Harris leads by two strokes at the Webb Simpson Junior Championship
Ku sits atop the leaderboard in the Girls Divison

CLEMMONS, N.C. — Dylan Harris of Southern Pines, N.C., carded a first round 3-under-par 67 at the Webb Simpson Junior Championship. In the Girls Division, Hana Ku of Basking Ridge, N.J., fired an opening round 1-over-par 71 at the Tanglewood Park — Championship Course.

The Webb Simpson Junior Championship is a 54-hole tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Tanglewood Park - Championship Course in Clemmons, N.C. The event features 72 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 20 states and six countries. The Boys Division is playing the par-70 course at 6,778 yards while the Girls Division is playing the course at 5,983 yards.

Harris made four birdies and contributes his low round to hitting 13 fairways. He will be attending UNC Wilmington this fall.

“I played the par 3s really well as hard as they are,” Harris said. “I struck the ball really well, hit the greens and made a bunch of birdie putts. If you give yourself enough chances it'll fall.”

Tied for second place are Tanner Owen of High Point, N.C., Taylor Zoller of North Charleston, S.C., Prem Samritpricha of Bradenton, Fla., and Andy Simmons of Charlotte, N.C., all with a 1-under-par 69.

Ku leads the Girls Division by two strokes. She has three top-5 finishes in 2011 including a tie for fifth last week at the AJGA Northern Virginia Junior. Ku finished the day strong with a par on No. 18.

“No. 18 was a key hole,” Ku said. “I had a good drive and I chipped it right before the green 20 or 30 yards and then made a long putt to end the round. On a course like this my high point today was having no three putts and no double bogeys.”

Andrea Unson of Murrieta, Calif., Jordan Ferreira of University Place, Wash., Shannon Aubert of Reunion, Fla., and Kacie Komoto of Honolulu are all tied for second with a 3-over-par 73 in the Girls Division.

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 Webb Simpson Junior Championship will tee off No. 1 from 7:30 a.m. — 12:40 p.m. For more information on the Webb Simpson Junior Championship, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (678) 485-1135 or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.

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