A tight finish at Spring Creek

GORDONSVILLE — The final round of the American Junior Golf Association’s Junior All-Star at Spring Creek concluded Wednesday with a pair of 15-year-old up-and-coming superstars emerging from the pack to win their respective divisions.

When all was said and done, Meechai Padungsiriseth used a birdie on final hole of the tournament to propel him to victory in the boys division. Paveenuch Sritragul secured her place atop the standings in the girls division for the third day in a row on her way to her first AJGA event win.

Padungsiriseth, a student at IMG Academy in Florida, came into Wednesday’s final round one stroke off the lead and tied with Hank Lebioda of Winter Springs, Fla., a day after enjoying a two-stroke lead following his first round, four-under par 68. The two were chasing Julian Taylor of Greenville, S.C., and all three were in the same playing group on Wednesday.

Padungsiriseth made good on three birdies on the front nine to move into first place at the turn with a score of five under for the tournament, while Taylor and Lebioda were just a shot off the lead at four under. Taylor admitted that he wasn’t disappointed with his round overall, but suffered a few setbacks on the back nine — notably a double bogey on the 14th — that eliminated him from contention.

Lebioda took the lead after Padungsiriseth also bogeyed the 16th and controlled his own destiny on the final two holes. Each golfer walked away with a par on the 17th, which led up to the exciting conclusion at 18.

Padungsiriseth was a bit longer than his competitor off the tee, as well as on his second shot, setting up an amazing approach shot on the par-five 18th that left him with a great chance to seal the win on a day that he hit all 18 greens in regulation.

“I came into that hole with a lot of pressure,” Meechai admitted, “but I stuck with my plan and didn’t let it get to me. I hit a great third shot to maybe four feet, and I went into that putt a little scared, because I had missed a few of those already.”

Lebioda barely missed a 20-foot birdie putt that could have forced a playoff, leaving the door open for Padungsiriseth. Although the Bradenton, Fla., native had a rough day on the putting surface, he converted the short putt to give him a final round score of 68 and his first AJGA win of the summer. He admitted afterwards that while his opponents were putting and he was reading the green, he envisioned the clinching putt dropping in the cup over and over again in his mind.

“I stayed in my game, and thank God I made that putt,” Padungsiriseth chuckled. “I felt really happy after that, relieved in many ways, I never gave up. I’ve never been one to celebrate much, but I guess I’ll give myself a day break and go back to practicing on Friday.”

Lebioda finished second with a five-under tournament score of 211.

“I have nothing to be disappointed about. I played a good, consistent round,” said Lebioda, who hit 15 greens and 11 fairways and only bogeyed one hole for a 69 on Wednesday. “It’s the same thing I’ve done the last two days, I just made some more putts today.”

Taylor came in third with a 215, while Stanhope Johnson, Jr. and Jonathan DiIanni, both from North Carolina, finished tied for fourth with an even-par 216.

Sritragul continued her dominance over the rest of the field in the girls division on Wednesday, as the Bangkok, Thailand, native eventually won by five strokes with a three-under 213 over Irina Paulin Gabasa from the Philippines. Palm Desert, California’s Cha Cha Willhoite finished third with a total of 225.

The leader after each round, Sritragul capped her brilliant three-day performance with six birdies in Wednesday’s final. After admittedly struggling on the greens on Tuesday, Sritragul’s putts were falling in the third round, and she also pointed out that the strength of her game continued to be her approach in her first-ever tournament in the U.S.

“I feel really impressed, I’m really excited because it’s my first time here, and to win it was so great,” Sritragul said. “I practiced [putting] yesterday and it really worked and paid off for me today.”

Already cruising along, Sritragul almost knocked in a hole-in-one on the 17th, but the ball lipped out. The girls division champ plans to return to Bangkok’s Bromsgrove International School soon and also continue to compete in tournaments in her homeland, as well as abroad, over the next year.

When asked if she’d like to come back and defend her crown next year, Sritragul welcomed the opportunity.

“If I have a chance, I’ll come back and play again because it’s a really nice tournament and really nice course,” she said. “I made some good friends and it was really competitive, too. It’s more competitive than in Thailand, because there are more people playing and that’s a good experience for me.”