Joaquin Niemann
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 30, 2014) — Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and South Korea’s Juwon Jeong secured their place in history as champions of the 51st edition of the Junior Orange Bowl International.
Niemann’s final round of 67 outlasted overnight leader, Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti, and the U.S.’s Carl Yuan. Yuan carded 68 for outright second place at 279, 5-under par, Tosti solo third with a closing 70 for 280.
Highest credit to Niemann, (67, 71, 72, 67: 277) who withstood the back-nine pressure of charges by both Tosti and Yuan, birdies at the 16th and 18th completely closing all opportunity windows.
“I played very solidly all day, only one bogey, five birdies, and was very pleased with my back nine because I made the shots I needed to make when I had to,” the 16-year old from Santiago said, with a wide smile of contentment.
Yuan began his round with a superb eagle-3 and although he caught, he could never pass Niemann. An opportunity to advance his cause came with birdie two at the 12th but Niemann responded in kind and when Yuan power lipped a short birdie opportunity at the next hole, the momentum moment was gone.
“After I made that birdie on 12 I thought I might be able to push,” Yuan said, “but my putter didn’t really cooperate on the closing holes. I played well but not well enough, I guess. I tried very hard to make my eagle chip at the 18th, hoping that I could squeeze into a playoff, but the ball rimmed out and in the end, as Joaquin made a birdie, it wasn’t that important.”
“To come third in such a strong field is a great feat and I played well,” said Tosti.
Final round highlight scoring featured 66s by South Africa’s Tristen Strydom and Germany’s Maximiliam Bodel.
Jeong took the title in a three-hole playoff with Sweden’s Linnea Strom. Both players birdied the 18th on the first two playoff holes but Jeong’s third consecutive birdie proved decisive.
Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela powered into third place with a closing 70, tied with overnight leader, Colombia’s Maria Hoyos, who carded 77.
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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.
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