Linnea Strom
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Four
of the world’s top junior golfers remain in the
hunt for the Polo Golf Junior Classic title
following Thursday’s quarter and semifinal
matches. Jorge Garcia of Miami and Cameron
Young of Scarborough, N.Y., will square off in
the Boys Division championship match, while
Lakareber Abe of Angleton, Texas, and Linnea
Ström of Hovas, Sweden, will vie for the Girls
Division title.
The Polo Golf Junior Classic, which has been
conducted annually since 1978, marks the first
tournament of the American Junior Golf
Association's 2014 season. The 156-player
invitation-only field is made up of 78 boys and
78 girls, ages 13-18, from 27 states and seven
foreign countries. Former champions include
Stewart Cink (1989), Trevor Immelman
(1995),
Tiger Woods (1991), Paula Creamer (2002),
Grace Park (1994, 1996) and Morgan Pressel
(2004).
In the Boys Division, No. 30 seed Garcia faced
No. 11 seed Sam Burns during Thursday’s
quarterfinals match. Garcia, the newly
appointed 2014 AJGA Boys Player
Representative, battled back from 2-down
through 14 and closed out the match with
four-
straight birdies through the Champion Course’s
infamous Bear Trap to advance.
“The morning match was a great match,”
Garcia
said. “Sam and I were both playing very well.
I
found myself 2-down with four to play and
then
I was able to birdie my last four holes to win
the
match, 2-up. That kick-started me into my
afternoon match.”
In the semifinals, Garcia took early control of
the contest against the United Kingdom’s No. 7
seed Sam Horsfield. Through 11 holes, Garcia
had four birdies and an eagle, eventually
closing
the match out with a 3-and-2 victory.
“I started that with three birdies which meant
I
was 7-under through my last seven holes,”
Garcia said. “I was playing well, hitting my
targets and making putts when I needed to. I
couldn’t even feel my hands on the greens,
the
putter was just doing all the work out there.”
On the opposite side of the bracket, fifth-
seeded
Young, and No. 20 seed Brad Dalke of Hobart,
Okla., faced off in the morning’s quarterfinals
match. Young took an early, albeit, small lead
at
the turn and teetered between 1- and 2-up
throughout the back nine. Dalke’s focused
effort
kept the match alive until the final hole, when
Young prevailed 2-up.
“It was a good match,” Young said. “We went
back and forth from the very beginning and
we
battled all the way. He got an early lead I
think
around No. 6 or 7 and then I made a few putts
late under some pretty good pressure so that
was a lot of fun.”
Young, playing in only his second AJGA event,
defeated No. 25 seed Nathan Jeansonne of
Keithville, La., 2 and 1 to earn his position in
the finals match.
“It’s a great feeling,” Young said. “I haven’t
played a lot of national events. It’s all the kids
I’ve read about and seen scores online and
things like that, and it’s a lot of fun to be in
contention, playing with them and knowing I
can play just as well.”
In the Girls Division, No. 13 seed Abe
defeated
No. 21 seed Lilia Vu of Fountain Valley, Calif.,
in
the morning’s quarterfinals match, 3 and 1. In
the afternoon contest, Abe was slated against
future Alabama teammate Kristen Gillman of
Austin. Gillman was the top seed in the Girls
Division after earning stroke play medalist
honors. Abe trailed Gillman until the eighth
hole
when she leveled the match after winning
back-
to-back holes. After winning six consecutive
holes, Abe went 4-up through 13 and closed
the
match, 4 and 3.
“I’ve been hitting it really well, reading the
greens and putting really well as well,” Abe
said
of her ability to bounce back in the match. “It
makes this course a lot easier if you can
handle
the wind and get your feel on the greens.”
No stranger to high-level match play
competition, Abe knows the importance of
taking it one match at a time in a field of this
caliber.
“All the players are really great and when
they
cut it down to 32, you know it’s the 32 best
players in the field at this moment,” Abe said.
“You have to hit a lot of greens and a lot of
fairways and you just have to stay patient
throughout the day because no one is just
going
to give you a match, you have to earn it.”
Ström also advances to the Girls Division
championship match after defeating No. 10
seed Bethany Wu of Diamond Bar, Calif., and
third-seeded Sierra Brooks of Sorrento, Fla.
The Swede had a flare for dramatics
Thursday,
earning both victories on No. 18. After winning
the par-3, No. 17 and putting the match all
square with Wu, Ström prevailed with two
aggressive shots into the final green, winning
1-
up.
“It was very fun to play against Bethany and I
knew right away it was going to be a very
tough
match,” Ström said. “She started good,
making
a lot birdies and many putts, but I kept on
playing my own game. It was very fun and
exciting.”
Ström led Brooks through much of the match,
going 3-up through three holes, but was
unable
to solidify the win until No. 18.
“This afternoon, I was very happy about the
morning but I tried to just start over,” Ström
said. “I started really good, I was 3-up early,
but then she made some birdies. I just tried to
keep focusing on my own game and I just
wanted to play the final match.”
The Boys Division championship match will tee
off at 8 a.m., while the final contest in the
Girls
Division will begin at 8:15 a.m
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