Proveaux, Cho set the pace at Rolex Tournament of Champions
Jutanugarn sisters, Lee take lead at Crosswater Course

SUNRIVER, Ore. — Despite high winds and rain, Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C., and Rak Cho of Brea, Calif., both fired 4-under-par 68 to share the opening-round lead at the Rolex Tournament of Champions. In the Girls Division, Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn of Bangkok, Thailand, and Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., each recorded 2-under-par 70, continuing their success from the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.

The Rolex Tournament of Champions is a 72-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Sunriver Resort - Crosswater Course in Sunriver, Ore. The Tournament field features 77 boys and 66 girls from 31 states, Argentina, Canada, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Martinique, Philippines, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan and Thailand. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,542 yards and the Girls Division is playing at 6,463 yards.

After recording his only bogey on the par-4 No. 5, Proveaux closed out his front nine with consecutive birdies on Nos. 6, 7 and 8.

“Hopefully if I play good enough I can win,” Proveaux said. “I'm just trying to keep my ball in the fairway out here. The rough is pretty thick and there's a lot of trouble.”

Cho, who birdied five holes during his opening round, noted the importance of getting off to a fast start.

“I haven't broken par at an invitational for a long time,” said Cho, who will attend the University of Oregon this fall. “I gained my confidence and hopefully I can play well for the rest of the tournament.”

Eight players are tied for third at 1-under-par, including Jonathan Garrick of Atherton, Calif., Joseph Winslow of Overland Park, Kan., Matthew NeSmith of North Augusta, S.C., Lee McCoy of Clarkesville, Ga., Shun Yat Hak of Lake Mary, Fla., Henry Do of Ypsilanti, Mich., Nick Huggins of Marietta, Ohio, and Motin Yeung of Orlando.

In the Girls Division, Lee, who fired a 28 on her final nine holes at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship two weeks ago to catapult herself into second place, says she is still feeling the effects of that round.

“Shooting 28 feels really good,” Lee said. “It boosted my confidence so I wouldn't hesitate or have any doubt with shots.”

Her bogey-free round exemplified this confidence.

“I was hitting every green,” said the UCLA-bound co-leader. “I only missed the green a few times. I didn't miss a fairway. I didn't make that many mistakes.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, who won the 2011 Rolex Girls Junior Championship, is once again in contention at an AJGA Invitational. She recorded four birdies and played her back nine bogey-free.

Moriya Jutanugarn, who was also in contention at Rolex Girls with a T5 finish, birdied four consecutive holes on her back nine to grab a share of the lead.

“My approach shots were the same, but on the back nine I just made my putts today,” Moriya said.

Both Jutanugarn sisters are among 10 AJGA juniors who will be competing in the U.S. Women's Open July 7-10.

“The [Crosswater Course] is so hard so we can prepare really well here,” Ariya said.

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.

Rolex, which is in its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. Along with sponsoring the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, Rolex is also the title partner of the Rolex Tournament of Champions and the proprietor of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. 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, Rickie Fowler, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

The second round tee times of the Rolex Tournament of Champions will run from 7 - 8:50 a.m. and noon - 1:50 p.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. For more information about the Rolex Tournament of Champions, please contact AJGA Tournament Headquarters at (541) 593-3409.