Jr. Orange Bowl: Paratore, Henderson win titles
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 30, 2013) -- Italy's Renato Paratore and Canada's Brooke Henderson captured titles at the Junior Orange Bowl International Championship on Monday at the Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Fla.
Paratore, whose 1-under 70 on Monday gave him a 9-under 275 total, made three birdies in his final round, including one at the par-5 18th that sealed his one-shot victory over Germany's Dominic Foos and Venezuela's Jorge Garcia, who shot 69 and 68, respectively, in the final round.
“I knew it would be hard," Paratore said. "Dominic and Jorge are such good players. I just had to work all day and hope it would be enough.”
Henderson entered the final round tied for the lead with South Korea's Soyoung Lee. But while Lee struggled in shooting 5-over 76, Henderson posted a final-round 67 that included six birdies.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Henderson said. “I came here with this in mind and I’m really pleased. Today, I was finally able to get my putting working, compared to the first three days. I felt very comfortable on the greens all day.”
At 4-under 280, Henderson finished five shots better than Megan Khang of Rockland, Ma., and six shots better than Linnea Strom, who recently won the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic.
ABOUT THE
Junior Orange Bowl
72-hole invitation-only event. Players must
not
have reached their 19th birthday by the
end of
the tournament and must not be
participating
on a College/University team. The field is
limited to a maximum of 72 Boys and 42
girls
representing US and Foreign
Countries.
There are
no
age categories and there is no cut during
the
Championship. Invitations are sent out in
mid-
September. The tournament's
alumni list includes
current professional players Tiger Woods,
Bubba Watson,
and Lexi Thompson.
The golf tournament
is
just one of 15 competitions among The Junior
Orange
Bowl Festival. This volunteer-led, not-for-profit
organization hosts athletic, academic, and cultural
competitions that draw over 7,500 youth from
Miami,
the State of Florida, across the United States, and
over
76 countries worldwide to compete. The annual
marquee event rounding out each festival season is
the
Junior Orange Bowl Parade, a community based
youth
parade that travels through the historic streets of
Coral
Gables featuring high school and college marching
bands, floats and various youth and community
groups
attracting over 35,000 families, friends, and
neighbors.
It dates back to 1948.
View Complete Tournament Information