.
There were 73 girls who played in the 9 year-old age group.
Boys 8
Andrew Jung from San Diego, CA won his first World Championship playing Mid Pines. Andrew had to overcome some young and talented names that have become familiar to U.S. Kids Golf Championships including Digraj Gill, India, who finished in second place with a 107; Dylan Fritz (108) from Las Vegas, NV; Scott Roden (112) of Dallas, TX and 2008 World Champion, Brett Sodetz (112) of Henderson, NV.
In total, there were 119 competitors in the Boys 8 division.
Boys 7
Wolfgang Glawe of Germany started off the third round birdying 6 of his last 7 holes played going back to round two. However, Wolfgangs three day total of 107 (nine hole rounds) could not match up to the 104 three day total of Juan Camilo Vesga Solano from Colombia. Solano finished off the World Championship with a 32, the lowest score in the Boys 7 division. Bejamin James of Waterbury, CT finished in third with a 108.
Fourth place was secured by Nicklas Staub (108) from Boynton Beach, FL and in fifth place, Jackson Rivera (110) from Rossmoor, CA.
The 85, seven year old boys played at Mid Pines.
Girls 8
Also on Longleaf were the Girls 8 where Emilie Alba Paltrinieri, Italy, overtook Karah Sanford’s one stroke, two day lead in a sudden death playoff. Both girls shot three day regulation scores of 104 (nine hole rounds). Reona Nomura of Japan put up 35’s on all three days to finish in third place and fourth place Sadie Englemann (106) from Austin, TX and in fifth Jenny Bae (106) from Maysville, GA.
Paltrinieri beat out 46 girls playing in her group.
Girls 7 & Under
Elle Nachman from Boca Raton FL, shot a first round 34 (nine hole rounds) and kept a steady stroke throughout the tournament beating out a strong performance from Arlene Faye Salvador from Palmdale, CA by one shot. Elle shot a tournament total of 110 to attain her first World Championship title.
Rounding out the Girls 7 & Under top 5 were Melena Barrientos (113), Dallas, TX; Manuela Garcia Gomez (116), Colombia; Aaryanna Morris (118), Avondale, AZ.
In total there were 43 girls battling it on Longleaf in the Girls 7 Age division.
Boys 6
The World Championship’s youngest group had an exciting finish that ended in a playoff. Jackson Van Paris of Lake Forest, IL defeated Jed Dy who traveled all of the way from the Philippines in a playoff after each finished the three round tournament 11 under par. Jed shot a final round 31 (nine hole rounds) to force the playoff on Van Paris. Van Paris, who was driving most greens from a 1,300 yard course set up, finished the final round with a 35 after posting 31’s in both the first and second rounds. We will be looking to hear more from young Jackson Van Paris and Jed Dy in the coming years.
Finishing in third place was Jaden Huggins (105) from Murrieta, CA and at fourth place was Solomon Petrie (107) of Akron, OH and rounding out 5th place was Brayden Bozak (109) from Littleton, CO.
In total there were 55 total players in the Boys 6 division.
World Cup
The 2010 World Cup was retained by the United States team in a 6 ½ to 1 ½ defeat of the International team. The U.S. remains undefeated since the inception of the World Cup in 2006. (Match by match scores can be found here).
The American's victory over the International squad avenges the 13 – 0 loss to the Internationals in the Van Horn Cup which is a match play tournament similar to the World Cup played at the conclusion of the European Championship in Gullane, Scotland.
U.S. Team Captain John Godwin, commended his World Cup team, “This might have been the strongest U.S. team we’ve had play in the World Cup. The golf world may be looking to these players one day to play for the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup.”
The U.S. team was made up of the top 10 boys finishers and top 6 girls finishers in the 12 year-old divisions of the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship against the 12 year-old International top 10 boys and top 6 girls.
While the overall score of the match may suggest that the U.S. coasted to an easy victory, it was in fact a very competitive match that unfolded as the groups made their way down the stretch of legendary Pinehurst No. 2.
In the fourth match, which was won by the Internationals, 2UP, Sunny Yan of Singapore and Billy Spooner of the United Kingdom, ignited the final three holes on Pinehurst No. 2. Yan eagled the 16th hole, Spooner birdied the par 3, 17th hole, and Yan finished off the match by sinking a dramatic birdie putt on the 18th green in front of approximately 150 spectators. A moment that Yan will surely remember for the rest of his life.
Another International stand out, Terrence Zhang of Canada, stuck a shot from approximately 160 yards, out of the waste area, within 1 foot of the hole. Zhang also struck the bottom of the flag stick on another shot from about 150 yards out, and the ball dropped within inches of the hole.
The American team was led by a domintant performance by three time World Champion Allisen Corpuz of Waipahu, HI and 2010 World Champion, Sierra Brooks of Sorrento, FL as they won their match 4 & 3.
Boys 12 Champion, Brad Dalke of Mansfield, TX and World Championship runner up, Bryan Humphreys of Washougal, WA, held off Terrence Zhang and Luis Gagne of Costa Rica, to win the eighth and final match 1UP.
In U.S. Kids Golf tradition, the conclusion of the World Cup ends with someone on the U.S. Kids Golf staff getting doused by a bucket of water. For the first time, it was not an individual that recveived the dunking but rather the entire U.S. team during the team photo with the World Cup trophy.
Holes-in-One
Round One Round Two
Li Shi Keita Hori
Boys 12, China Boys 8, South Africa
Pinehurst No.4 - Hole #4 - 108 yds Mid Pines - Hole #11 - 90 yds
James Imai
Boys 9, Brookline, MA
Pinehurst No.8 - Hole #5 - 96 yds
