Punahou seventh-grader wins AJGA Junior tournament

Allisen Corpuz became the fourth-youngest winner of an American Junior Golf Association tournament yesterday when she parred the first playoff hole to capture the AJGA Junior at Quad Cities at Rock Island, Ill.

Corpuz, 12, had played in just one AJGA tournament before. She was the only girl to break par in the final round, closing with a 1-under-par 70 for a three-day total of 215. That left her tied with Kentucky's Emma Talley, a two-time honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American.

The Punahou seventh-grader opened with rounds of 73-72. She had three birdies yesterday. Corpuz is at least three years younger than any of the other 33 girls in the field.

"Going into this tournament I hoped I would make top three and I knew I had a chance, but I didn't really think I would actually get into a playoff and win it," Corpuz told ajga.org. "Going into the playoff, I just thought I had to hit it straight and hopefully make a few putts."

Corpuz became the youngest Hawaii State Women's Match Play champion last summer and is a two-time U.S. Kids champ.

She is headed to Boston today to try to qualify for the U.S. Junior Girls. Then she heads to South Bend, Ind., for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.