Top players to compete in Legacy junior tourney

Bob Cloud

Tuesday, July 2, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A large contingent of young, local talent will be on display as the the Las Vegas Founders' Legacy Junior golf tournament tees it up today at The Legacy in Henderson.

The 54-hole American Junior Golf Association event, which runs through Thursday, features nine Rolex Junior All-Americans among 90 participants. The list of competitors includes 22 Las Vegans in this, the 18th of 38 events scheduled by the AJGA for 1996.

On the boys side, the Las Vegas group will be headed by Joel Kijowski of Western High School -- winner of this year's AAA state championship -- and Bonanza High teammates Billy Harvey and Scott Piercy.

Kijowski finished third in the Legacy Junior a year ago, while Harvey and Piercy, who both placed in the top 10 last year, each have posted top-five finishes in 1996 AJGA events.

Other local participants in the boys grouping include Ben Auten of Bonanza, Durango graduate Dale Hayes, Tyler Mays of Bishop Gorman and the Green Valley High fivesome of Russell Nygard, Mike Louden, Doug Brown, Dallas Massey and Avi Khitri. Two Gators are bound for NCAA Division I schools, with Nygard staying home to play at UNLV and Louden going to Fresno State.

The girls division is led locally by Stephanie Keever of Cimarron-Memorial High School and Rachel Borcherts, a former Cimarron player who will compete for Oregon State this fall.

Keever, a second-team Rolex Junior All-American, finished second in the Legacy Junior last year after placing third the previous year. She already has notched two top-10 finishes this summer. Borcherts captured the 1995 Polo Ralph Lauren Junior, and also has earned two top-10s this year.

Keever, who comes off an appearance in last month's U.S. Women's Open in North Carolina, said she is feeling good about her chances of taking home the Legacy Junior title this time out.

"I think No. 1 is the only spot left," she said. "At least I hope so. I've been playing really well and have been hitting the ball pretty consistently. My putting has also been solid. I'm pretty confident coming into the tournament."

The 17-year-old said she is looking forward to competing on a course she knows very well.

"It's very comfortable for me playing at home," Keever said. "People may think there is a lot of pressure playing at home, but I've always enjoyed it. I like playing in front of my friends and having a gallery."

Erin Borcherts of Cimmaron-Memorial and Jordan Auten, who will attend Cimarron starting in the fall, are part of the group of Las Vegans vying for the girls title. Others include Julie Dunn, a Gorman graduate headed for Stanford; Eldorado's Michelle Guillaume; Bonanza's Christina Monteiro, Bonanza grad and Washington State signee Nicole Parry; Annie Long of Green Valley and Valley's Anne Schloser.

Overall, the boys field contains a host of nationally regarded players, including first-team Rolex All-American Boyd Summerhays of Farmington, Utah, and Andy Miller of Napa, Calif.

Summerhays was victorious twice on the AJGA junior tour a year ago, and won the Bubba Conlee National Junior earlier this year. Miller, the son of PGA Tour great and NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller, placed fifth in the Kraft Farr and Above Junior Classic.

The girls headliner is first-teamer Candy Hannemann of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Molly Cooper of Scottsdale, Ariz. Hannemann posted two AJGA victories last year while Cooper won once and has three top-five finishes this year.