U.S. Junior Champ Peck Named AJGA Player Of Year


October 28, 2008

By David Shefter, USGA

Reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion Cameron Peck, 17, of Olympia, Wash., has been named the American Junior Golf Association's Male Player of the Year, joining a stellar list of past recipients that includes nine-time USGA champion Tiger Woods and 1990 U.S. Amateur champion Phil Mickelson.

Peck becomes the first player, male or female, from the Pacific Northwest to receive the AJGA's top honor.

The U.S. Junior was one of four titles that Peck claimed this year. Peck, who has given a verbal commitment to attend Texas A&M in the fall of 2009, defeated Evan Beck, 10 and 8, in the 36-hole championship match at Shoal Creek outside of Birmingham, Ala., in July.

A month prior to that triumph, Peck took the prestigious AJGA FootJoy Invitational in Greensboro, N.C., by six strokes with rounds of 66-71-68-66 at Sedgefield Country Club, home of the PGA Tour's annual Wyndham Championship. That earned Peck a sponsor's invitation into the Wyndham Championship in August, where he missed the cut with rounds of 71-71. He also failed to qualify for match play at the U.S. Amateur in Pinehurst in late August.

Argentina-born Victoria Tanco, 14, of Bradenton, Fla., was named the Female Player of the Year. Tanco qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn., in late June and also advanced to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Girls' Junior at Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, Conn., and made match play at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club. Earlier this month, she won the AJGA's PING Invitational at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

In addition to the players of the year, the AJGA also announced the 48 boys and 48 girls selected to the Rolex Junior All-American teams.

First-team selections included 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Cory Whitsett of Houston, Texas; reigning U.S. Girls' Junior champion Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla.; 2006 U.S. Girls' champion Jenny Shin of Torrance, Calif.; and 2006 U.S. Women's Amateur champion and '08 USA Curtis Cupper Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii. Kristen Park of Buena Park, Calif., the 2007 U.S. Girls' champion, was an honorable-mention selection.

A full list of the 2008 AJGA Rolex Junior All-American Teams:

Boys

First team:  Byeong-hun An, Bradenton, Fla.; Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va.; Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Chan Kim, Chandler, Ariz.; Kyle Kopsick, Lake Bluff, Ill.; Hyun Seok Lim, La Palma, Calif.; Cameron Peck, Olympia, Wash.; Crawford Reeves, Greenville, S.C.; Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas; T.J. Vogel, Cooper City, Fla.; Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas; Andrew Yun, Tacoma, Wash.

Second team:  James Back, Cerritos, Calif.; Rak Cho, Brea, Calif.; Phillip Choi, Orlando, Fla.; Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla.; Chien Yao Hung, Chinese Taipei; Michael Jae Woo Im, Irvine, Calif; Jeffrey Kang, Fullerton, Calif.; Jace Long, Dixon, Mo; Tyler McCumber, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas; Julian Suri, St. Augustine, Fla; Ethan Tracy, Hilliard, Ohio.

Honorable mention:  Zachary Blair, Ogden, Utah; Dominic Bozzelli, Pittsford, N.Y.; Franco Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.; Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Austin Cody, North Charleston, S.C.; Jacob Everts, Ooltewah, Tenn.; Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla.; Juan Pablo Hernandez, Mexico; Trey Kaahanui, Tempe, Ariz.; Cody Kent, Castle Rock, Colo.; Kyle Kmiecik, Avon, Ohio; Ben Kohles, Cary, N.C.; Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif.; Nicholas Losole III, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Corbin Mills, Easley, S.C.; Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Brinson Paolini, Virginia Beach, Va.; Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla.; Robert Register, Burlington, N.C.; Brandon Rodgers, Knoxville, Tenn.; Chandler Rusk, Edmond, Okla.; Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn.; Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala.; Yao-Chun Yang, Troy, Mich.

Girls

First team:  Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J.; Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif.; Kimberly Kim, Pahoa, Hawaii; Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla.; Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif.; Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash.; Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif.; Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif.; Victoria Tanco, Bradenton, Fla.; Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.; Allie White, Lancaster, Ohio; Kristina Wong, Bradenton, Fla.

Second team:  Luz Alejandra, Cangrejo, Colombia; Lindy Duncan, Davie, Fla.; Danielle Frasier, Encinitas, Calif.; Pearl Jin, Bradenton, Fla.; Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz.; Stacey Kim, Columbus, Ga.; Stephanie Kim, Orlando, Fla.; Marika Lendl, Bradenton, Fla.; Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas; Rachel Morris, Carlsbad, Calif.; Victoria Sungmin Park, Irvine, Calif.; Jessica Wallace, Canada.

Honorable mention:  Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass.; Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif.; Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla.; Courtney Ellenbogen, Blacksburg, Va.; Valentina Fontaine, Hilton Head Island, S.C.; Courtney Gunter, Matthews, N.C.; Ginger Howard, Bradenton, Fla.; Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Victoria Kiser, Orlando, Fla.; Amelia Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla.; Marika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Mary Michael Maggio, Conway, Ark.; Grace Na, Oakland, Calif.; Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif.; Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y.; Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif.; Christine Song, Fullerton, Calif.; Alexandra Stewart, Peoria, Ariz.; Emma Talley, Princeton, Ky.; Tessa Teachman, Baton Rouge, La.; Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif.; Veronica Valerio, Temecula, Calif.; Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Julie Yang, Phoenix, Ariz.

DavidShefteris a USGA staff writer for Digital Media. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.