TOURNAMENT RECAPS
* Junior Tour: Mitch Carlson shot a final-round 72 to finish 5-over-par 145 and win the season-ending Tournament of Champions at the Woodlands Resort in Woodlands, Texas March 3. Charles Chae finished alone in second at 9-over 149.

Max Schechter won the Boys 15 and under with a 10-over 150 total. Haley Brown had rounds of 77-81 to win the Girls 16-18 division by 4 over Jennifer Davis, who had rounds of 80 and 82.

McLeod Megan, who had a 162 total won the Girls 15 and under division.
- For complete results visit www.golfweek.com/amateur/

Future Collegians World Tour: Derek O'Neill shot a final-round 80, March 3 in difficult conditions, to win the Louisiana Junior Open, played at the Bluffs on Thompson Creek in Jackson, La.

O'Neill, who finished at 8-over-par 224, bettered Michael Randle by one shot. Kenny Palmer, who placed third, made a hole in one in the final round at the 153-yard, par-3 13th hole.

O'Neill, from Colorado, whose final round was played in mid-20Æs tempatures said, "I feel like I'm playing at home."
- For complete results visit www.golfweek.com/amateur/

NEWS AND NOTES
* Tiger Woods no longer will appear at a series of Tiger Woods Foundation junior golf clinics around the country, Golfweek has learned.

The local clinics have been disbanded and will be replaced by one national clinic at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., probably in June after the U.S. Open.

Six cities will be invited to send 25 junior golfers apiece to that clinic, which will include four days of instruction, parties and theme park visits.

Woods, along with other teaching professionals, will be involved in the instruction. The six cities that will send junior golfers to Orlando, at the Tiger Woods Foundation's expense, have not been selected yet, said Dennis Burns, the foundation's director of junior golf.

* Juan Almiron Jr., 10, played alongside Brett Quigley Feb. 27 in the Genuity Championship's pro-am.

Almiron, a fifth-grader who stood only 6 inches taller than his golf bag, shot 42 on the front nine and picked his ball up on the last two holes to keep the pace of play moving.

He figures he would have shot in the high 80s on Doral Golf Resort and Spa's Blue Monster.

''It's my passion,'' Almiron said. ''I want to go on the PGA Tour and do my best.''

Almiron has been influenced by Carlos Franco, who is from Paraguay, the same country as Almiron's father, Juan Almiron Sr.

It was Franco who helped fit Juan Jr. with golf clubs, giving him a full set of Callaway equipment. ''He has big chance to be a professional,'' Franco said.

''Mentally he's like a 25- or 26-year-old.''

Said Quigley of young Juan, ''HeÆ's got a perfect swing and a great attitude. He's got all the tools already. If he can keep going like this, it's going to be fun to watch.''

* More than 50 of the top junior girls including: Paula Creamer, ranked No. 10, Cindy Shin (No. 11) and Brittant Lang (No. 13) will compete March 11-12 in the Kathy Witworth Invitational at the Mira Vista Golf Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

First and second place winners will recive a guaranteed entry into the 2002 Junior World Golf Championship, July 16-19, at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

* Short shots: The NGA Hooters Tour and L.D. Waters, the title sponsor of the Kandy Waters Memorial Classic which will be played at the River Golf Club, North Augusta, S.C. March 8-11, will offer two local high school seniors the opprutunity to paly for a $500 college scholarship. After a local qualifier, the top four boys and girls will play behind the final group on the weekend for a chance to win the scholarship. . . . Stefanie Page, 14, was named the Texas Junior Tour player of the year in the girls' 13-15 age group this season after leading the tour by 240 points, with a total of 1,115, and a stroke average of 77.1. Of the six tournaments she participated in this season, she won five. . . . The S.C. Golf Association's inaugural "Golf Ball" drew a crowd of nearly 400 to the Ellison Building at the State Fairgrounds March 2-3. The event, through admission fees, auctioned items and other contributions, raised more than $40,000 to support the S.C. Junior Golf Association and its Junior Golf Foundation.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Name: Nicole Hage
Age: 16
Golfweek/Titleist Ranking: 14^th
Residence: Coral Springs, Fla.
The Skinny: Hage started playing golf with her father at the very young age of 3 and has never put a club down since.

''My dad (Joe Hage) played and he started me with little clubs at the range. He would put me on the end and let me just hit.''

Her biggest golf accomplishment to date was her second place finish Nov. 24 at the 2001 AJGA Polo Junior Classic. Hage lost to Aree Song Wongluekiet, ranked No. 5 in the Golfweek/Titleist Women's Amateur Rankings, 5 and 4 in the finals but more importantly defeated a cast of top notch players to get there.

In the semifinals she ousted Aimee Cho (No. 4), 1 up, in the quarterfinals she beat Elizabeth Janangelo (No. 6), 3 and 1, Brittany Lincicome (No. 20), 2 up in the second round and Sunny Oh (No. 16), 5 and 3 in her first-round match.

In her spare time Hage enjoys yoga, weight training, running, and shopping.

Her favorite golf professional is Phil Mickelson, ''I enjoy watching him play, '' added Hage.

When asked why she likes golf she said, ''I think because I will never be able to master it. It just gives you something to do and work for, you can never master it and you are always going to try.''

Golfweek/Titliest Performance Index (as of March 5)
BOYS:
1. James Vargas 68.68
2. Luke List 69.94
3. Rafael Cabrera 70.01
4. Anthony Kim 70.14
5. Tyler Leon 70.16
6. Jonathan Moore 70.57
7. Webb Simpson 70.84
8. Spencer Levin 71.22
9. Ryan Hillstrom 71.36
10. Kevin Larsen 71.57

For complete rankings visit www.golfweek.com/sagarin/boys.asp

GIRLS:
1. Carmen Alonso 69.72
2. Julieta Granada 70.73
3. Nicole Perrot 71.06
4. Aimee Cho 71.12
5. Lucia Mar 71.48
6. Elizabeth Janangelo 71.62
7. Christina Kim 71.69
8. Irene Cho 71.72
9. Whitney Welch 71.84
10. Paula Creamer 71.89

For complete rankings visit www.golfweek.com/sagarin/girls.asp

NUMBER CRUNCHING
Here is a list of last week's winners and their movement in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index:

BOYS:
The Junior Tour Championship -- Mitch Carlson (not ranked to 54th) FCWT Louisina Junior -- Derek O'Neill (232nd to 95th)

GIRLS:
The Junior Tour Championship -- Haley Brown (98th to 93rd) FCWT Louisina Junior -- No Girls Field

THIS WEEK IN GOLFWEEK
Be sure to check out Golfweek and read about how Lorena Ochoa, Arizona's sophomore sensation, made it a perfect 6-for-6 for the 2001-02 college season Feb. 25-26, capturing the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. . . . . Log on to golfweek.com and participate in the ''It's Your Honor'' poll question. This week: Would the Senior PGA Tour be more appealing if the minimum age requirement were lowered to 45?

Have an interesting junior note to report, or know an interesting junior we can profile? E-mail Golfweek scoreboard editor Graham Elliott at gelliott@golfweek.com.

Have a question about the Golfweek/Titleist Performance Index? E-mail rankings@golfweek.com.