Ben Spickard of Roswell, Ga., held off Travis Grote of Birmingham, Ala., by two strokes for the Boys Division title in the first annual Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic. In the Girls Division, Marci Turner of Tompkinsville, Ky., penciled a 1-under-par final round to snag the title by five strokes over Liebelei Lawrence of Bradenton, Fla.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic featured 101 players, 78 boys and 13 girls, ages 13-18, from 22 states, including 24 from the state of Georgia.
Spickard's celebration was delayed due to Grote's opportunity on the 18th hole. Grote missed his par putt to force a playoff.
The first-time AJGA event winner, carded rounds of 68, 68 and 71 for a final total of 3-under-par 207. Despite Spickard's third consecutive round under-70, he did not feel comfortable.
"Yesterday I was putting well. Today, I was missing six, 10 and 12 footers. After a few of those you start thinking, 'I hope I don't miss,' said the 17-year-old. "I managed to mentally push myself through and finish well."
Second-round leader Grote, recorded a final round 75 for a total of 209. Greg Forest of Palm City, Fla., placed third with 211, Brent Paladino of Kensington, Conn. tallied a 212 for fourth. In a four-way tie for fifth was Thomas Bethel of Nassau, Bahamas, Taylor Hall of LaGrange, Ga., Ethan Maretich of Ringgold, Ga., and Kaylor Timmons of Fort Payne, Ala., at 213.
Turner started her day with a goal of 18 pars for the round, but things changed on the seventh hole when she made birdie to move to 1-over-par for the tournament.
"When I made the birdie on seven, I felt I could push my score below par," said the 17-year-old. "I became aggressive on the eighth which cost me a double bogey. For the rest of the day I continued to try to make par."
The win was Turner's second career AJGA victory, her first coming at the Henry Griffitts Bluegrass Junior Invitational in Ashland, Ky.
Lawrence finished in second place with a three-day total of 216. In third place was Jessica Castle of Plantation, Fla., with a total of 220.
For more information on the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic or future AJGA events, contact the AJGA national headquarters at (770) 868-4200, or visit the AJGA's Web site at www.ajga.org.
BOYS DIVISION
Ben Spickard, Roswell, Ga. 68-68-71-207
Travis Grote, Birmingham, Ala. 68-66-75-209
Greg Forest, Palm City, Fla. 65-71-75-211
Brent Paladino, Kensington, Conn. 74-70-68-212
Taylor Hall, LaGrange, Ga. 74-70-69-213
Thomas Bethel, Nassau, Bahamas 69-73-71-213
Ethan Maretich, Ringgold, Ga. 71-71-71-213
Kaylor Timmons, Fort Payne, Ala. 67-72-74-213
Mu Hu, Bradenton, Fla. 66-70-78-214
Matt Savage, Louisville, Ky. 74-71-70-215
Chris Baker, Brownstown, Ind. 75-71-70-216
Austin Frye, Madison, Miss. 71-73-72-216
Ty Sanders, Tulsa, Okla. 75-69-72-216
Timothy Freund, Greensboro, Ga. 73-74-70-217
Sungwon Jeon, Wesley Chapel, Fla. 69-74-74-217
Ryan Sherman, Ringgold, Ga. 73-69-75-217
Sam Rauschenberg, Dalton, Ga. 74-72-72-218
Nick Bailes, Cleveland, Tenn. 73-72-73-218
Stephen Cox, Jonesboro, Ark. 74-70-74-218
Todd Obergoenner, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 71-71-76-218
Joshua An, Bradenton, Fla. 69-79-71-219
Connor Doherty, Woodstock, Vt. 78-67-74-219
Matt Hughes, Dalton, Ga. 75-69-75-219
Justin Jones, Jacksonville, Fla. 72-72-75-219
Chase MacFarland, Savannah, Ga. 72-79-70-221
Tom Miles, Dublin, Ohio 76-72-73-221
Joe Shirley, Marietta, Ga. 75-72-74-221
Jonathan Hodge, Jefferson City, Tenn. 77-69-75-221
Tal Everett, Sea Island, Ga. 75-70-76-221
Parker McKoy, Raleigh, N.C. 74-76-72-222
John Saari, Lilburn, Ga. 74-71-77-222
Tom Bittner, Jr., Atlanta, Ga. 73-70-79-222
Cale Barr, Versailles, Ky. 74-79-70-223
Joshua Chong, Alpharetta, Ga. 73-74-76-223
Kevin Lim, Eustis, Fla. 70-81-73-224
Andrew Villarreal Jr, Decatur, Ala. 78-73-73-224
Seth Brandon, Dalton, Ga. 76-80-69-225
Graham Shurley, Dunwoody, Ga. 76-73-76-225
Ryan Blackburn, Augusta, Ga. 80-79-67-226
Mike King, Sidney, Ohio 79-76-71-226
John Barnett IV, Monroeville, Ala. 84-70-73-227
Youngmin Cha, Wesley Chapel, Fla. 76-75-77-228
Patrick McKillip, Jacksonville, Fla. 74-77-78-229
Tim Porter, Wilmington, Del. 80-77-73-230
David Fish, Boca Raton, Fla. 74-81-75-230
Michael Martin, Kernesville, N.C. 77-76-77-230
Jeff Hall, Franklin, Tenn. 74-77-79-230
Justin May, Sarasota, Fla. 74-73-83-230
Brandon Jones, Louisville, Ky. 70-76-84-230
Scott Schleiffarth, Ballwin, Mo. 77-78-76-231
Stephen Strickland, Fairhope, Ala. 73-83-76-232
Paul Levy, Franklin, Tenn. 77-78-77-232
Kyle Stiles, Athens, Ga. 77-81-75-233
Andy Southern, Conyers, Ga. 79-79-75-233
Bud Reynolds, Knoxville, Tenn. 72-82-79-233
Jonas Miller, Dallas, Texas 78-76-79-233
Harris Graham, Argyle, Texas 73-77-83-233
Thomas Sholes, Gainesville, Ga. 78-80-76-234
Bradley Sutherland, Cadiz, Ky. 80-74-80-234
Nicholas O'Geary, Henderson, N.C. 80-81-74-235
Robbie Kelley, Minnetonka, Minn. 82-77-77-236
Michael Fiore, Alpharetta, Ga. 75-79-82-236
Colby Witwer, Duluth, Ga. 78-75-83-236
Douglas Suffield, Sarasota, Fla. 81-82-74-237
Paul Swift, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 79-79-79-237
Ryan Heisey, New Bern, N.C. 78-82-78-238
Carlos Sainz, Elgin, Ill. 82-82-75-239
David Baker, Jr, Alpharetta, Ga. 89-77-74-240
Kyle Lindgren, Marietta, Ga. 80-79-81-240
Wallace Palmer, Augusta, Ga. 75-77-88-240
Greg Simpson, Franklin, Tenn. 81-78-82-241
Michael Woods, Knoxville, Tenn. 77-86-81-244
Peter Yoo, Norcross, Ga. 89-76-80-245
Blake Davis, Huntington, W.Va. 85-89-77-251
Danny Briseno, River Ridge, La. 81-93-79-253
Chance Williams, Tyler, Texas 77-87-89-253
Matthew Morehead, Decatur, Ala. 90-83-85-258
Minkyu Han, Orlando, Fla. DQ (6-3a)
Ryan Britt, Louisville, Ky. WD (injury)
GIRLS DIVISION
Marci Turner, Tompkinsville, Ky. 71-71-69-211
Liebelei Lawrence, Bradenton, Fla. 73-74-69-216
Jessica Castle, Plantation, Fla. 72-76-72-220
Taryn Durham, Glasgow, Ky. 72-76-74-222
Jennifer Davis, Seymour, Tenn. 69-75-79-223
Katie Trachok, Pittsburgh, Pa. 76-80-72-228
Jennifer Cassidy, Dalton, Ga. 77-75-77-229
Tyrette Metzendorf, Winter Haven, Fla. 79-73-77-229
Candace Schepperle, Hoover, Ala. 73-85-72-230
Laura Caniff, Russell, Ky. 77-74-79-230
Kristen Bragg, Evans, Ga. 73-81-78-232
Laura Goodwin, Birmingham, Ala. 80-74-79-233
Amber Davis, East Point, Ga. 77-74-83-234
Whitney Frykman, Acworth, Ga. 78-85-72-235
Taylor Deimantas, Greenville, N.C. 80-85-73-238
Anna-Claire Daniels, Oak Ridge, Tenn. 74-81-84-239
Jordan Allen, Angel Fire, N.M. 83-77-80-240
Jenny Morris, Cedartown, Ga. 78-78-85-241
Jordan Craig, Connellsville, Pa. 81-80-81-242
Holly Niederkohr, Marysville, Ohio 80-83-83-246
Ashley Parrott, Johnson City, Tenn. 83-84-80-247
Lauren Cousart, Athens, Ga. 80-83-87-250
Abby Kingston, Bethlehem, Pa. 78-87-89-254
Sarah Donald, Athens, Ga. WD (Justified)