FIVE BOYS GRAB LEADER SPOT AT 3-UNDER-PAR 69
Code is leader after first round in Girls Division

ROME, Ga.--After first-round action at the AJGA Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic Tuesday, Mark Anderson, Bryan Jones, Chanin Puntawong, Scotty Campbell and Joe Shirley found themselves in a five-way tie atop the leaderboard at 3-under-par 69. In the Girls Division, Mallory Code fought off fatigue to steal the lead with a 2-over-par 74.

The Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, is a 54-hole event featuring 99 players from 16 states including 37 players from Georgia.

All five leaders shot nines of 35-34, including Anderson, a Beaufort, S.C., native, in his fourth AJGA event.

"I played pretty solid without a lot of mistakes," the 15-year-old said. "I had a lot of putts fall today and the greens are slow which sets up great for me."

Anderson's fellow competitor, Bryan Jones of Atlanta, is playing in his first AJGA event and was able to fend off opening-round jitters to join the leaders.

"I came out and wanted to show some of my friends that I deserve to play here," the 16-year-old said. "My round was like a roller-coaster, but I am really pleased with how it turned out."

Jones' roller coaster included an eagle, five birdies and four bogeys.

The youngest of the five leaders was the 14-year-old Puntawong who tallied nines of 35-34.

"I eagled No. 2 and then chipped in from the left bunker on No. 3 and that gave me confidence," the Bradenton, Fla., resident, said. "In order to stay competitive the remainder of the tournament I need to get off the tee better."

Puntawong, who is aiming for his second AJGA victory after winning the AJGA Compaq Junior All-Star Classic at Cimarron, didn't let his young age hinder him on the course.

"I've always played with older people," the eighth-grader said. "I like being young because I know I can go out and have fun; if I play bad, I know I gave it my best."

Campbell of Conway, Ark., hit 16 greens in regulation for his 69..

"I played solid and did the simple things," Campbell said. "I hit fairways and greens and only made one bogey.

"I came in with confidence after shooting 65 and 70 to qualify for match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur," the 16-year-old said. "I want to stay near the top for the first two days to give myself a chance to win on Thursday."

Joe Shirley of Marietta, Ga. is also playing in his first AJGA event.

"On the front, I was a machine. I didn't miss a shot," the 16-year-old said. "The back was a different story, I had to scramble a little bit to save my round, but overall I'm pleased."

Paul Trotter of Augusta, Ga., is one stroke behind the leaders at 2-under-par 70. Only two strokes behind the leaders are Austin Haynes (35-36-71) of Dalton, Ga., Chris Rogers (35-36-71) of Franklin, Tenn., Blake Mozley (35-36-71) of Horton, Ala. and Stefan Wistorf (33-38-71) of Niceville, Fla.

In the Girls Division, Mallory Code of Tampa, Fla., fought fatigue from a busy summer schedule to take the lead with a 2-over-par 74 after the first round.

Code has played in seven consecutive tournaments including the AJGA's Avila Junior Classic, Rolex Tournament of Champions, and Canon Cup.

"I'm tired, but having a busy golf schedule makes me play better," Code said.

Code, who's older sister Whitney was the 2000 AJGA Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic champion, hit all her fairways and 13 greens in regulation.

"I didn't hit the ball solid, but I did hit it straight," Code said. "Hitting it straight is important on this course, but I need to work on my short game to stay atop the leaderboard."

Code's fellow competitor May Wood of Signal Mountain, Tenn., is tied for second with Laura McCaslin of Cookeville, Tenn., at 4-over-par 76, only two strokes behind the leader.

Second round tee times for the AJGA Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic will be at 7:30 a.m.-12:18 p.m. For more information, please contact AJGA headquarters at 706-234-7131.

#AJGA#

ROME, Ga. -- First-round results from the AJGA HENRY-GRIFFITTS ROME JUNIOR CLASSIC conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Coosa Country Club. Par: 36-36--72. Yardage: Boys: 6,822, Girls: 6,087.

BOYS DIVISION

Mark Anderson (2004) Beaufort, S.C.* 35-34--69
Bryan Jones (2003) Atlanta, Ga.* 35-34--69
Chanin Puntawong (2006) Bradenton, Fla.* 35-34--69
Scotty Campbell (2003) Conway, Ark.* 35-34--69
Joe Shirley (2003) Marietta, Ga.* 35-34--69
Paul Trotter (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 35-35--70
Austin Haynes (2003) Dalton, Ga.* 35-36--71
Chris Rogers (2002) Franklin, Tenn.* 35-36--71
Blake Mozley (2001) Horton, Ala.* 35-36--71
Stefan Wistorf (2002) Niceville, Fla.* 33-38--71
Will Dottley (2003) Greenville, Miss.* 37-34--71
Josh Redmond (2002) Loganville, Ga.* 37-35--72
Ryan Blaum (2002) Coral Gables, Fla.* 36-36--72
John Lane (2002) High Point, N.C.* 35-37--72
Kellen Altman (2002) Myrtle Beach, S.C.* 35-38--73
Brian Barnett (2002) Washington, Ga.* 37-36--73
Rhett Lewis (2002) Douglas, Ga.* 38-35--73
Brett Lange (2004) Atlanta, Ga.* 34-39--73
Sung Back (2003) Rossville, Ga.* 39-34--73
Brian Wood (2001) Daphne, Ala.* 38-35--73
Shawn Marshall (2002) North Vernon, Ind.* 36-37--73
Danny Dennis (2002) Collierville, Tenn.* 35-38--73
Mason McKnight (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 37-37--74
Bill Gutknecht (2003) The Woodlands, Texas* 37-37--74
Matthew Hooper (2002) Marietta, Ga.* 36-38--74
Alex Wilson (2002) Coral Gables, Fla.* 37-37--74
Brent Witcher (2004) Duluth, Ga.* 37-37--74
Sam Nicholson (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 36-38--74
Justin Cowart () Ellabell, Ga.* 38-36--74
Bradley Farmer (2001) Hermitage, Tenn.* 36-38--74
Taylor Crosby (2002) Athens, Ga.* 40-34--74
Preston Brown (2004) Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.* 36-39--75
Taylor Hall (2004) Lagrange, Ga.* 37-38--75
Zadoc Williams (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 37-38--75
David Hoyt (2004) Rome, Ga.* 37-39--76
Luke Morrison (2002) Atlanta, Ga.* 40-36--76
Jordan Holley (2002) Greensboro, N.C.* 38-38--76
Matthew Reed (2001) Cartersville, Ga.* 38-38--76
John Grace (2001) Gulf Breeze, Fla.* 42-34--76
Luke List (2003) Ringgold, Ga.* 37-39--76
Adam Wallace (2002) Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.* 35-41--76
Thomas Hagler (2002) Ringgold, Ga.* 41-35--76
Chris Rice (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 38-38--76
Thomas Smith (2001) Harriman, Tenn.* 39-37--76
Derek Oakey (2002) La Grange, Ga.* 39-38--77
Michael Park (2002) La Crescenta, Calif.* 38-39--77
Patrick McShane (2005) Rome, Ga.* 37-40--77
Jonathan Henderson (2002) Mobile, Ala.* 37-40--77
Del Thebaud (2002) Severna Park, Md.* 40-37--77
Ryan Davis (2002) Milton, Fla.* 40-37--77
Brian Geraty (2001) Eden Prairie, Minn.* 38-39--77
Matt Lawson (2002) Peachtree City, Ga.* 40-38--78
Matthew Smith (2002) Dunwoody, Ga.* 43-35--78
Derek Busby (2002) Tallulah, La.* 38-40--78
Blake Boozer (2003) Jacksonville, Ala.* 40-38--78
Charles Beck (2002) Atlanta, Ga.* 43-35--78
Skip Perry (2001) Atlanta, Ga.* 39-40--79
Perry Barnes (2002) Rome, Ga.* 39-40--79
Tully Coyle (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 42-37--79
Ryan McDougal (2002) Germantown, Tenn.* 41-38--79
Zac Reynolds (2003) Edmond, Okla.* 38-41--79
Ben Spickard (2004) Roswell, Ga.* 39-40--79
Justin Wenger (2002) Indianapolis, Ind.* 41-39--80
John Cuevas (2002) Lafayette, La.* 42-38--80
Bryan Beymer (2002) Huntington, W.Va.* 42-38--80
Tyler Littman (2003) Stoney Creek, N.C.* 41-40--81
Patrick Broadus (2004) Atlanta, Ga.* 39-42--81
Josey Cameron (2002) Swainsboro, Ga.* 41-40--81
Joe Scheffres (2002) Rockville, Md.* 38-43--81
Chiho Kwak (2002) Jacksonville, Fla.* 41-40--81
Drake Bailey (2002) Hollywood, Ala.* 41-41--82
Louis South (2002) Lynn Haven, Fla.* 42-40--82
Tyler Bale (2003) Carmel, Ind.* 42-40--82
Jonathan Burns (2002) Savannah, Tenn.* 44-38--82
Andrew Stephens (2002) Fort Mitchell, Ky.* 42-40--82
Richard Baldwin (2002) Armuchee, Ga.* 40-42--82
Jondavid Metzger (2003) Norman, Okla.* 43-40--83
Battle Hartman (2002) Jefferson, S.C.* 43-40--83
Tripp Powell (2002) Rome, Ga.* 43-42--85
Hogan Kaney (2003) Newnan, Ga.* 45-41--86
Grant Rafield (2005) Birmingham, Ala.* 46-41--87

GIRLS DIVISION

Mallory Code (2003) Tampa, Fla.* 37-37--74
May Wood (2002) Signal Mtn., Tenn.* 39-37--76
Laura McCaslin (2001) Cookeville, Tenn.* 42-34--76
Alexis Rather (2003) Tupelo, Miss.* 39-38--77
Connor Atkinson (2002) Charleston, S.C.* 40-38--78
Sookhee Baek (2004) Bradenton, Fla.* 38-40--78
Katie Tewell (2003) Greenwood, Ind.* 39-39--78
Katherine Jones (2004) Jackson, Miss.* 40-39--79
Whitney Sylvan (2004) Columbia, S.C.* 40-39--79
Holly Cantwell (2003) Morristown, Tenn.* 39-42--81
Esther Gweon (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 40-41--81
Polly Reddick (2002) Kingsport, Tenn.* 41-42--83
Vicki Yi (2006) Fayetteville, Ga.* 40-43--83
Reana Yun (2002) Glendale, Calif.* 43-42--85
Rie Ganir (2002) Pukalani, Hawaii* 42-44--86
Kristin Sordel (2002) Windermere, Fla.* 46-45--91
Jennifer Cassidy (2005) Dalton, Ga.* 47-44--91
Jenny Morris (2004) Cedartown, Ga.* 48-48--96