Green and Reinertson share the lead in the Boys Division after carding 4-under-par 67
Zhu sits atop Girls Division with a 1-over-par 72
ASHLAND, Neb. — Matthew Green of Lenexa, Kan., and Rylee Reinertson of Gibbon, Neb., each fired 4-under-par 67 to tie for the lead in the Boys Division at the AJGA Nebraska Junior at Quarry Oaks. Xiaoyu Zhu of Shanghai carded a 1-over-par 72 and holds a one-stroke lead in the Girls Division after Tuesday's first round.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the AJGA Nebraska Junior at Quarry Oaks is a 54-hole stroke play event at Quarry Oaks Golf Course. The tournament field consists of 57 boys and 21 girls from 17 states, Canada and China. The Boys Division plays the par-71 course at 6,837 yards while the Girls Division plays at 6,023 yards.
Green, who recently verbally committed to play at Kansas State after his 2012 graduation, credits his hole out from the bunker on No. 4 as the shot that got his momentum going for his 4-under-par 67.
“Everything was just going well for me, I hit every fairway and only missed four greens, so it was just an all-around solid day,” Green said. “It feels good to be leading after the first round, now I just have to go out there and play well tomorrow.”
Reinertson, a Nebraska native, contributes his strong iron play and pressure situation putting to his low first round score.
“My ball striking today was great and it got me into good positioning to make good putts,” Reinertson said. “It was a good day of golf and it feels good to be on top of the leader board. Tomorrow I will just have to control the things I can control out on the course and hopefully shoot another low round.”
Eric Hallberg of Castle Rock, Colo., and Colin Pearson of Fort Dodge, Iowa, both carded a 1-under-par 70 to tie for third. Dominic Kieffer of Byron, Minn., Mitchell Klooz of Plainview, Neb., and Quinlan Prchal of Glenview, Ill., are tied for fifth after shooting even-par 71.
Zhu, the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Qualifier medalist, had two birdies on the front nine that helped push her into the lead in the Girls Division.
“It was a good round, my putts were back to normal and I was hitting my irons very well,” Zhu said. “This is my first time playing AJGA so I am surprised that I am leading, but it feels good.”
Cassandra Deeg of Withrow, Minn., sits in second with a 2-over-par 73. Cha Cha Willhoite of Palm Desert, Calif., Anne Freman of Las Vegas and McKenzie Neisen of New Prague, Minn., are tied for third after each carding a 3-over-par 74.
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, 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.
The second round of the AJGA Nebraska Junior at Quarry Oaks will tee off Nos. 1 and 10 from 7:30 — 9:30 a.m. For more information, please contact Tournament Director Andrew Greenfield at (770) 601-8922, or visit tournament headquarters located in the meeting room at Quarry Oaks.
