NIKE GOLF JUNIOR AT COLONIAL
PRESENTED BY THE MISSISSIPPI FARM BUREAU
Colonial Country Club – Jackson Course
Jackson, Mississippi
June 1-4, 2004
KIM ON THE PROWL AFTER TAKING FIRST ROUND LEAD AT COLONIAL
Harter survives a rollercoaster round to lead the girls division
JACKSON, Miss. – Lion Kim of Lake Mary, Fla., played more like a tiger in the first round of the Nike Golf Junior at Colonial presented by the Mississippi Farm Bureau, firing a 2-under-par 70 to take a one-stroke lead over Spencer Cole of Greer, S.C., and Austin Quinten of Sand Springs, Okla.
Courtney Harter of Clearwater, Fla., overcame two double-bogeys to shoot a 2-over-par 74 and take the lead in the girls division. Sakurako Mori of Ibaraki, Japan, is one shot back at 75.
The Nike Golf Junior at Colonial presented by the Mississippi Farm Bureau is a 54-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Colonial Country Club, Jackson Course. The tournament features 84 of the nation’s premier junior golfers, ages 12-15, from 17 states, Japan and China.
“I got it going,” said Kim, who matched a front-nine 35 with a 1-under-par back nine. “I hit something like 16 greens, but my putting was off. I just couldn’t read the greens.”
The 15-year-old Kim had three birdies and a bogey across the soggy Jackson Course, where rains swept through Mississippi overnight and caused a 30-minute delay to open the tournament. Still, standing water couldn’t stop Kim, whose only bogey came on the par-5 18th, his ninth hole of the day.
“I was just trying to hit the greens,” said Kim, whose plan for attacking the course was to leave himself short par putts. “I was really focused on my distance control.”
Despite missing just two greens in regulation, Kim said he could have played better. Part of that had to do with the conditions.
“The ball just sits, and there’s a lot of standing water out there,” he said. “I usually play better with better conditions, but I was pretty happy with my shots.”
The 15-year-old Harter had four birdies, but finished both her front nine and back nine with double bogeys on each hole. To improve on day-two, Harter pointed to consistency.
“I had good course management today,” she said, “but I just had two bad holes. I had some problems with my short game a little bit, and that was mostly consistency.
“There are two days left and anything can happen. I just have to keep playing like I did today.”
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 has a 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, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
Second-round tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. Thursday off of Nos. 1 and 10 tees. For more information on the Nike Golf Junior at Colonial presented by Mississippi Farm Bureau, contact the AJGA Tournament Headquarters at (601) 956-8567.
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