Newton Citizen

COVINGTON - Ross Whatley of Decatur was the only golfer in the 76-player field to shoot par in the Atlanta Junior Golf Association tournament Wednesday at The Oaks Course.

Whatley, who plays in the 18-hole Open Boys 13-14 division, parred the first five holes before going 1-over par with a bogey on the sixth hole.

However, he did not stay down long with birdies on the par-3 seventh and the par-4 eighth to go 1 under par.

He remained under par until bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes put him at 1-over par.

Whatley was able to get to par with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th hole to win the division.

Tate Miller of Covington finished second in the 18-hole Open Boys 15-18 division, three strokes behind Lilburn's John Hall.

Covington's Cord Gunnin also had a top-three finish shooting an 85 in the 18-hole Club Boys 15-18 division.

Gunnin finished in a three-way tie along with Roswell's David Blum and Lithonia's Brian Mahoney.

Conner Gunnin another local golfer, finished fourth in the 18-hole Club Boys 13-14 with an 85.

Finishing eighth were Miles Goldman and Harrison Elliott, both of Conyers.

Goldman shot an 86 in the 18-hole Open Boys 15-18 while Elliott had an 82 in the 18-hole Open Boys 13-14.

Also playing in the 18-hole Club Boys 15-18 division was Conyers' Christopher Howard, who finished ninth with a round of 97.

In the 9-hole Club Boys 12-under division, Conyers' Will Payne finished the front nine in 47 strokes for a fifth-place finish.

In other AJGA tournaments, Hunter Elliott of Conyers won first place in the 9-hole Open Boys 12-under division at Canongate at Heron Bay Golf Club in Locust Grove with a 38.

The top golfers in each division are eligible for the championship tournament at the end of the season.

Manny Fils can be reached at manny.fils@newtoncitizen.com.