OPTIMIST WORLD JUNIOR GOLF : Rallies Fail as Kiggens, Begay Win

Lisa Kiggens was just one stroke ahead of Akiko Fukushima after the first eight holes of the final round of the Optimist Junior World Championships, 15-17-year-old division.

But no great match ensued. Instead, at the par-4 ninth, Kiggens birdied, Fukushima bogeyed and Kiggens never let her lead shrink below three strokes from that point on. She shot a three-under 71 on the Torrey Pines North Course and finally won with an eight-under-par 288. Fukushima shot a final-round 69 but finished at 292.

On the South course, where the boys were playing, a similar story unfolded. Notah Begay entered the day with a four-stroke lead over Travis Williams.

Williams cut it to three on two occasions but could get no closer as Begay won his second Junior World Championship. He shot a final-round 73 for a four-round total of 280, eight under, while Williams finished at 286 after a final-round 75.

Begay last won three years ago in the 13-14 age group.

It was Kiggens’ first Junior World title. Going in to the final round, it appeared her stiffest competition would come from Kim Marshall, who was four shots back in second place at 221.

But Marshall started Friday’s round erratically, bogeying three of the first four holes.

Fukushima, meanwhile, was birdieing three of the first five holes to move past Marshall to within two strokes of Kiggens.

Both Fukushima and Kiggens parred the par-3 sixth and par-4 seventh. Kiggens lost another shot on the eighth and saw her lead shrink to one shot, but she remained unshaken.

“I tried not to be concerned with Fukushima’s charge,” she said. “I just concentrated on my own game.”

On the South course, there was no real charge, Williams simply stayed three, four or five strokes behind Begay all day.

The last time he pulled to within three was on the par-four 15th, when Begay bogeyed and Williams parred.

At that point, “I was hoping to make up one stroke a hole,” Williams said.

But instead he got into trouble on the par-3, 201-yard 16th when he decided to tee off with a three-iron.

Not a good idea.

“I broke my three-iron about two weeks ago, and I probably shouldn’t have used this one because I wasn’t used to it at all,” Williams said.

He hooked it into a ditch left of the green, got out and three-putted for a 5.

“I just played terrible,” said Williams, who led after the first two rounds. “Whenever I got within three strokes, I would mess up. I bogeyed on 2 (after birdieing the first hole) and three-putted on 16. I just couldn’t get anything going.”

Begay parred both 16 and 17, then finished with a flurry, birdieing 18.

“I just wanted,” Begay said, “to go out there and do what I’ve been doing the past three days.”