Chung and Suh tied for the lead at the AJGA Junior at Diablo Grande
Prince takes the lead in the Girls Division at Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club
PATTERSON, Calif. – Jack Chung of Buena Park, Calif., and Justin Suh of San Jose, Calif., are tied for the lead at 1-under-par 71 after the first round of the AJGA Junior at Diablo Grande. Kendall Prince of Lake Oswego, Ore., shot a 1-over-par 72 to take the lead in the Girls Division.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the AJGA Junior at Diablo Grande is a 36-hole stroke play competition played on Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club's Ranch course. The 95-player field features players from 10 states and three foreign countries. The Boys Division plays at 6,824 yards and the Girls Division plays at 5,890 yards.
Chung started his round by shooting 1-over-par 37 on the front nine, followed by a 2-under-par 34 on the back nine, where he had birdies on Nos. 10 and 16.
“No. 10 was where the momentum changed,” Chung said. “I stuck it to one foot and made birdie.”
Suh, sitting on top of the leaderboard for the first time in an AJGA event, feels great about being ahead of the pack.
“Hopefully tomorrow I can just play it safe and keep my shots in the middle of the fairway again,” Suh said.
In third place in the Boys Division is Julian Lerda of Buenos Aires, Argentina, with an even-par 72. Five players are tied for fourth at 1-over-par 73 including Andrew Whalen of Ephrata, Wash., Bobby Gojuangco of San Diego, William Anderson of Atlanta, Blake Barens of Villa Park, Calif., and Brett Johnson of Vancouver, Wash.
Prince, who won the AJGA Junior at Wenatchee in 2010, holds the Girls Division lead by three strokes.
“I got up and down a lot today, and only had 22 putts,” Prince said. “If I do that tomorrow and stay loose, hopefully I can win.”
Tied for second place at 4-over-par 75 are Paige Lee of Folsom, Calif., Hannah Suh of San Jose, Calif., and Katelyn Reynolds of Los Angeles.
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 provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 40 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.
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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.
Final-round tee times for the AJGA Junior at Diablo Grande will run from 7:30 — 9:31 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees of the Diablo Grande Golf and Country Club's Ranch Course. For more information about the AJGA Junior at Diablo Grande, contact tournament headquarters at (209) 292-4653.
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