Friday, June 20, 2003 | 10:26 a.m.
Neither the challenge of fierce Valley winds nor the pressure of a sudden-death playoff could shake Erik Flores Thursday afternoon at Boulder Creek Golf Club.
The junior-to-be from Grass Valley, Calif., made par on the first playoff hole to beat Brett Kanda, Las Crescenta, Calif., for the championship of the Sprint Junior Golf Championship. Flores and Kanda tied at 5-under 211 on the par-72, 6,993-yard course.
The leader after the second round after firing a 65, Flores ballooned to a 75 in the final round to allow Kanda to come back from four shots down to force the playoff.
"I played just as good as I did (Wednesday) when I shot 65," Flores said. "But the wind was brutal today and I struggled to finish my up-and-downs."
On the girls' side, Jennie Lee of Huntington Beach, Calif., shot a 2-over 218 over the three-day event to claim the title by two strokes over Tiffany Joh of San Diego. Lee led from start to finish, closing with a 74 Thursday. She carded two double bogeys on the back nine, but a birdie at No. 15 helped Lee steady her round.
"My putting was better than usual today," Lee said. "I had to use my putts to save strokes."
Locals struggled a bit, with Green Valley's Adam Tebbs and Bonanza's Joe Wieser leading the boys and Silverado's Stephanie Bird pacing the girls. Tebbs and Wieser took part in a four-way tie for 13th with scores of 220, while Bird tied for sixth at 232.
Johnny Pinjuv of Bishop Gorman fired a 221 on the boys' side and Palo Verde's Katy Barrett carded a 236 on the girls'.
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