ALMOND STAKES CLAIM TO LEAD AFTER OPENING-ROUND 67
Lindgren and Rainer sit one stroke back; Kovalcik leads the Girls Division

HORSESHOE BAY, Texas-Jarrett Almond of Austin, Texas, fired an opening-round 67 to sit atop the leaderboard after the first round of the AJGA Chrysler Junior Classic. Christine Kovalcik of New Braunfels, Texas, leads the Girls Division with a 2-over-par 74.

The 54-hole event, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, is being held at the Horseshoe Bay Resort, Slick Rock Course. The field features 99 players representing 14 states, including 85 players from Texas.

Almond caught fire early with a front-side 31, carding two eagles and a birdie. For his first eagle, Almond sank a 60-foot putt on the 575-yard, par-5 third hole. After a birdie on No. 4, Almond secured his second eagle on the par-5 fifth hole knocking down his second-shot 4-iron within six feet of the flagstick.

"I felt great today," Almond said. "Everything was working right, which made it a real fun day."

Almond continued to fire away on the back side with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 14 to get to 8-under-par, but a cool down on the last four holes has him clutching to a one-stroke lead heading into the second round.

"I had a couple of mental errors late but I'm still very satisfied with my round," said the 18-year-old. "I hit everything solid and the soft greens helped me stick the ball close to the hole."

Jason Lindgren of Midland, Texas, and Ryan Rainer of Norman, Okla., sit one stroke back after carding a pair of 68s.

Lindgren tallied four birdies on the front nine en route to a 3-under-par 33. The 18-year-old credited the soft greens for his birdie opportunities.

"I like this course because its really soft and you can go for it on every hole," Lindgren said. "I'm going to keep trying to make birdies because scores will stay low."

Rainer recovered nicely from a double bogey on No. 9 with an eagle on the 530-yard, par-5 12th hole. The University of Kansas signee cut a 5-iron around the trees on the right side to the edge of the fringe and drained the 45-footer to get his confidence back.

"The 12th hole got me back in a groove," Rainer said. "I just need to try to remain consistent."

Zachary Reeves of Arlington, Texas, is in fourth place at 33-36--69. Parker Labarge of St. Louis, Mo., Robert Evans of Amarillo, Texas, Christopher Belz of San Antonio, Matt Burke of Mansfield, Texas, Kevin Newman of League City, Texas, James Bartell of Houston, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Harrison, N.Y., are tied for fifth at 2-under-par 70.

In the Girls Division, Christine Kovalcik of New Braunfels, Texas, carded a 2-over-par 74 to garner the first-round lead. Her round was highlighted by a stellar third shot on the fifth hole. Kovalcik hit a 6-iron from 135 yards to within three feet securing the first of three birdies on the day.

"I hit a lot of fairways and greens which helped a lot," Kovalcik said. "I hope to stay accurate to give myself a chance for the rest of the tournament."

Stephanie Godare of Houston, and Dallas natives Brooke Shelton and Leslie Wall, are tied for second place with 3-over-par 75s.

Second-round action for the AJGA Chrysler Junior Classic begins Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m. For more information regarding the AJGA Chrysler Junior Classic, please contact tournament headquarters at (830) 598-2561.

#AJGA#

HORSESHOE BAY, Texas -- First-round results from the AJGA CHRYSLER JUNIOR CLASSIC conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Horseshoe Bay Resort, Slick Rock Course. Par: 36-36--72. Yardage: Boys: 6,780 Girls: 6,026

BOYS DIVISION

Jarrett Almond (2001) Austin, Texas* 31-36--67
Ryan Rainer (2001) Norman, Okla.* 35-33--68
Jason Lindgren (2001) Midland, Texas* 33-35--68
Zachary Reeves (2003) Arlington, Texas* 33-36--69
Parker Labarge (2002) St. Louis, Mo.* 37-33--70
Robert Evans (2002) Amarillo, Texas* 33-37--70
Christopher Belz (2002) San Antonio, Texas* 35-35--70
Matt Burke (2002) Mansfield, Texas* 36-34--70
Kevin Newman (2002) League City, Texas* 34-36--70
James Bartell (2001) Houston, Texas* 37-33--70
Brian Fitzpatrick (2001) Harrison, N.Y.* 36-34--70
Preston Smith (2003) Monroe, La.* 36-35--71
Mike Goldwater (2002) Austin, Texas* 33-38--71
Brett Shirley (2001) San Antonio, Texas* 35-36--71
Leo Corrigan (2002) Dallas, Texas* 35-36--71
Drew Hackler (2001) Tulsa, Okla.* 37-34--71
Chase Thomas (2002) Dallas, Texas* 36-35--71
Peter Andrews (2002) Houston, Texas* 36-36--72
Jay Choe (2002) Yorba Linda, Calif.* 34-38--72
Rick Szirbik (2002) Kingwood, Texas* 36-36--72
Jeff Lanier (2002) Austin, Texas* 36-36--72
Eddie Rowe (2001) Monahans, Texas* 36-37--73
Ryan Beachler (2002) Omaha, Neb.* 37-36--73
David Kite (2003) Austin, Texas* 40-33--73
Nathan Piller (2001) Duncanville, Texas* 35-38--73
Trey Todd (2003) Abilene, Texas* 37-36--73
Mitch Cohlmia (2003) Tulsa, Okla.* 37-36--73
Seiji Hirai (2003) Hagerstown, Md.* 36-37--73
Andrew Dresser (2002) Carrollton, Texas* 37-36--73
Shaun Melville (2001) Lubbock, Texas* 36-37--73
Ryan Neal (2002) Arlington, Texas* 37-36--73
Bryan Baker (2002) Whitehouse, Texas* 35-38--73
Garrett Pike (2003) Sterling, Va.* 36-37--73
Adam Holman (2001) Austin, Texas* 38-35--73
Kyle Shapiro (2003) St. Louis, Mo.* 37-36--73
Nathan Coats (2001) Ponca City, Okla.* 37-37--74
Taylor Palmer (2002) Edmond, Okla.* 38-36--74
Lee Krassner (2002) Austin, Texas* 38-36--74
Brandon Destefano (2003) Bryan, Texas* 39-35--74
Josh Price (2002) Marble Falls, Texas* 36-38--74
Will Hanna (2002) The Woodlands, Texas* 36-39--75
Casey Jones (2002) Granbury, Texas* 41-34--75
Dustin King (2001) Round Rock, Texas* 38-37--75
Nathan Virdell (2002) Llano, Texas* 38-37--75
Cameron Kulbeth (2002) Lubbock, Texas* 37-38--75
Brett Faulkner (2002) El Paso, Texas* 37-38--75
Andrew Ahlering (2003) St. Louis, Mo.* 37-39--76
Walt Harris (2002) San Marcos, Texas* 37-39--76
Brandon Wilson (2002) Mandeville, La.* 39-37--76
Jace Moore (2004) Southlake, Texas* 41-35--76
Jarrod Gardner (2001) Austin, Texas* 36-40--76
Robert Moore (2003) Miami, Fla.* 39-38--77
Gerald Massoud (2002) Plano, Texas* 36-41--77
Mark Jauernek (2001) El Paso, Texas* 39-38--77
Matthew Myers (2002) St. Joseph, Mo.* 37-40--77
Marc Campbell (2003) Southlake, Texas* 40-37--77
Blake Trimble (2002) Houston, Texas* 39-38--77
Jonathan Lenz (2002) San Antonio, Texas* 39-38--77
Blake Slaughter (2003) Rockwall, Texas* 40-37--77
Sean O'Keefe (2001) Austin, Texas* 38-39--77
Thomas Benson (2003) St. Louis, Mo.* 36-41--77
Raymond Cox (2003) San Antonio, Texas* 39-39--78
Michael Douthit (2003) Palestine, Texas* 37-41--78
Kellis Robinett (2001) Austin, Texas* 40-38--78
Austin Apicella (2002) Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas* 41-37--78
David Box (2003) Charlotte, N.C.* 39-39--78
Ryan Hardgrave (2001) Sonora, Texas* 39-39--78
Tom Nied (2001) Duncanville, Texas* 38-40--78
Ben Corbett (2002) Cypress, Texas* 40-39--79
Jeff Kovalcik (2002) New Braunfels, Texas* 38-41--79
John Ross Holt (2002) Rogers, Ark.* 38-42--80
Jamie Puterbaugh (2003) Carlsbad, Calif.* 37-43--80
Adam Sumrall (2002) Horseshoe Bay, Texas* 41-39--80
Jeff Vance (2002) Garland, Texas* 39-41--80
Hunter Payne (2002) Lubbock, Texas* 39-41--80
Ross Freeman (2002) Garland, Texas* 40-40--80
Sam Seifert (2002) Austin, Texas* 45-36--81
Scooter Jefferson (2003) Montgomery, Texas* 42-40--82
Travis Braden (2002) Magnolia, Texas* 44-38--82
Jeff Cairns (2001) Austin, Texas* 44-39--83
Robert Johns (2001) Litchfield Park, Ariz.* 42-42--84

GIRLS DIVISION

Christine Kovalcik (2003) New Braunfels, Texas* 37-37--74
Brooke Shelton (2001) Dallas, Texas* 37-38--75
Leslie Wall (2003) Dallas, Texas* 37-38--75
Stephanie Godare (2002) Houston, Texas* 38-37--75
Caney Hines (2005) San Antonio, Texas* 39-37--76
Camille Blackerby (2003) Breckenridge, Texas* 40-36--76
Jennifer Bley (2001) Ft. Worth, Texas* 38-39--77
Andra Lancaster (2002) Snyder, Texas* 37-40--77
Julie Park (2002) La Palma, Calif.* 40-38--78
Lauren Barbir (2002) Montgomery, Texas* 38-40--78
Monique Gesualdi (2003) St. Augustine, Fla.* 40-39--79
Mayumi Kobayashi (2004) Santa Monica, Calif.* 40-40--80
Maggie Ramirez (2002) Albuquerque, N.M.* 42-38--80
Stacy Lewis (2003) The Woodlands, Texas* 41-39--80
Julia Best (2003) Bulverde, Texas* 43-38--81
Ashlea Deener (2001) Dallas, Texas* 40-44--84
Traci Robison (2002) Arlington, Texas* 44-41--85
Angela Akins (2004) Marble Falls, Texas* 43-46--89