BECK LEADS GOLF PRIDE JUNIOR CLASSIC AT 4-UNDER-PAR 138
Kiser leads Girls Division at 4-over-par 146 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club

 SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Evan Beck of Virginia Beach, Va., leads the Boys Division at 4-under-par 138 at the Golf Pride Junior Classic. Victoria Kiser of Orlando, Fla., grabbed the lead at 4-over-par 146 in the Girls Division at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Golf Pride Junior Classic is a 54-hole stroke-play event being held at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, the host to three U.S. Women’s Opens in the past 12 years. The tournament field consists of 75 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 15 states. The Boys Division is playing the par-71 course at 6,902 yards, while the Girls Division is being played at 6,002 yards.

Beck’s second round of 2-under-par 69 in continuous rain featured three birdies and only one bogey that included a tight approach on the par-3 No. 13 to eight feet for birdie.

“The course conditions were not the best today,” Beck said. “But I really could not have played any better. I want to win and am just going to keep playing as I have been tomorrow.”

Zachary Blair of Ogden, Utah, and Chase Parker of Augusta, Ga., sits in second at 3-under-par 139. In a tie for fourth at 2-under-par 140 are Will Jones of Rome, Ga., and Grayson Murray of Raleigh, N.C.

Kiser leads the Girls Division after a 2-over-par 73 second round that included two birdies, one on the tight par-5 15th.

“On No. 15 I hit in from about 60 yards to five feet for birdie,” Kiser said. “I hope the conditions will be better tomorrow so I can shoot even lower.”

In a three-way tie for second at 7-over-par 149 are Sarah Bae of Raleigh, N.C., Katie Kirk of Davidson, N.C., and Courtney Gunter of Matthews, N.C.

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 AJGA, the largest Association of its kind, has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 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 is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.