Lee wins Junior Golf Classic title

By Dick Sparrer

It didn't take Phillip Lee too long to get to the first annual Saratoga Little Junior Golf Classic held recently at the Saratoga Country Club.

After all, Phillip lives in Saratoga, so the event was held right in his hometown.

And once there, it sure didn't take Phillip long to get around the nine holes that made up the competition. He got down in a low 39 strokes to win the overall championship in the Junior Golf Association of Northern California event.

Lee was just four-over par with his 39 that was good for a first in the boys 10-11 age group as well as the overall championship.

"The tournament was a great success," said tournament director Barrett McGrath of the Saratoga Country Club. "There were 70 entrants, the largest field for an 11-and-under only event."

"Our objective was to develop a tournament that gave more juniors the opportunity to play," he added. "It was also to create an atmosphere to encourage new juniors to play."

Lee and Dennis Carson of Burlingame battled for the title in the 10-11 age group, and it was Lee pulling out the title even though they both finished at 39. There were 33 players in the age group.

Mike Ryle of Newark was third in the division at 41 with Marc Nguyen of Atherton fourth at 44 and Sean Callahan of Concord fifth at 44.

Lee also put a drive 2 feet from the cup on the closest-to-the-pin hole to win that competition.

Rosalie Tolentino of South San Francisco was the girls 10-11 age group winner, firing a 55. Joy Kim of Albany was second with Nicole Lata of Milpitas third and Jackie Gragnola of Saratoga fourth.

Tolentino's shot that was 4 feet, 10 inches from the cup won the closest-to-the-pin contest.

Ryan Williams of Morgan Hill was first in the boys 9-and-under division with a 10-over par 45. Joshua Swan of Los Gatos was second at 48 with Tommy Economoll of Hillsborough third and Lee Jackson of Hillsborough fourth.

Marcus Cowan of Livermore was the closest-to-the-pin winner at 6 feet, 7 inches.

Tessa The of Los Altos was the overall girls winner, carding a 54 to take the 9-and-under title.

Mikell Zanotto of Campbell was second with Cati Munic of San Jose third, Alexandra Groetsema of Los Altos fourth, Andrea Fung of San Francisco fifth, Jari-Lee Tolentino of San Francisco sixth and Julianna Stefanik of Campbell seventh.

Fung was the closest-to-the-pin winner at 4 feet, 4 inches.

The tournament also featured a 7-and-under age group for boys and girls. The group played five holes on a shortened course.

Cameron Champ of Sacramento was first at 21 with Will Dennis of Saratoga, Trebor Bitanga of San Ramon and Ian Dickeson of Fremont each finishing at 28 to share second.

Morgan Bakarich of Danville was the closest-to-the-pin winner at 3 feet, 5 inches.

"We were the first tournament to have a 7-and-under age group," said McGrath. "They played five holes, starting on our fifth hole, the par 3. On the longer holes, we placed tee markers in the fairway at 150-175 yards to shorten the holes for these children."

Youngsters from as far away as Salinas, Petaluma and Sacramento joined golfers from the Santa Clara Valley to compete in the July 10 tournament in Saratoga.

"All in all, the tournament was a tremendous success," said McGrath, "and we expect big things for this going into the future."

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