International Junior Golf Academy students score

Young Brits Currie and

Kelly win age-group

titles at Kiawah Island

Two young British golfers, students at the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, both scored victories at the same International Junior Golf Tour competition at the famous Kiawah Island Resort, near Charleston at the weekend.
The Turtle Point Course was the site of the opening round, while the final 26 holes were
played over the Ocean Course, the 1991 Ryder Cup venue and named "America's Toughest Resort Course."
Soggy conditions along with narrow fairways, water hazards, and plenty of out-of-bounds areas tested players' accuracy and determination in the opening round. On Sunday at the Ocean Course, they were confronted with meandering lagoons, pristine marshlands, and large waste bunkers accompanied by firm, fast greens and strong ocean winds challenged players' ball- striking.
Monday’s final-round featured plentiful sunshine and calm winds, giving players an opportunity to shoot lower scores at a tough venue.
James Currie from Worcester, England cruised to a nine-shot victory in the Boys' 16 to 19 years division. It his first ever victory on the International Junior Golf Tour.
Currie 's emphatic win qualifies him for the Rice Planters Amateur tournament.
After opening with a one 1-over-par 73 at Turtle Point, James stood two shots back of the lead. Currie would back his 73 up with an impressive 4-over-par 76 in blustery conditions at the Ocean Course, giving him a six shot advantage heading into the final-round.
James would never look back as he cruised to a nine shot victory with a
closing 74, giving him a tournament total of 223.
Currie accredited his win to preparation leading up to the tournament and keeping the ball in play all weekend. James had this to say after his round on Monday;
“It feels good to win because I was not playing well coming into this weekend’s tournament. I played in this event last year, so I knew coming into it that I had to keep the ball in play, play sensible, and keep the ball low if I was going to score well.
"All of my coaches (at the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy) really helped me prepare for this event. They had me practising a lot of bunker shots, chips and putts from off the green which I used a lot and really helped me feel in control out there.”
Second place honours went to Yifan Liu (HH IJGA) of Guangzhou, China who shot consistent rounds of 77, 78 and 77 for a 16-over-par 232 total. In third was Charles Valluzzo of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina, who finished one shot back of Liu with a tournament total of 233.
Kelly Miller, picture above by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography, from Llanrhystud, Wales - like James Currie a resident student at the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy - won the Girls' 19 and Under years Division even more emphatically than Currie.
She shot rounds of 78, 77 and 84 for a total of 239, 23 over par in the so testing conditions, but still good enough to see her finish 14 shots clear of the field.
Consistency throughout all aspects of her game helped Kelly on such windy weekend, where scores were anything but consistent for the rest of the field.
Minami Levonowich of Hilton Head Island, SC finished second after a final-round 81 gave her a 253 tournament total.
*The International Junior Golf Tour was founded in 1995 for golfers aged 11 to 19 years. Its purpose is to provide aspiring collegiate players the opportunity to compete in a series of events against the highest quality U.S. and international competition. Nearly 2000 junior golfers compete on the IJGT, representing 45 states and over 30 countries. KIAWAH ISLAND, SC—
LEADING TOTALS
BOYS (16 to 19 years)
1 James Currie - Worcester, England - 73 76 74 223
2 Yifan Liu - Guangzhou, China - 77 78 77 232
3 Charles Valluzzo - Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina - 71 84 78 233
4 Michael Balzer - Bismark, North Dakota - 76 82 77 235
4 Christian Bruhn - Mexico - 78 80 77 235
4 Jack Watson - Lincolnshire, Illinois - 78 80 77 235
7 Miguel Constantin Siercke - Hamburg, Germany - 77 82 79 238
Girls 19 & Under Division (Silver Tees)
1 Kelly Miller - Llanrhystud, Wales - 78 77 84 239
2 Minami Levonowich - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - 82 90 81 253
3 Kellie Edelblut - New Hope, Pennsylvania- 86 94 84 264
4 Sammi Lee - Winter Park, Florida - 93 96 98 287