Cantlay wins AJGA ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior

Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., and Veronica Valerio of Temecula, Calif., both jumped into the greenside pond on No. 18 in celebration of their victories at the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior on Thursday. Cantlay finished with a three-day tournament total of 7-under-par 209 in the Boys Division while Valerio carded a 1-over par 217 to win the Girls Division by three strokes.

The event is a 54-hole stroke play tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Mission Hills Country Club - Dinah Shore Tournament Course. The tournament field consisted of 57 boys and 20 girls, ages 12-18, from five states, including 70 from California. The Girls Division played the par-72 course at 6,141 yards while the Boys Division played at 7,036 yards.

The longest consecutive running AJGA event at the same venue, the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior boasts past champions such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Bob May, Kevin Na, Danielle Ammaccapane, Brandi Burton, Emilee Klein, Kellee Booth and Grace Park. These professionals all played in - and won - the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior before going on to bigger things at the amateur, collegiate and professional levels.

Cantlay was tied going into Thursday's final round and then found himself in a playoff with Daniel Lee of Valencia, Calif., upon finishing 18 holes. "It's probably the most pressure that I have ever been under," Cantlay said. Both Cantlay and Lee made par on No. 18 and had to replay the par-5, 618-yard hole to break the tie. On the second trip coming down the fairway, both pared the hole, forcing them to continue the sudden-death playoff in the desert heat of Rancho Mirage. Lee's second shot down the fairway careened into the lateral water hazard, giving Cantlay an opportunity to end the playoff. Lee missed a 10-foot putt for par while Cantlay safely two-putted to clinch the victory.

Lee carded a three day total of 7-under-par 209, shooting a final round low of 4-under-par 68 to place second. Andrew Perez of Oxnard, Calif., finished the tournament in third with 212, also shooting a 4-under-par 68 in the final round. Steven Kearney of Carlsbad, Calif., carded a tournament total of 3-under-par 213 to place fourth and John Young Kim of Los Alamitos, Calif., placed fifth with a 1-over-par 217.

For the girls, Valerio was excited for her first AJGA victory and credited her solid play to sticking her approach shots. She also birdied three times to contribute to her successful round. "It feels awesome," Valerio said. "This tournament was a lot of fun and the competition was good."

Emily Tubert of Burbank, Calif., and Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., both shot a tournament total of 4-over-par 220 to tie for second place.

Final results from the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Mission Hills Country Club - Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Par: Boys: 36-36-72; Girls: 36-36-72. Yardage: Boys: 7,036; Girls: 6,141. Rating/Slope: Boys: 74.1/134; Girls: 75.7/139.

BOYS DIVISION:

* Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. 72-67-70-209
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. 73-68-68-209
Andrew Perez, Oxnard, Calif. 72-72-68-212
Steven Kearney, Carlsbad, Calif. 69-70-74-213
John Young Kim, Los Alamitos, Calif. 78-70-69-217
Alex Shi Yup Kim, Fullerton, Calif. 71-73-74-218
Matthew Hansen, Los Osos, Calif. 73-76-69-218
John Catlin, Carmichael, Calif. 76-72-71-219
Raymond Ho, Cerritos, Calif. 72-76-71-219
Jordan Epstein, Carlsbad, Calif. 69-78-72-219
Benjamin Bauch, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. 72-72-75-219
Diwen Chen, Coto De Caza, Calif. 74-72-74-220
Michael Jae Woo Im, Fullerton, Calif. 70-77-73-220
Alexander Forss, Temecula, Calif. 71-74-75-220
AJ McInerney, Henderson, Nev. 75-75-71-221
Yi Keun Chang, Walnut, Calif. 75-72-74-221
Bobby Lange, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 74-72-76-222
Tyler Kato, Seattle, Wash. 72-75-75-222
Derek Fribbs, Castle Rock, Colo. 72-77-73-222
Macgregor Hoobery, Santa Maria, Calif. 75-72-76-223
Justin Yu, Montrose, Calif. 77-72-74-223
Philip Chian, Covina, Calif. 75-72-76-223
Mason Field, Santa Barbara, Calif. 73-69-81-223
Cole Seeger, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 75-76-73-224
Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif. 76-74-74-224
Eli Cole, Beverly Hills, Calif. 77-72-75-224
Jeffrey Knox, Menlo Park, Calif. 76-72-76-224
Joseph Stewart, Palm Desert, Calif. 76-76-72-224
Matthew Jun, Temecula, Calif. 77-75-73-225
Chris Russo, Westlake Village, Calif. 76-71-78-225
Joshua Granger, Monrovia, Calif. 79-70-76-225
Chris Capo, Woodland Hills, Calif. 72-77-76-225
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 74-79-72-225
Tad Murray, La Quinta, Calif. 72-75-79-226
Joshua Crowder, Murrieta, Calif. 73-80-73-226
Bryan Bergna, Riverside, Calif. 77-75-74-226
Austin Green, Frisco, Texas 71-78-77-226
Niall Platt, Santa Barbara, Calif. 77-76-73-226
Benjamin Lein, Diamond Bar, Calif. 80-69-78-227
Marshall Colby, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 77-78-73-228
Paul McNamara III, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. 78-76-75-229
Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. 78-74-77-229
Preston Valder, Yorba Linda, Calif. 80-74-75-229
Dakota Duerr, Murrieta, Calif. 77-71-82-230
Daniel Chian, Covina, Calif. 75-80-75-230
Kevin Techakanokboon, Cerritos, Calif. 79-74-77-230
Payne Wilkie, Austin, Texas 76-74-80-230
Cody Kent, Castle Rock, Colo. 75-76-81-232
Cameron Tennant, Woodland Hills, Calif. 73-76-83-232
Kevin Stratton, Las Vegas, Nev. 77-78-80-235
Brian Alle, Pacific Palisades, Calif. 79-76-80-235
JP Park, Fullerton, Calif. 80-80-77-237
Joseph Choi, Bakersfield, Calif. 87-76-75-238
Nick Thomas, Westlake Village, Calif. 83-76-79-238
William Byun, Beverly Hills, Calif. 80-80-80-240
Kyle Knapp, Temecula, Calif. 82-81-83-246
Dustin Rhone, Culver City, Calif. 81-81-85-247

GIRLS DIVISION:

Veronica Valerio, Temecula, Calif. 73-72-72-217
Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif. 75-74-71-220
Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. 72-74-74-220
Brittany Mai, Poway, Calif. 75-73-73-221
Demi Frances Runas, Torrance, Calif. 78-69-75-222
Stacy Kim, Yorba Linda, Calif. 74-70-78-222
Christine Song, Fullerton, Calif. 76-75-72-223
Rachel Morris, Carlsbad, Calif. 73-74-77-224
Whitney French, Laguna Niguel, Calif. 77-75-75-227
Desiree Dubreuil, Santa Ana, Calif. 72-77-78-227
Lalita Patipaksiri, Cypress, Calif. 74-76-77-227
Beverly Vatananugulkit, Cerritos, Calif. 79-75-73-227
Victoria Fallgren, Lakewood, Calif. 81-74-76-231
Christine Cho, La Crescenta, Calif. 81-75-79-235
Simone Strauss, Rancho Mirage, Calif. 84-79-73-236
Robyn Kim, Cypress, Calif. 77-78-82-237
Monica Umpant, Cerritos , Calif. 80-79-79-238
Eunice Yim, La Canada, Calif. 80-81-81-242
Taylor Yoshitake, Playa del Rey, Calif. 83-82-80-245
Anna DePalma, San Clemente, Calif. 87-81-80-248
Michelle Yang, Los Angeles, Calif. 84 JWD

* Won Sudden-Death Playoff
** JWD=Justified WD