AJGA/American Junior Golf Association Results: Top-ranked junior Karl Vilips wins Wyndham Invitational

**********WYNDHAM INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY BB&T**********
Sedgefield Country Club
Greensboro, N.C.
June 11 – 15, 2018

Vilips coasts to victory at Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T
Australian finishes one shy of tournament record at 10-under-par 270

*****RESULTS*****
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Entering the final round with a nine-stroke lead, Karl Vilips coasted to the fifth AJGA victory of his career at Sedgefield Country Club’s Pete Dye Course. The win at the Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T was the first of 2018 for the No. 1 player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, and his third Invitational win overall.

“It feels great to finally get the win here,” said Vilips. “I’ve played this tournament three years now, and I got third, fourth and to finally get the win is pretty huge for me at such a pretty prestigious place…It’s definitely a good stepping stone to win a tournament like this and to see what I can do with the rest of my career, with people like Justin Thomas winning this in 2009.”

After tying the competitive course record with a third-round 10-under-par 62 on Thursday, Vilips closed with a 3-over-par 73 on Friday to finish at 10-under-par 270 for the tournament. The tournament score placed him one stroke shy of the tournament record set at 11-under-par by Andrew Yun (2006) and Billy Kennerly (2011).

South Korean Jeewon Park out of Lake Mary, Florida, finished solo second with a closing 1-under-par 69. The runner-up finish is his second of the year after finishing T2 in March at the Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship presented by Callaway Golf.

Gordon Sargent of Birmingham, Alabama, and Orlando’s Eugene Hong tied for third at 3-under-par 277. Peter Fountain of Raleigh, North Carolina, finished as the top in-state player at 1-under-par 279 (T5). Trey Bosco of Austin, Texas, also tied for fifth at 1-under-par 279.

For more information or photo requests, please contact Preston Smith, AJGA Communications Manager, at psmith@ajga.org.

The Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T wrapped up its 17th year in Greensboro, North Carolina, with 72 of the top boys in the country. Seventy-eight alumni of the Invitational have gone on to compete on the PGA TOUR, including Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed, along with past champions Justin Thomas and Brian Harman.

About BB&T

BB&T is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with approximately $222.6 billion in assets and market capitalization of approximately $30.6 billion, as of Sept. 30, 2016. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates 2,220 financial centers in 15 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is recognized consistently for outstanding client satisfaction by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates, and others. BB&T also has been named one of the World’s Strongest Banks by Bloomberg Markets Magazine, one of the top three in the U.S. and in the top 15 globally. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at BBT.com.

About the AJGA

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2018, the American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-19) of more than 6,900 members from 50 states and 60 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.

TaylorMade and adidas are the AJGA’s National Sponsors, supporting the AJGA for more than 25 years. TaylorMade has served as the Official Ball of the AJGA since 2016. adidas has been the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA since 2017. Rolex, in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 900 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson.