2009 Dornick Hills Country Club – Ardmore, Oklahoma
ARDMORE, Okla.--Despite intermittent rain, Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville, Md., and Caroline Powers of Bowling Green, Ohio, secured wins at the 41st Annual Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship. Shooting a 5-under-par 70 in the final round, McCarthy claimed first place in the Boys Division with a 270 and a one-stroke lead in tight duel against Michael McGowan of Southern Pines, N.C. Powers carded a 9-over-par 293 to claim the Girls Division title by six strokes. Sponsored and supported by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, the 41st Annual Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship featured 160 players from 40 states with boys and girls under the age of 18. The Boys Division played the Dornick Hills Country Club golf course at par 70 and 6,524yards, while the girls played the course at par 71 and 6,041 yards. McCarthy claimed his first national junior title, overcoming a five-stroke deficit. Carding seven birdies, he was neck and neck with McGowan to the very last hole, where his par against McGowan's bogey secured the win with a 10-under-par 270. He accredited his round to calming himself down. "Yesterday I didn't play so well and I took myself out of it just a little bit." McCarthy said. "Today I just wanted to go out there and fire it at every pin and just have fun and relax."In second place, McGowan bogeyed his last hole, putting him just one stroke behind the leader at a 9-under-par 271.Corey Konieczki of Rockford, Il., finished third in the Boys Division with a 274 total. In fourth was Cory McElyea of Santa Cruz, Calif. with a total score of 5-under-par 275. Tied for fifth place were Joshua Briere of Newport, Vt. and Talor Gooch of Midwest City, Okla.; both at 3-under par 277. In the Girls Division, Powers won her first Trusted Choice Big "I" National Championship in dominant fashion with her wire-to-wire victory. Her final round par 74 gave her at a six-stroke win at 9-over-par 293. She was able to keep her lead throughout the day and credits her final round to consistency."I was driving the ball pretty well," Powers said. "I played consistently and tried to stay in my own game and trust what I was doing." Finishing in second place was Lizzie Bundy of Clayton, N.C. with a 14-over-par 299. In third place was Ashlee Pickerell of Salem, Oregon at 15-over-par 300.
2010 - Olde York Country Club, Chesterfield, NJChesterfield, N.J.
Chesterfield, NJ - After sharing the Boys Division lead for two straight rounds, Greg Bunner of Cherryville, N.C., was crowned the champion at the 42nd Trusted Choice® Big “I” National Championship with a final round 71 and one-under-par 283 tournament total. New Jersey native Kuriko Tsukiyama of Bogota finished the tournament at 2-over-par 290 to claim the Girls Division title after holding the lead all four rounds. Corey McElyea of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Will Bishop of Lexington, Ky., shot final round 65s while Elise Bradley of Mandeville, La., carded a final round 67. The three juniors made wrote new men’s and women’s single round records at Old York Country Club at Chesterfield. The Trusted Choice® Big “I” National Championship was a 72-hole stroke play event hosted at Old York Country Club at Chesterfield. The tournament field boasted 102 boys and 54 girls, ages 12-18, from 35 states, with nine juniors representing the host state of New Jersey. Second-round cuts were made at 155 in the Boys Division and 159 in the Girls Division to include 55 boys and 27 girls for the third and final rounds. Bunner averaged four birdies per round en route to the biggest victory of his junior career. Consistent strong putting throughout the week led the eighteen-year-old to win in his last junior golf appearance, as he heads off to Western Carolina University in the fall. With McElyea and Bishop in the clubhouse tied at even-par 284, eighteen-year-old Bunner two putted from 20 feet for par to seal the victory. “I had no clue that they were that close,” Bunner said after the round. “I thought I had a two to three stroke cushion. I was just trying to put a good line on it with good speed. It’s nice to have my name in the same list as Tiger Woods.” Tied after their course-breaking rounds of 65, McElyea and Bishop took home second-place trophies. Standing alone in fourth at 2-over-par 286 was Sean Friel of Rochester Hills, Mich. Caleb Sturgeon of Laurens, S.C., Daniel Pizetoski of Davidson, N.C., and Mark Reilly of Babylon, N.Y., finished tied for fifth at 7-over-par 291. In the Girls Division, 14-year-old Kuriko Tsukiyama shot a final-round 2-over-par 74 to claim the champion’s title. After a shaky 5-over-par third-round 77, Tsukiyama concentrated on chipping and putting while warming up for the final round. “It’s my first big victory,” Tsukiyama said. “I’m really excited right now. All I wanted to do was concentrate on my own game and not worry about what other people were shooting.” Finishing second at 9-over-par 297 was Ally McDonald of Fulton, Mich., followed by Ashlee Pickerell of Salem, Ore., who shot an 11-over-par 299 for the tournament. The Trusted Choice® Big “I” National Championship is one of the nation’s premier junior stroke-play championships. Organized by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, The Big “I” attracts the nation’s top junior golfers. Notable past participants include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Charles Howell III, David Duval, Justin Leonard, Candie Kung, Cristie Kerr and Grace Park. The Big “I” is able to provide an opportunity for juniors to compete thanks to its title sponsor Trusted Choice, presenting sponsor Harleysville, and its partners Allied Insurance and Nike Golf.
2011 - Reunion Golf and Country Club, Madison, MS
MADISON, Miss. – Ally McDonald of Fulton, Miss., ran away with the title in the Girls Division while J.T. Poston of Hickory, N.C., staved off his challengers all day to take home the Boys Division trophy Thursday at the 43rd annual Trusted Choice® Big “I” National Championship at Reunion Golf & Country Club in Madison, Miss. After finishing second in the tournament last year, McDonald extended the eight-stroke lead she held after the third round to finish nine strokes ahead of Taylor Totland of Tinton Falls, N.J., (69-75-76-73—293). In McDonald’s last junior tournament, the entering freshman at Mississippi State carded a tournament score of 72-72-68-72—284 to take home the Mayerstein Trophy in her home state.“I said that I wasn’t going to settle for second this year, and I think I got the job done,” she said. “I didn’t play as well as I could have today, but finishing 4-under-par and even on the day is a pretty good feat that I accomplished.” Rounding out the top five in the Girls Division were Emily Haas of Nicholasville, Ken., at 10-over-par (75-76-71-76—298). Kelly Hartigan of Lake Orion, Mich., and Casey Ward of Chapel Hill, N.C., each finished at 12-over-par with four-day totals of 79-72-76-73—300 and 73-81-71-75—300, respectively. While McDonald was snapping photos and shaking hands, the Boys Division was still up for grabs. Poston (72-69-70-71—282) entered No. 18 with a two-stroke lead, but left his approach shot 60-feet from the cup. Austin Smotherman of Loomis, Calif., (68-73-72-70—283), who has committed to play golf at UC Davis, stuck his approach to eight feet and knocked in his birdie attempt to get to 5-under-par for the tournament. Poston, playing in his last junior event before joining the men’s golf team at Western Carolina University, needed to three-putt at worst to win the tournament, and that is just what he did. After his round he said the six-inch putt he dropped to lay claim to the Robert Trent Jones Trophy was one of the most nerve-racking of his junior golf career. He finished 6-under-par for the tournament. “It was a grind all day,” Poston said. “On my par putt from six or seven feet I wasn’t going to run it by. I just had to two-putt from there, and I was glad I did have that six-incher instead of a three-footer.” Trevor Cone of Concord, N.C., an entering freshman at Virginia Tech, took home the third place trophy with a four-day total of 3-under-par (73-68-71-73—285). Noah West of Belden, Miss., snuck up the leaderboard with a 3-under-par 69 Thursday to finish in fourth place at 1-under par (75-70-73-69—287) for the tournament, and Reed Lindsey of Ripley, Miss., (71-75-72-71—289) and Will Starke of Chapin, S.C., (73-71-74-71—289) tied for fifth place with a tournament totals of 1-over-par.