AJGA Junior Champion Shuai Ming Wong
(AJGA Photo)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL (September 3, 2017) - Shuai Ming Wong of (Hong Kong) The Woodlands, Texas, defeated Logan McAllister of Oklahoma City, and Jake Beber-Frankel of Miami, in a three-hole aggregate playoff to win The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.
The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf celebrated its 10th anniversary on the AJGA schedule. Seventy-eight players from 22 countries competed on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
After Hurricane Harvey shook the Houston area last week, Wong wasn’t sure he was going to make it out of Houston to compete. The senior rallied and put together a tournament total score of 71-71-70 – 212. Wong made a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff with McAllister and Beber-Frankel.
The three-hole aggregate playoff matched the playoff format of THE PLAYERS Championship. Tied with McAllister through Nos. 16 and 17 of the playoff, Wong made par on No. 18 to record his first AJGA win. The Southern Methodist University verbal commit was competing in his first Junior PLAYERS and is No. 7 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
“It’s been such a hectic week with Hurricane Harvey and I was debating if I was going to come to the tournament,” Wong said. “Monday morning I said I needed to go because I wanted to play TPC Sawgrass and in Junior PLAYERS. The AJGA and TaylorMade-adidas Golf giving $10 for every birdie or eagle means the world to me. I think it means a lot to people in Houston, especially the players in the field from Houston. It was motivating and inspired me to keep going and never give up.”
Beber-Frankel posted the low final-round score of 5-under-par 67 to advance to the playoff. The sophomore carded five birdies to finish T2. McAllister posted a new 18-hole tournament record of 9-under-par 63 in the second round. The University of Oklahoma verbal commit earned his second top-10 AJGA Invitational finish of the year.
Travis Vick of Houston, and Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Washington, finished T4 at 3-under-par 213. Albin Bergstrom of Ljunghusen, Sweden, and Parker Coody of Plano, Texas, posted scores of 2-under-par 214 to finish T6. Karl Vilips of (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Florida, Sean Maruyama of (Japan) Encino, California, and Garrett Barber of Stuart, Florida, rounded out the top 10 at 1-under-par 215.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey’s destruction, the AJGA pledged $10 per birdie this week at TPC Sawgrass, thanks to support from two Houston-area AJGA tournaments and tournament chairmen: the Insperity Invitational / Patrick Reed AJGA Junior Championship presented by Callaway Golf (Bob Lewis and Bob Edwards) and the CB&I / Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods (Chris Dernick and committee). TaylorMade-adidas Golf also pledged $10 per birdie at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.
During the three-day tournament, players made 686 birdies and eagles, raising $13,720 for the American Red Cross.
View results for Junior Players Championship
ABOUT THE Junior Players Championship
One of the AJGA series of tournaments that
require an invitation to participate. Format is
54 holes of stroke play.
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