LOCAL NOTES : Woods, Booth Win in Junior Golf

Tiger Woods of Cypress rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Thursday to win the boys’ 15-18 division of the American Junior Golf Assn. Mission Hills Desert tournament in Rancho Mirage. Kellee Booth of Coto de Caza overcame a four-shot deficit to win the girls’ division.

Woods began the round with a one-stroke lead over Mike Walton, but shot a two-over 74 to finish the three rounds at par 216. Walton, of Palm Desert, had a one-over 73.

In the playoff on the 382-yard 10th hole, both players drove in the fairway. Woods’ approach shot landed on the green while Walton’s ended up in the rough. Walton chipped to within four feet, but Woods made the putt for his second victory on the circuit this season.

“The ball hit a bump and bounced right, but still caught the right edge of the cup,” said Woods, who also won the tournament last year.

Scott Gibson of Huntington Beach was tied for 17th with an 11-over 227 total.

Booth shot a one-under 71, finishing with a five-over 221 for her third title of the year.

She trailed by four shots after the second hole, but caught Emilee Klein, of Studio City, on the 15th and took the lead for good when she birdied the 16th and Klein bogeyed the hole.

“I just wanted to think about what I was doing and not what Emilee was doing,” Booth said. “I’ve thought about other players in other tournaments and it has messed me up.”

Gymnastics clubs in Mission Viejo and Orange are among several Orange County-based athletic programs to receive grants from the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles this week.

The Mission Viejo Gymnastics Center will receive $19,972 and California Gymnastics in Orange will receive $19,869 of the nearly $500,000 awarded by the AAF. The program, which has granted $46 million to Southern California youth sports programs since 1985, is made possible by the surplus from the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The Orange Coast College Sailing Center will receive $13,994, and the Buena Park and Irvine youth football programs each were granted $5,000.

David Warady of Huntington Beach won the sixth stage of the Runner’s World Trans America Footrace, finishing the 39.5 miles in the Mojave Desert in 6 hours 16 minutes and 35 seconds. By the time Warady, 35, finished the stage from Amboy to Kelso at about noon, the temperature had risen to about 100 degrees. It eventually reached 110.

Warady remains in fourth place overall, 2 hours 35 minutes 45 seconds behind leader Al Howie of Scotland, whose cumulative time for the 254.9 miles is 39:24:55. Helmut Schieke of Germany dropped more than 18 minutes behind Howie in second place.