FROM STAFF REPORTS

Spain Park High School golfer Connor Smith carded an even-par 72 on the final day to take the boys division championship with a 8-under-par 208 tournament total at the E-Z-GO Vaughn Taylor Championship, presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.
The E-Z-GO Vaughn Taylor Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf was a 54-hole championship conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Jones Creek Golf Club. The event featured 72 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 12 states and Mexico, Japan, Argentina and Taiwan. The boys division played the par-72 course at 6,774 yards, while the girls division played the course at 6,034 yards.
Smith, whose best finish at an AJGA tournament in his career was sixth at the 2011 Harvey Penick Junior All-Star, got off to a hot start by carding three consecutive birdies to go 3-under-par for the day through No. 4. Smith, a rising junior at Spain Park, credits his play to his loose demeanor on the course.
“I have been in a slump over the last three weeks and was really discouraged with my game,” Smith said. “I just realized that in order to get better I had to go out there and have fun and I was able to do that this week and get a tournament. It means so much to be able to have an AJGA win under my belt to prove to myself that I can compete at this level.”
David Hemann of Evans, Ga., carded a 4-under-par 68 on the final day to jump from 12th place to second with a 1-under-par 215 tournament total. Arjuna Anday of Murfreesboro, Tenn., came in third with an even-par 216 tournament total.
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 40 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.
Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.
TaylorMade Golf has led the golf industry’s technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly owned subsidiary of the adidas Group. adidas Golf creates high-performance, technology-infused golf apparel and footwear worn by hundreds of professional golfers around the world. Ashworth, which became a brand of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company in 2008, creates relaxed, lifestyle-oriented golf apparel synonymous with authenticity and quality. Learn more about TaylorMade-adidas Golf and its brands at (866) 530-TMAG (8624) or Taylormadegolf.com, Adidasgilf.com, Ashworthgolf.com and Tmag.com.