ROGERS -- For the first two rounds at the American Junior Golf Association KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior Open, the best club in Chloe Horton's bag was her putter.
Horton took advantage of a hot putter to grab a one-stroke lead at 2-under-par 142 heading into Thursday at Lost Springs Golf and Athletic Club, but it was her sand wedge that made the difference in the final round.
Horton, of Miami, started her round by using her sand wedge to chip in for par from 10 yards out on No. 1, then used the same club for a birdie from 25 yards out on No. 16 en route to winning her first major tournament by two strokes with an even-par 216.
Kyler Tate of Winter Garden, Fla., fired his third consecutive round under par with a 1-under 71 and finished at 9-under 207 to claim the boys title. William Brueckner of Walnut Creek, Calif., finished second at 3-under 213, and Fisher Vollendorf of Fayetteville was third at 2-under 214.
Horton's bogey on No. 10 and a double-bogey following a three-put on No. 11 allowed Claire Cameron of Martinsville, Ind., to take a one-stroke lead Thursday, but Horton regained the lead with her birdie on No. 16 after Cameron bogeyed the hole.
Horton closed out the victory with back-to-back pars.
"There were some really good shots, and there were some really bad shots," Horton said. "I was really, really nervous but I worked through it."
Horton hit her drive into the fairway bunker on No. 16, and her approach shot landed 25 yards short of the green.
"I was just trying to get up-and-down for par, but it was on line and it went in," Horton said. "The pin was in front, and I was just trying to land it softly and have it roll a little bit. It worked out, and I knew that if I parred in I would have a chance."
Tate entered the tournament with runner-up finishes in his only two previous AJGA events. He shot 4-under 68 in the first two rounds and took a five-stroke lead into the final round. Tate was 2 over Thursday after eight holes, but the 17-year-old carded birdies on three of his final seven holes to pull away.
"The putts fell this week. That was about it," Tate said. "I hit the ball really well and I got the putts to fall. After the two bogeys, I just tried to stay patient."'
Sports on 06/27/2014