Robby Shelton wins Junior PGA Championship, earns a spot in Junior Ryder Cup
Wilmer’s Robby Shelton carded a two-under par 70 in the final round of the 37th Junior PGA Championship to seal a three-stroke victory over Sacramento’s Cameron Champ at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club on Friday, August 3, 2012.
Shelton got off to a confident start and recorded two back-to-back birdies on the first two holes that he played. Thereafter, he parred each of the next eight holes, prior to a bogey-birdie streak, starting from the 11th hole.
"I was able to pick up where I left off yesterday to start the round," Shelton said. "I didn't really struggle until my bogey at the 11th".
Through 14 holes, he was tied for the top spot, as Champ made a charge with four birdies against a lone bogey to settle for a 14-under par overall score with four-holes to play.
However, Champ faltered on the 15th hole and suffered a triple bogey, followed by a bogey on the 16th hole. "Just had a bad hole. It kind of sealed the deal for me," Champ said. "I need to go back and learn from this and figure out what I need to do better
the next time. It's a learning experience".
Meanwhile, Shelton kept his game consistent and finished with a birdie-bogey on the final two holes.
"It got tight on the back nine and Cameron just had a bad hole," Shelton said. "I am lucky to have won this championship. This is the biggest win of my career and it feels so amazing to be holding this trophy".
Shelton and Champ both made it to the Junior Ryder Cup team, as the tournament awards Ryder Cup points to the top two players on the leaderboard.
Shelton told that he had never been to such a tournament in his career. Therefore, it was a great honour for him to get a ticket to Illinois where he, along with Champ, will participate in the event from September 24 to 25 at Olympia Fields.
In the meantime, Brad Dalke of McKinney recorded the best round of the day. He recorded five birdies and an eagle for a seven-under par 65. He tied for the fourth spot with an eight-under par tournament score.
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