OLSON AND DAHMEN SHOOT 6-UNDER PAR, SHARE BOYS DIVISION LEAD
Sylvan and Park both even to lead girls at Angel Park Golf Club

LAS VEGAS – Eddie Olson of Aptos, Calif., and Joel Dahmen of Clarkston, Wash., shot low rounds of 65 to share the lead in the boys division at the Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship. Both 17-year-olds were hot on Tuesday, with Dahmen firing a bogey-free round, with Olson needing only 30 strokes to complete the front-nine. Katie Sylvan of San Diego, and In-Ah Park of Las Vegas, both 14-years-old, set the pace at even-par 71 to lead the Girls Division.

The Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, is being held at the Angel Park Golf Clubs Mountain Course. The tournament features 63 boys and 20 girls — ages 12-18 — from 15 states and Canada. The event is staged on the par-71, 6,723-yard Mountain Course at Angel Park Golf Club (Girls Division played at 5,962 yards).

Olson and Dahmen share a two stroke lead over two players tied for third. James Dalthorp III of Los Angeles, and Ryan Thomas of Alameda, Calif., both shot 67's, while four others are tied for fifth at 68. Olson, who graduated from high school this spring, will attend the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the fall where he will play golf for the Rebels.

“It's great to be playing here, I love the desert and the weather,” Olson said. “It feels nice to lead, but it would feel nicer to win. I've got to come out and play hard.”

“It's nice because college coaches are here looking at you,” Dahmen said after his round. “ It's also nice to come to these AJGA events and play with the best juniors in the nation.”

Sylvan and Park share a one stroke lead over Ashley Smith of Calgary, Alberta, who shot a 1-over-par 72, while four girls are tied for fourth at 73. Park, playing in her hometown, sunk a long 60-foot putt on the 408 -yard par-5 No. 7 for birdie, jump-starting her round.

“I feel good,” Park said following her round. “I want to finish in the top three in an AJGA event, so I am happy I have the chance.”

Unlike Park, Sylvan's putter was not the story of her round. Sylvan hit all but one fairway in regulation .

“I lipped out a lot of putts, but I only missed one fairway,” Sylvan said. “I want to be consistent, and win. Who doesn't want to win?”

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which enters its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.

For more information about the Las Vegas Founders Junior Golf Championship, contact tournament headquarters at (281) 459-7819.