zuela (-16) fired a 2-under 211 in Friday’s final round to hold on for a one-stroke victory over defending champion Australia (-15) in the TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup 2013 Supported by JAL in Toyota City, Aichi-Prefecture, Japan.
It is the first title for Venezuela and only the second for a South American representative (Argentina, 2009).
“To tell you the truth, I’m still in shock,” Venezuelan coach Daniel Escalera said immediately following the victory.
“We just had a really great team this year.”
Mexico (-10) stood pat in third, two shots ahead of host Japan (-8). South Africa (-7) moved up to fifth followed by the United States (-5) and Chinese Taipei (-4). Korea had the low round of the day (204) and moved up to eighth at 2-under. Sweden (+1), Chile (+3), Germany (+10) and Costa Rica (+27) round out the field.
For the fourth-consecutive round, Venezuela’s Jorge Garcia carded a sub-70 score (69) and took home the individual title with a 12-under 272.
“It’s just a bonus that I won because we came here to win as a team,” Garcia said. “I’m really glad that I took my team to victory in this very important tournament.”
Lucas Herbert of Australia was the runner-up with a four-day total of 9-under 275. South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence (-8) came in third, one stroke ahead of three golfers – Kazuki Higa of Japan, Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult and Chieh-Po Lee of Chinese Taipei – who finished tied for fourth at minus-7.
Australia’s Ryan Ruffels (-6) was seventh, one shot ahead of Aaron Terrazas of Mexico (-5). Four players – Venezuela’s Gustavo Leon, Guillermo Pereira of Chile and Americans Scott Scheffler and Adam Wood – tied for ninth at 3-under.
The TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup 2013 Supported by JAL is the world’s only junior golf championship in which 12 national teams – winners of regional qualifiers held across six continents and participated in by over 60 national teams – compete for the world championship.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Venezuela 207-210-208-211 = 836 (-16)
2. Australia 209-205-212-211 = 837 (-15)
3. Mexico 208-206-214-214 = 842 (-10)
4. Japan 212-210-211-211 = 844 (-8)
5. South Africa 211-205-218-211 = 845 (-7)
6. United States 212-208-214-213 = 847 (-5)
7. Chinese Taipei 212-210-208-218 = 848 (-4)
8. Korea 218-217-211-204 = 850 (-2)
9. Sweden 216-213-213-211 = 853 (+1)
10. Chile 212-219-214-210 = 855 (+3)
11. Germany 211-214-218-219 = 862 (+10)
12. Costa Rica 223-223-220-213 = 879 (+27)
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
1. Jorge Garcia, Venezuela 69-67-67-69 = 272 (-12)
2. Lucas Herbert, Australia 71-66-68-70 = 275 (-9)
T7. Ryan Ruffels, Australia 67-70-72-69 = 278 (-6)
T22. Antonio Murdaca, Australia 71-69-74-72 = 286 (+2)
T39. Ricky Kato, Australia 74-70-72-79 = 295 (+11)