EMERICK AND INGRAM  HOLD ON TO TAKE 
LONG BEACH JUNIOR CLASSIC

Long Beach, California - Junior Amateur Golf Scholars (JAGS) conducted the 2004 Long Beach Junior Classic 36-hole golf tournament on October 30 & 31, 2004. Fifty-eight juniors from Arizona and California teed it up on the tricky classic Recreation Park golf course under ideal warm conditions.

In the field of 44 boys, JAGS newcomers Evan Emerick (Oceanside, CA) and Andrey Mindirgasov (Pacific Grove, CA) tied after round one at 1-over par 73 and held a one shot lead over Lawrence Hsu (West Covina, CA) and Tracy B. Thomas, II (Paradise Valley, AZ). The final day pairings offered head to head competition to determine the winner. Emerick played the front nine at 1-over and had a two shot advantage heading into the back nine and finished the day with a 3-over 75 for a two day total 148. “I feel good about the way I played this weekend,” Emerick commented. “I was a little frustrated after I double bogeyed No. 11 because I knew I was still in contention and didn’t want to give away the tournament. So I re-focused and did not let the double get me down and was able to come back and make par on the final seven holes to win my first JAGS championship.” Mindirgasov played steady and birdied seventeen to come within one, but was not able to convert his birdie putt on eighteen to force a playoff and finished second at 149. Hsu and Sean Bowman (Santa Barbara, CA) tied for third at 150. Matt Lehman (Palos Verde Estates, CA) was fifth at 152, Ryan Boyker (Long Beach, CA), Thomas, Philip Chian (Covina, CA) and Bradley Wyatt (LaVerne, CA) tied for sixth at 153 and Michael Drake (Riverside, CA) finished tenth at 154.

In the field of 14 girls, Kristin Ingram (Pasadena, CA) shot even par 74 on day one to take a three shot lead over Lee Lopez (Whittier, CA), and five shot lead ahead of Heather Wilson (San Diego, CA), Rachel Morris (Carlsbad, CA) and Angela Villela (Santa Clarita, CA). Day two found Ingram and Lopez battling it out right down to the final 36th hole of the tournament. Both players drove their tee shots in the fairway on number eighteen giving each of them approximately 150 yards to the green. Lopez hit her second shot just short of the green as Ingram took hers long, just off the left edge of the green. A beautiful chip shot by Lopez landed her ball 4 feet from the pin giving her a great chance to make par. While Ingram studied her ball that was nestled down in some soft long grass just off the green, she looked at her options and stepped up and chipped it ten feet past the pin for an opportunity to save par and win the tournament. With authority, Ingram sank her putt giving her the win at 2-over par 150. Lopez also sank her par putt with ease to place second at 151. Ingram said, “My game was up and down all day. I was struggling off the tee and my putts were not rolling as good as they did yesterday.” Ingram added, “Lee is a great competitor and we really battled back and forth all day today. I was sure she would make her par putt on eighteen, so that meant I had to sink mine in order to win the tournament. It was really hard to contain my excitement when my ball dropped into the hole.” This is Ingram’s first JAGS victory this season and her third overall JAGS title. Morris finished third at 156 and Wilson was fourth at 158. Christine Cho (La Cresenta, CA) placed fifth and Stephanie Yocum (Palos Verde Estates, CA) took sixth. Rounding out the top nine were Angela Villela, Joella Zapanta (Fullerton, CA), Tarah Taylor (Mission Viejo, CA), and Kristin Osterhout (Lakewood, CA) respectively.

JAGS November two day tournament will be held at San Juan Hill in San Juan Capistrano on November 13 &14. Players need not be members of JAGS to participate, although member’s tournament fees are lower. Membership and tournament information can be found at www.jagstour.com. During Christmas break, JAGS will again play at Brookside Golf Club, (next to the Rose Bowl) in Pasadena, California on December 27 and 28. This popular tournament fills quickly and entries should be submitted by December 1 to ensure acceptance.

RESULTS
BOYS DIVISION
Yardage: 6,404 – Blue Tee Ratings – 69.9/111 – Par 72

GIRLS DIVISION
Yardage: 5,614 – Forward Tee Ratings – 73.6/125 – Par 74