PARKER WINS PRESTIGIOUS ORANGE BOWL IN FLORIDA
 England
boy international Ben Parker made history when he won the
42nd Junior Orange Bowl International Championship at Biltmore
Golf Club at Coral Gables, Florida.
The 18 year old member of Royal Birkdale (pictured left),
who plays most of his golf in Germany where his father is
a pro, is the first English player to win the world famous
tournament. Only one other European, Spain's Pablo Martin,
has lifted the title.
Against an international field of players from 38 countries,
Parker led from start to finish, going into the final round
with a six-stroke lead. Yet despite carding a 73, his worst
return of the tournament, his 72-hole aggregate of 274 left
him a stroke ahead of the fast-finishing Andres Echavarria
from Colombia and Florida's Peter Uihlein, who returned 65
and 67 respectively.
This is Parker's biggest win of his burgeoning career and
he laid the foundations for his success with opening rounds
of 63 and 67 which eased him four strokes ahead of American
Bobby Hudson while a third round 71 saw him widen the gap
to six shots from Californian Rickie Fowler. Most of his pursuers
bettered Parker's closing effort but the young Englishman
managed to stay in front to claim the title.
Young Norwegian Marius Thorp, who won the European Amateur
Championship in August, finished fourth on 277 after a closing
64, while England's other entrants Steven Capper and Tom Sherreard
were joint 14th and equal 28th respectively.
Parker's success will aid his cause when he spends the next
four months along with fellow boy cap Grant Slater (Carlyon
Bay) in Australia at Waverley Golf Club, Victoria, in order
to further their golfing education. This is the route followed
successfully by James Morrison last winter, the winner of
the recent Victoria Amateur Championship down under.
To complete a superb week for English golfers, Kiran Matharu
from Leeds finished runner-up to America's Angela Park in
the Girls event. Park, from California, won by seven shots
after carding an aggregate of 279 to Matharu's 286.
Ben Parker's sister Florentyna finished joint ninth on 296.
Final results:
Boys
274 Ben Parker (Eng) 63 67 71 73
275 Andres Echavarria (Col) 67 72 71 65
275 Peter Uihlein (USA) 68 72 68 67
277 Marius Thorp (Nor) 71 69 73 64
277 Mu Hu (China) 71 70 67 69
277 Rickie Fowler (USA) 73 66 68 70
279 Bobby Hudson (USA) 65 69 76 69
Others:
284 Steven Capper (Eng) 67 74 72 71
290 Tom Sherreard (Eng) 69 73 76 72
Girls
279 Angela Park (USA) 71 70 68 70
286 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 71 71 72 72
289 Isabelle Lendl (USA) 74 70 71 74
Others:
296 Florentyna Parker (Eng) 74 70 75 77
296 Sally Watson (Scot) 70 75 81 70
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