by special report to the Chattanoogan
posted June 26, 2008
ROME, Ga. After a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay, the final round resumed play and Franco Castro of Alpharetta, Ga., fired a final-round 6-under-par 64 to capture the title at the Burgett H. Mooney, Jr. Rome Classic at Coosa Country Club.
In the girls division, Maria Piccio of Bradenton, Fla., shot a final-round 2-under-par 69 for a tournament total 6-under-par 207 and her second win of the season.
Chattanoogan's Richard Powell finished at 219 (74-73-72) while Adam Morrison finished at 244 (79-80-85).
In the girls division, GPS's Jordan Britt finished at 222 (75-70-77) while Shelby Gilbert finished at 235 (81-75-70).
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Burgett H. Mooney, Jr. Rome Classic featured 99 players from 18 states and South America. The field consisted of 75 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18.
The boys division played Coosa Country Club as a par-70 at 6,783 yards, while the girls division played it as a par-71 at 6,036 yards.
Castros victory comes during his first year of competition in the AJGA. The 16-year-old, who watched his brother win the tournament eight years ago in a playoff, had high hopes for a victory, but knew that age and experience could be a factor.
Its kind of cool because I watched my brother win here and watching him do so well and win made me want to play well and win here also, Castro said. But, I was just trying to get top five, so a win is nice because I am pretty young.
Shawn Yim of Buford, Ga., finished in second place with a tournament total 2-under-par 208. Blaine Woodruff of Acworth, Ga., finished in third with a tournament total 1-under-par 209. Tied in fourth and rounding out the top of the leaderboard with tournament totals of even-par 210 were Jack Yancey of Rome, Ga., Jade Scott of Daingerfield, Texas, Sean Hassell of Walhalla, S.C., Clark Palmer of Augusta, Ga., Tyler Mitchell of Cadiz, Ky., and Logan Knebels of Alpharetta, Ga.
In the girls division, Piccios final-round 69 was enough to hold off a rally by defending champion Austin Ernst of Seneca, S.C. Although the current all-time winning margin record holder was not sure of her chance at a victory, her game held steady.
I wasnt hitting it well before the tournament, but I guess I just needed some adrenaline, Piccio said. It feels really good to win.
Focusing on the fundamentals was the key to her success.
Overall, I shot well. I hit three fairways and 12 greens and only had 27 putts, Piccio said. My putting was really working for me this week. I had 25 on the first day and 27 the next two days.
Ernst, who won the tournament last year, carded the lowest final round in the Girls Division with a 4-under-par 66 for a tournament total 4-under-par 209 and second place.
I had eight birdies and I thought my putting worked well, Ernst said. On No. 6 I hit my best iron shot probably ever.
ROME, Ga. Final results from the Burgett H. Mooney, Jr. Rome Classic conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Coosa Country Club.
Par: Boys: 35-3570; Girls: 36-3571. Yardage: Boys: 6,783; Girls: 6,036. Rating/Slope: Boys: 71.8/129; Girls: 74.3/127.
BOYS DIVISION
Franco Castro, Alpharetta, Ga. 73-70-64207
Shawn Yim, Buford, Ga. 70-66-72208
Blaine Woodruff, Acworth, Ga. 70-72-67209
Jack Yancey, Rome, Ga. 72-69-69210
Jade Scott, Daingerfield, Texas 70-68-72210
Sean Hassell, Walhalla, S.C. 69-72-69210
Clark Palmer, Augusta, Ga. 69-70-71210
Tyler Mitchell, Cadiz, Ky. 68-69-73210
Logan Knebels, Alpharetta, Ga. 67-71-72210
Dean Hester, Dublin, Ga. 72-72-67211
Will Jones, Rome, Ga. 71-69-71211
Tyler Smith, Fayetteville, Ga. 69-71-72212
Tate Oakley, Pinnacle, N.C. 71-71-71213
Justin Cho, Norcross, Ga. 71-75-67213
Dykes Harbin, Augusta, Ga. 71-72-70213
John Stembridge, Norcross, Ga. 71-72-70213
Sam Bernstein, Riverdale, N.Y. 72-75-67214
Ryan Gambrell, Acworth, Ga. 69-73-72214
Seth Blann, Bowling Green, Ky. 76-71-69216
Chase Parker, Augusta, Ga. 70-75-71216
Mark Endres, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 74-73-69216
Anders Albertson, Woodstock, Ga. 68-74-74216
Kyle Wilshire, Georgetown, Ky. 75-72-69216
Scott Wallace, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 71-70-76217
Stefan Brewer, Charlotte, N.C. 75-69-73217
Michael Lee, Columbus, Ga. 76-71-70217
David Mills, Evansville, Ind. 74-70-74218
Yao-Chun Yang, Troy, Mich. 72-74-72218
Drew Aimone, Savannah, Ga. 71-74-74219
Namsub Padungsiriseth, North Augusta, S.C. 77-68-74219
Richard Powell Jr., Hixson, Tenn. 74-73-72219
Andrew Garner, Peachtree City, Ga. 72-73-74219
William Herring, Lillington, N.C. 73-76-71220
Ryan Sather, Augusta, Ga. 77-71-72220
Andrew Ramsey, Seymour, Tenn. 73-72-75220
Nick Edry, Augusta, Ga. 71-78-72221
Chung Lee, Suwanee, Ga. 73-76-72221
Ryan Cox, Atlanta, Ga. 76-74-71221
John Skeadas, Savannah, Ga. 74-71-76221
Todd McDaniel, Manchester, Ky. 77-71-74222
Bradley Kushner, Mendham, N.J. 77-74-71222
Drew McGuire, Duluth, Ga. 75-73-75223
Colin Chapman, Franklin, N.C. 73-75-75223
Taylor Wynn, Rome, Ga. 75-74-74223
Jack Walsh, Lawrenceville, Ga. 73-75-76224
Thomas Payne, Mills River, N.C. 74-78-72224
John Van Vranken IV, Bradenton, Fla. 74-76-74224
Ian Phillips, Acworth, Ga. 75-72-77224
Layton Truax, Savannah, Ga. 72-74-79225
Joshua Burg, Willow Street, Pa. 78-72-76226
Jonathan Montgomery, Germanton, N.C. 77-72-78227
Robert Meador III, Miami Lakes, Fla. 74-77-76227
Brandon Wright, Raleigh, N.C. 74-75-79228
Eric Park, Chapel Hill, N.C. 74-79-75228
Ben Tobey, Denver, N.C. 79-72-77228
CJ Williams, Roswell, Ga. 73-82-74229
Neal Quirk, Atlanta, Ga. 75-80-74229
Victor Monte, Chantilly, Va. 75-78-76229
Jordan Brown, Memphis, Tenn. 79-78-72229
Ethan Lambert, Rome, Ga. 80-70-80230
Justin Wylie, Waxhaw, N.C. 81-75-75231
William Bazzel, Jr., Atlanta, Ga. 79-77-75231
JP Newsome, RobinsonCreek, Ky. 82-77-75234
Matthew Atkins, Owensboro, Ky. 75-79-80234
Hunter Brooks, Lindale, Ga. 76-77-81234
Charlie Martin, Liberty Township, Ohio 83-79-76238
Ryan Wilson, Lakewood Ranch, Fla. 78-79-81238
Patrick McConkey, Roswell, Ga. 84-77-77238
Joshuah Ransby, Atlanta, Ga. 83-78-80241
Barrett Binion, Norcross, Ga. 75-81-86242
Adam Morrison, Harrison, Tenn. 79-80-85244
David Collura, Atlanta, Ga. 83-86-76245
Shay Womack, Jr., Marietta, Ga. 81-81-83245
Justin Ernest, Atlanta, Ga. 83-78-85246
Ross Slaughter, Clemmons, N.C. 74 JWD
GIRLS DIVISION
Maria Piccio, Bradenton, Fla. 66-72-69207
Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C. 73-70-66209
Anna Keith, Moultrie, Ga. 66-74-70210
Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 71-68-71210
Madison Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. 73-70-70213
Katie Burnett, Brunswick, Ga. 70-73-70213
Haley Sanders, Rogers, Ark. 74-70-72216
Ashlan Ramsey, Augusta, Ga. 74-72-71217
Laura Camila Blanco Trujillo, Bogota, Colombia 71-71-78220
Whitney Wenglasz, Oldsmar, Fla. 72-75-73220
Samantha Swinehart, Lancaster, Ohio 73-73-76222
Jordan Britt, Chattanooga, Tenn. 75-70-77222
Leigh Henderson, Knoxville, Tenn. 77-77-70224
Yugene Lee, Athens, Ga. 72-81-72225
Emilie Burger, Hoschton, Ga. 77-72-76225
Maria Yacaman, Bogota, Colombia 84-72-72228
Hannah Collier, Birmingham, Ala. 81-75-73229
Vanessa Koechli, Greer, S.C. 74-80-78232
Kristin Warhurst, Mobile, Ala. 80-78-75233
Shelby Gilbert, Hixson, Tenn. 81-75-79235
Sarah Butts, Carrollton, Ga. 81-76-79236
Kelsey Conway, Ventura, Calif. 81-79-77237
Michelle Ahn, Chapel Hill, N.C. 77-85-87249
Maggie Siddons, Acworth, Ga. 85-84-81250
** JWD=Justified WD
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)
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