SIDABRAS HOLDS ON TO LEAD AFTER SECOND ROUND AT SOUTHWIND
Belcher takes lead in Girls Division after second round at Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Troy Sidabras of Indialantic, Fla., shot a 5-over-par 76 on Wednesday to hold onto his lead in the True Temper/David Gossett Junior Championship. Kellye Belcher of Bartlett, Tenn., leads the Girls Division after shooting an 80 to take the lead from first-round leader Cara Freeman of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

The True Temper/David Gossett Junior Championship, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, features 66 boys and 18 girls — ages 12-18 — from 19 states and Australia, including 23 from Tennessee. The event is being staged on the par-71, 6,820-yard Tournament Players Club at Southwind, home of the PGA TOUR's FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Girls Division plays at 6,015).

Sidabras and the rest of the field had to handle the rain-soaked Tournament Players Club at Southwind. After a rain-delayed first round, the course proved to be even more difficult in the second round.

Sidabras handled the course with two birdies and nine pars and said that the back nine is where he couldn't get his game started.

“I scrambled a lot on the back. I couldn't get anything going,” said Sidabras.

Carding three consecutive pars on Nos. 9,10 and 11, Sidabras said he is looking toward the final round and not focusing too much on Wednesday's round.

“I take it one shot at a time and I see what goes from there.” said Sidabras. “I forget about the rounds, there is nothing I can do about the rounds I have already played.”

One stroke behind Sidabras and tied for second place after two days is Will Loweth of Houston and Drew Maliniak of Collierville, Tenn. A four-way tie for fourth place belongs to Timothy Byrd of LaPlace, La., Patrick Reed of Baton Rouge, La., Richard Ciombor of Anthem, Ariz., and Bobby Hudson of Memphis, Tenn., all shooting a two-day total of 150.

In the Girls Division, Belcher moved in from second place to take the lead after shooting a 9-over-par 80 in the second round. After carding 11 pars on the 18 holes, Belcher ended the day one stroke in front of Sarah Dodson of Tulsa, Okla.

After shooting 39-41—80 on the day, Belcher's consistency was enough to move her into the lead position going into Thursday's final round. Coming into Wednesday's round, Belcher knew that staying consistent and playing well would put her in contention for the lead.

“I knew that if I could shoot close to par or in the 70s, I would be close to first place,” said Belcher. “I have to work on alignment. I hit every tree on the course today. I'll be working on my approach shots for the final round.”

Dodson ended the day with two birdies, but it was not enough to fight off Belcher. Dodson carded a 6-over-par 77 during the round. Cara Freeman started the day off with birdies on the first two holes and went on to shoot 85, putting her at a tie with Tyrette Metzendorf of Winter Haven, Fla., for third place.

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 largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 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, which enters its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Beth Bauer.

Final-round tee times will begin Thursday at 7:15 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at the Tournament Players Club at Southwind.

For more information about the True Temper/David Gossett Junior Championship, contact tournament headquarters at (901) 748-0534.