Junior World Ends With Runaways : Burton Beats Girls by Seven; Yonekura Wins by Four

After the first round of girls’ 15-17 division play in the 22nd Optimist Junior World Golf Championships, Nicole Horner called her father, Thomas, in Mililani, Hawaii.

The conversation went something like this.

Nicole: “Dad, I’m leading by one. I shot a 71.”

Thomas: “That’s great.”

Nicole: “Yeah. But Brandie Burton’s in town.”

Burton, as the Horners know all too well, is an incredibly talented 17-year-old from Rialto. Horner is not bad herself, having won the Honolulu high school boys’ championship this year. But Burton was rated the nation’s No. 2 girls’ junior golfer last year by Golf Digest. She may be the best this year.

She won Junior World titles in 1986 and ‘87, the latter by a shot over Horner. She skipped last year, going instead to the U.S. Women’s Open in Baltimore, where she finished 38th. She missed the Open cut last week in Michigan.

She arrived in San Diego late Sunday night and was too tired to practice Monday. But by the end of the week, she justified Horner’s concern.

After leading Horner by five strokes heading into Friday’s final round, Burton cruised to her third Junior World title with the second best 15-17 girls’ score in the 22-year history of the largest junior tournament in the world.

With a 292 (72-72-73-75), Burton bettered her own record of 293 (Michele Lyford also had 293 in 1986) for all rounds played on Torrey Pines’ North Course (par 74, 6,272 yards). Spring Valley’s Sharon Barrett shot a 291 in 1978 playing three rounds on the North Course and one on the South.

Horner was second at 299 (71-75-76-77). Camarillo’s Stephanie Martin finished third (301), Bellflower’s Patti Sinn fourth (303). Sandrine Mendiburu of France (305) was awarded the international trophy for top foreign finisher.

“This is my last Junior World, so it’s nice to go out a winner,” said Burton, who will play golf for Arizona State in the fall. “I had a few putting problems today, but I hit pretty well. I actually feel better about (Friday’s) 75 than I do any other round. But that’s golf for you.”

In a fashion similar to Burton’s, Kazuyoshi Yonekura of Japan dominated the boys’ 15-17 division. He finished four shots ahead with a one-under 287 (71-73-69-74) on Torrey Pines’ South Course (par 72, 6,727 yards), becoming just the second player from Japan to win at the tournament.

Yonekura began the final round with a four-shot lead over Mickey Claxton of Macon, Ga., and Matt Todd of Visalia. Claxton pulled to within two after two holes when Yonekura bogeyed the first, and Claxton birdied the second.

But Yonekura, with a hot putter (31 putts in 18 holes), birdied the par-five sixth and ninth holes to improve his lead over Claxton to five shots by the 12th. Two Yonekura bogeys and a Claxton birdie made it a three-stroke margin after 14 holes, but Yonekura birdied the next two holes to assume what proved to be an insurmountable lead.

Two groups ahead of the leaders, Casey Martin of Eugene, Ore., shot a 72, that would boost him to second place at 291 (75-69-75-72). Pat Bourn of Las Vegas finished strong at 292 (80-75-67-70). His third-round 67 was one off the single-round record of 66. Claxton tied Bourn at 292. And Todd, 16, in his first Junior World, was fifth at 293.

While practicing Monday with some new-found friends from Hawaii, Yonekura and countryman Shinichi Yokota were taught an English phrase to use in case one of them won. They were taught how to say, “I’m awesome.”