Published: June 23, 2008 08:43 am            

Hangin' in there

EDMOND — “Oh.........Talor!!!!”

Edmond’s Geoffrey Shaw barked after he winced away from the hole on a 20-plus footer that just missed falling in the cup on the last hole of competition in the AJGA Aldila Junior at Oak Tree Country Club Thursday afternoon.

Had Shaw, who has signed with Texas A&M, made the putt and Midwest City’s Talor Gooch missed his bogey attempt on the 18th, both players would have tied for first place with a 213 total.

But neither happened, as the Carl Albert state champion dropped in his bogey putt to win the tournament by two shots over Shaw and Edmond’s Andrew Green.

“It’s huge,” Gooch said after winning his first national American Junior Golf Association tournament. “It is what I strive for every day in practice.”

Gooch, who just completed his sophomore year at Carl Albert High School by winning the Class 5A state individual title, has had struggles in the past on Oak Tree’s east course but jumped out to a 1-under par 34 on the front with a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 3 and a three-foot birdie putt on four. He started the final round up by three shots.

But on the par 3 14th, Gooch, as in the past, found the water hazard. He took a double-bogey 5 on the hole to give Shaw and Green a chance at the title.

“It’s a tough course,” Gooch stated. “I’ve struggled here and scored well.

“I was real confident this week hitting it well here and there. I (told myself after No. 13) played 50 good holes out here and I figured I could play four more good holes.”

Gooch parred 15 and hit his tee shot right on 16 to play safely away from the water. He stuck the pin with his approach shot but the ball bounded up the hill. He missed his birdie left from 15 feet downhill.

After the par on 16, Talor again played safely away from the water and hit on the right side of the green on the par 3 17th. The ball funnelled left and came back to within 8 1/2 feet of the hole. Again, he missed his birdie attempt on the high side and tapped in for par.

“All day I missed five to six putts from that range but I’ll take it (the win),” Gooch said after knowing that those birdies would have clinched the championship for him.

He won regardless with a 3-over-par 73 in the final round and wound up with a 70-69-73—212 total two shots better than Shaw and Green. Green, an Edmond Santa Fe graduate, signed with Central Oklahoma. Shaw attended Edmond North High School.

After multiple weather delays and playing a demanding 27-plus holes Wednesday, Gooch carded four birdies during the second round. He attributed his success to staying focused throughout the day.

“I drove the ball well and had little trouble off the tee box,” he said. “I didn't make many mistakes and played a solid round...two rounds I guess.”

Gooch, some two years younger than the majority of the field, won out of more than 100 competitors.

Up next for Talor is the U.S. Amateur qualifier on Monday at Emerald Falls Golf Club in Broken Arrow. He will then traverse to Indiana to compete in the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind. July 1-4.

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 largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 foreign countries.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

        

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