Caleb Proveaux won The Blade Junior by 2 shots.

First round leader Caleb Proveaux of Leesville made his lead stand up, but not without some difficulty.

Emily Cox of Lancaster shared the first round lead with Jodee Tindal of Rock Hill. In the final round Cox continued her steady play to record a three shot victory.

Proveaux, a future Gamecock golfer, opened the tournament with a 4-under par 67 and looked to be able to run away from the field early in the second round.

“I started hot,”  he said. “I made four birdies in the first five holes, but then cooled off and I was back to even in a hurry,” he said.

While Proveaux gave the rest of the field an opening none of the other golfers were able to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I just was missing greens. I had some trouble getting up and down,” he said.

Logan Sowell tied for second at The Blade.

Logan Sowell of Kershaw posted the best score in the second round. He had the early clubhouse lead after he matched Proveaux’s opening round 67 to finish the tournament at 140.

Playing in the final group of the day with Proveaux two golfers tried to put pressure on the leader. Colt Martin of Pendleton started the day one shot behind Proveaux while Zach Gordon of Gaffney was two shots back.

Both golfers played well, but they were not able to take advantage of Proveaux’s rough patch in the middle of the round.

Zack Gordon tied for second place at The Blade.

Gordon was able to shoot an even par final round to tie Sowell for second place. Martin fell a little further back after posting a 2-over 73 to finish in a tie for fourth place with Trent Phillips from Boiling Springs and Nick Willis from Cowpens.

Proveaux wrapped up the win with a 20 foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole. His bogey on the final hole only meant that he would claim the win by two shots instead of three.

The Blade boys champion still has a year in high school at Gilbert before joining the USC golf team. Winning The Blade in his last opportunity was an important accomplishment.

“This is a tournament I have wanted to win all my life. It was a great way to finish up my junior career,” he said.

Emily Cox of Lancaster won the girl’s title at The Blade.

Emily Cox believed winning a tournament as important as The Blade over an outstanding field “meant the world” to the champion.

“All the best girls the state play in this tournament. It showed me I can play with the top girls and that I can be up there,” she said.

Cox matched her opening round 73 in the final round for a 146 total. First round co-leader fell off the pace, but that didn’t mean there were not other golfers making a run at the top spot.

Victoria Huskey moved up to second place in the final round of The Blade.

Travelers Rest golfer Victoria Huskey’s final round score was one shot better than Cox posted, but she started four shots back and did not catch the leader.

Ashley Czarnecki of Mauldin carded a final round 73 to finish four shots out of the top spot in the girls tournament.

Ashley Czarnecki finished third at The Blade.

The goal for Cox in the final round was to make some birdies not only to help her win, but also to help support the Shriners Children’s Hospital.

PGA Tour golfer Ben Martin pledged to contribute $10 to The Blade charities for every birdie made in the tournament. Cox made 10 birdies in the two days.

“My goal was to make as many birdies as I could to donate money to the hospital. I figured if I could do that I could win,” said the Andrew Jackson high school junior.

The tournament, using the theme of “Kids helping Kids,” raised over $100,000 this year. The funds were distributed to the Frazee Dream Center, The Shriners Children’s Hospital, the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation and The First Tee of Greenville.

Complete scores are available at http://www.thebladejrgolf.com

Video highlights and winners interviews below