PUNTAWONG CATAPULTS TO TOP OF LEADERBOARD
Code, Wood share top spot in Girls Division

ROME, Ga.-- Chanin Puntawong of Bradenton, Fla., fired a 5-under-par 67 to break free of a five-way first-round tie to grab a four-shot lead after the second round of the AJGA Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic. Puntawong leads the Boys Division at 8-under-par 136. Mallory Code of Tampa, Fla., and May Wood of Signal Mountain, Tenn., share the lead in the Girls Division with a two-day total of 152.

The Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, features 99 players from 17 states. Included in the field are 37 competitors from Georgia.

In the Boys Division, Puntawong followed up his opening-round 69 with a 67 to claim the second-round lead. Puntawong's two-day total of 8-under-par 136 leads Paul Trotter of Augusta, Ga., by four shots. The 14-year-old carded a 4-under-par 32 on the back nine.

"On the front nine, my driver was off, but I still played well," Puntawong said. "On the back, everything came together and every putt seemed to fall."

Puntawong recorded six birdies and played the par-5s in 2-under-par. His only bogey of the day came on No. 4. However, Puntawong had 26 putts today after having 23 yesterday.

"I hope to play tomorrow just as well as I played today," Puntawong added. "I'm going to go out and try to make some pars. If I can get some birdies, that will just be an added bonus."

Trotter is in second place after carding a second straight 70. Will Dottley (71-70) of Greenville, Miss., is in third place at 3-under-par 141. Bryan Jones (69-73) of Atlanta sits in fourth place at 142. Brett Lange (73-70) of Atlanta, Brent Witcher (74-69) of Duluth, Ga., and Taylor Crosby (74-69) of Athens, Ga., are all tied for fifth at 143.

In the Girls Division, Code led after the first round, but struggled in today's second round. However, she remains atop the leaderboard after following up her first-round 74 with a 78 in the second round. Code is aiming for her fourth career AJGA title and second this year.

"I just didn't hit the ball well," said the AJGA Polo Golf Junior All-American. "It was just one of those days where nothing went right. Fortunately, I'm in good position for tomorrow."

Code hit eight greens in regulation after hitting 13 in the first round. Code attested that she struggled with her putting today.

"I had six or seven putts roll right over the lip," Code said. "I just couldn't buy a birdie today."

Code is hoping to keep the trophy in the family. Her older sister, Whitney, won the title last year.

"I'm going to go to the range and do some drills," Code added. "I need to regain some confidence in my putting and hopefully tomorrow the drills will pay off."

Wood, who was two shots back after the first round fired a 4-over-par 76 to grab a share of the lead. Wood birdied Nos. 2 and 9 en route to a 36 on the front nine.

"It was good to get off to such a great start today," Wood said. "I putted much better today than yesterday. But I didn't hit my drives or my approach shots very well today."

Wood is comfortable with the position she is in heading into the final round. Wood is shooting for her first AJGA title and is currently third in the country in the Golfweek/Titleist Performance Index.

"My mental game is there. I just need to get the physical part of my game in order," Wood added. "If I can keep my focus, I should be in good shape tomorrow."

Connor Atkinson of Charleston, S.C., and Sookhee Baek of Bradenton, Fla., are in third place at 154.

The AJGA Henry-Griffitts Rome Junior Classic concludes tomorrow with tee times running from 7:30 a.m. to 12:18 p.m. For more information, contact tournament headquarters at (706) 234-7131.

#AJGA#

Rome, Ga. -- Second-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

Chanin Puntawong (2006) Bradenton, Fla.* 69-67--136
Paul Trotter (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 70-70--140
Will Dottley (2003) Greenville, Miss.* 71-70--141
Bryan Jones (2003) Atlanta, Ga.* 69-73--142
Brett Lange (2004) Atlanta, Ga.* 73-70--143
Brent Witcher (2004) Duluth, Ga.* 74-69--143
Taylor Crosby (2002) Athens, Ga.* 74-69--143
Chris Rogers (2002) Franklin, Tenn.* 71-72--143
Ryan Blaum (2002) Coral Gables, Fla.* 72-73--145
Rhett Lewis (2002) Douglas, Ga.* 73-72--145
Stefan Wistorf (2002) Niceville, Fla.* 71-74--145
Austin Haynes (2003) Dalton, Ga.* 71-74--145
Brian Wood (2002) Daphne, Ala.* 73-73--146
Bill Gutknecht (2003) The Woodlands, Texas* 74-72--146
Josh Redmond (2002) Loganville, Ga.* 72-74--146
Sung Back (2003) Rossville, Ga.* 73-74--147
Kellen Altman (2002) Myrtle Beach, S.C.* 73-74--147
Mark Anderson (2004) Beaufort, S.C.* 69-78--147
Luke List (2003) Ringgold, Ga.* 76-72--148
Chris Rice (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 76-72--148
Sam Nicholson (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 74-74--148
Mason McKnight (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 74-74--148
Brian Barnett (2002) Washington, Ga.* 73-75--148
Blake Mozley (2001) Horton, Ala.* 71-78--149
Thomas Hagler (2002) Ringgold, Ga.* 76-73--149
Danny Dennis (2002) Collierville, Tenn.* 73-76--149
Ryan Davis (2002) Milton, Fla.* 77-73--150
Justin Cowart (2003) Ellabell, Ga.* 74-76--150
Michael Park (2002) La Crescenta, Calif.* 77-73--150
David Hoyt (2004) Rome, Ga.* 76-74--150
Luke Morrison (2002) Atlanta, Ga.* 76-74--150
Taylor Hall (2004) Lagrange, Ga.* 75-76--151
Will Grace (2001) Gulf Breeze, Fla.* 76-75--151
Alex Wilson (2002) Coral Gables, Fla.* 74-77--151
Zadoc Williams (2002) Augusta, Ga.* 75-76--151
Thomas Smith (2001) Harriman, Tenn.* 76-75--151
Scotty Campbell (2003) Conway, Ark.* 69-82--151
Adam Wallace (2002) Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.* 76-76--152
Shawn Marshall (2002) North Vernon, Ind.* 73-79--152
Joe Shirley (2003) Marietta, Ga.* 69-83--152
John Lane (2002) High Point, N.C.* 72-81--153
Matt Lawson (2002) Peachtree City, Ga.* 78-75--153
Jondavid Metzger (2003) Norman, Okla.* 83-70--153
Preston Brown (2004) Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.* 75-78--153
Jonathan Henderson (2002) Mobile, Ala.* 77-76--153
Chiho Kwak (2002) Jacksonville, Fla.* 81-73--154
Bradley Farmer (2001) Hermitage, Tenn.* 74-80--154
Derek Busby (2002) Tallulah, La.* 78-76--154
Joe Scheffres (2002) Rockville, Md.* 81-73--154
Andrew Stephens (2002) Fort Mitchell, Ky.* 82-73--155
Drake Bailey (2002) Hollywood, Ala.* 82-73--155
Matthew Hooper (2002) Marietta, Ga.* 74-81--155
John Cuevas (2002) Lafayette, La.* 80-75--155
Matthew Reed (2001) Cartersville, Ga.* 76-80--156
Del Thebaud (2002) Severna Park, Md.* 77-79--156
Patrick McShane (2005) Rome, Ga.* 77-79--156
Justin Wenger (2002) Indianapolis, Ind.* 80-76--156
Bryan Beymer (2002) Huntington, W.Va.* 80-77--157
Battle Hartman (2002) Jefferson, S.C.* 83-74--157
Richard Baldwin (2002) Armuchee, Ga.* 82-75--157
Derek Oakey (2002) La Grange, Ga.* 77-80--157
Tyler Littman (2003) Stoney Creek, N.C.* 81-76--157
Skip Perry (2001) Atlanta, Ga.* 79-78--157
Tully Coyle (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 79-78--157
Ryan McDougal (2002) Germantown, Tenn.* 79-79--158
Zac Reynolds (2003) Edmond, Okla.* 79-79--158
Brian Geraty (2001) Eden Prairie, Minn.* 77-81--158
Blake Boozer (2003) Jacksonville, Ala.* 78-80--158
Ben Spickard (2004) Roswell, Ga.* 79-80--159
Tyler Bale (2003) Carmel, Ind.* 82-77--159
Perry Barnes (2002) Rome, Ga.* 79-80--159
Tripp Powell (2002) Rome, Ga.* 85-74--159
Jonathan Burns (2002) Savannah, Tenn.* 82-77--159
Charles Beck (2002) Atlanta, Ga.* 78-82--160
Matthew Smith (2002) Dunwoody, Ga.* 78-82--160
Louis South (2002) Lynn Haven, Fla.* 82-78--160
Patrick Broadus (2004) Atlanta, Ga.* 81-79--160
Josey Cameron (2002) Swainsboro, Ga.* 81-79--160
Jordan Holley (2002) Greensboro, N.C.* 76-84--160
Grant Rafield (2005) Birmingham, Ala.* 87-79--166
Hogan Kaney (2003) Newnan, Ga.* 86-85--171

GIRLS DIVISION

Mallory Code (2003) Tampa, Fla.* 74-78--152
May Wood (2002) Signal Mtn., Tenn.* 76-76--152
Connor Atkinson (2002) Charleston, S.C.* 78-76--154
Sookhee Baek (2004) Bradenton, Fla.* 78-76--154
Katie Tewell (2003) Greenwood, Ind.* 78-78--156
Laura McCaslin (2001) Cookeville, Tenn.* 76-81--157
Whitney Sylvan (2004) Columbia, S.C.* 79-79--158
Esther Gweon (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 81-78--159
Katherine Jones (2004) Jackson, Miss.* 79-81--160
Vicki Yi (2006) Fayetteville, Ga.* 83-77--160
Holly Cantwell (2003) Morristown, Tenn.* 81-79--160
Alexis Rather (2003) Tupelo, Miss.* 77-84--161
Rie Ganir (2002) Pukalani, Hawaii* 86-82--168
Polly Reddick (2002) Kingsport, Tenn.* 83-88--171
Reana Yun (2002) Glendale, Calif.* 85-87--172
Kristin Sordel (2002) Windermere, Fla.* 91-91--182
Jennifer Cassidy (2005) Dalton, Ga.* 91-93--184
Jenny Morris (2004) Cedartown, Ga.* 96-89--185