SOUTHERN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
2001

Jacksonville, Fla. - Vargas Rallies to Claim Southern Junior

 James Vargas of Miami, Florida posted a splendid final round three under 69 to lay claim to the 29th Southern Junior Championship played at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida.

Vargas, who will be entering his senior year in high school this fall, came back from an opening round 76 and a tie for 35th place, to gradually work his way to the top position at the conclusion of 54 holes of play.  His two under second round score of 70 left him is a three way tie for third at two over par 146 and three strokes behind first and second round leader Butler Melnyk.

The final round was all Vargas, however, as he was the only player to post a third round score in the sixties and capped his finish with a birdie on the final hole from a greenside bunker.

Melnyk, playing on his "home course", started in fine fashion with an opening round of 70 and a four way tie with Alex Krempa of Daphne, Alabama, Chiho Kwak of Jacksonville, Florida and Chad Bailey of Shreveport, Louisiana.  But the star of the day was good ole Mother Nature as she disrupted play in the late afternoon and left 36 players stranded on the golf course.

The second day Mother Nature continued to make her presence known as play was halted several times, but was concluded before Old Sol dipped over the horizon and turned out the lights at Timuquana.  Melnyk continued his steady play and was all alone by two strokes at one under par 143 when the final putt was holed.  The best any of the other first round leaders could manage was a 77 by Krempa.

Following the 36 hole cut at 157, 63 players returned to the splendid Timuquana Country Club, selected site to host the 2002 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, and great weather to finish the Championship.  No one was equal, however, to the charge put on by Vargas as he finished three shots ahead of Melnyk, who stumbled to a final round 75 and a 54 hole total of 218, and five ahead of Drew Pigg of Plano, Texas and Dos Goldsmith of McAllen, Texas at six over par 220.

In the younger age division, Matthew Swan of Mongtomery, Alabama pretty much had things his way following the second round, posting scores of 75-70 and leading the division by six strokes and only trailing the leader, Melnyk, of the older division by two going into the final round.  His final round 75, however, while good enough to capture his age division by three over Glenn Northcutt of Dothan, Alabama, was not enough to hold off the hard charging Vargas for the overall championship.

A total of 150 players, representing 10 states, took part in the championship and all were totally impressed with the golf course and facilities of Timuquana and the hospitality shown by the staff. Participation breaks down as follows: 
Alabama 18 Kentucky 1 South Carolina 1
Arkansas 2 Louisiana 4 Tennessee 10
Florida 58 Mississippi 0 Texas 11
Georgia 39 North Carolina 6 Virginia 0

Final Results: 

13-14 Age Division

Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala.

75-70-75--220

Glenn Northcutt, Dothan, Ala.

73-78-72--223

Tyler Rucarean, Gainesville, Fla.

76-75-74--225

Evan Willingham, Raleigh, N.C.

74-78-80--232

Michael Green, Augusta, Ga.

74-77-82--233

Rob Bennett, Augusta, Ga.

78-79-79--236

Jack Basford, Orange Park, Fla.

79-81-76--236

Eddie Peckels, Delray Beach, Fla.

79-77-80--236

Jimmy Plank, Jacksonville, Fla.

77-76-83--236

Scott Barton, Dallas, Texas

80-75-83--238

Tyler Hitchcock, Orlando, Fla.

76-84-79--239

Grant Rafield, Birmingham, Ala.

77-79-83--239

Hudson Swafford, Tallahassee, Fla.

83-75-84--242

Bryant Hare, Raleigh, N.C.

79-82-82--243

Tal Everett, Sea Island, Ga.

76-84-87--247

15-18 Age Division

James Vargas, Miami, Fla.

76-70-69--215

Butler Melnyk, Jacksonville, Fla.

70-73-75--218

Drew Pigg, Plano, Texas

72-77-71--220

Dos Goldsmith, Mcallen, Texas

72-74-74--220

Bill Roach, Knoxville, Tenn.

76-72-73--221

Walker Jamison, Atlanta, Ga.

77-73-71--221

Andrew Dresser, Carrollton, Texas

77-68-76--221

Thomas Jordan, Sea Island, Ga.

72-73-78--223

Jeff Bell, Plano, Texas

74-74-76--224

Alex Wilson, Miami, Fla.

75-75-74--224

Chiho Kwak, Jacksonville, Fla.

70-79-75--224

Brent Witcher, Duluth, Ga.

74-72-78--224

Drew Laning, Little Rock, Ark.

78-72-75--225

Ben Gardner, Boca Raton, Fla.

74-78-73--225

Mark Perry, Atlanta, Ga.

79-74-72--225

Thomas Murray, Orange Park, Fla.

73-78-74--225

Ty Callahan, Tampa, Fla.

73-74-78--225

Alex Krempa, Daphne, Ala.

70-77-78--225

Tyler Brown, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.

74-74-77--225

Michael Himebaugh, Palm City, Fla.

75-74-77--226

Sam Nicholson, Augusta, Ga.

77-77-73--227

Major Manning, Ormond Beach, Fla.

79-73-75--227

Garrett Runion, Orlando, Fla.

73-77-77--227

Ross Freeman, Garland, Texas

71-80-76--227

Patton Kizzire, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

74-76-78--228

Tommy Suri, Miami, Fla.

74-76-78--228

Joshua Flamm, Jacksonville, Fla.

78-74-76--228

Chad Bailey, Shreveport, La.

70-79-79--228

Danny Allen, Palm Harbor, Fla.

75-72-81--228

Robert Jamieson, Orlando, Fla.

77-79-73--229

Peter Andrews, Houston, Texas

80-74-75--229

Brannan Reaves, Montgomery, Ala.

76-77-76--229

Ryan Hillstrom, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

79-72-78--229

Preston Brown, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.

77-73-79--229

Michael Young, Jacksonville, Fla.

73-76-80--229

Riley Hitchcock, Orlando, Fla.

75-80-75--230

Bill Dukes, Orlando, Fla.

77-76-77--230

Joey Jones, Boca Raton, Fla.

73-76-81--230

Chris Elliott, Plano, Texas

77-74-80--231

Rawley Vines, Austin, Texas

78-77-77--232

Skip Perry, Atlanta, Ga.

80-76-76--232

Brent Struthers, Baton Rouge, La.

73-80-80--233

Lee Krassner, Austin, Texas

82-74-77--233

Stuart Oakes, Knoxville, Tenn.

75-79-79--233

Joe Morton, Waycross, Ga.

79-75-79--233

Brian Wood, Spanish Fort, Ala.

78-76-79--233

David Cangemi, Jacksonville, Fla.

76-78-79--233

Rhett Lewis, Douglas, Ga.

75-80-79--234

Whit Howard, Raleigh, N.C.

78-77-80--235

Russell Skinner, Jacksonville, Fla.

75-80-80--235

Sam Audia, Huntsville, Ala.

73-82-80--235

Matt Sheppard, Birmingham, Ala.

78-78-79--235

Matthew Mincer, Lenoir City, Tenn.

80-72-83--235

Nathan Brown, Alpharetta, Ga.

82-74-80--236

Luke Morrison, Atlanta, Ga.

77-79-80--236

Michael Birtel, New Orleans, La.

77-79-80--236

Todd Lewis, Greeneville, Tenn.

74-83-80--237

Alan Pereda, Miami, Fla.

76-80-81--237

West Streib, Atlanta, Ga.

77-80-80--237

Hayes Farley, Jacksonville, Fla.

77-77-83--237

James Boothe, Palm Harbor, Fla.

75-78-84--237

Josh Nelms, Hixson, Tenn.

74-77-86--237

Timothy House, Raleigh, N.C.

83-74-89--246

Par 36-36--72; yardage 6625.
Note: The field was cut following 36 holes to the low 15 in the 13-14 Age Division and the low 63 in the 15-18 Age Division.
 
An integral part of the Southern Junior, as well as the Southern Amateur, is recognition of the state that has four players post 36 hole combined scores that are lower than the best four players' combined score from any other state, and this constitutes the State Team Championship. The 2001 state team winner was Florida with a team total of 583, represented by the following players:

Butler Melnyk

143

Danny Allen

147

Janes Vargas

146

Ty Callahan

147