Limbhasut Takes the Lead in the Second Round at the Midwest Junior Players Championship
Wu and Martin share lead heading into final round at the Pine Meadow Golf Club

MUNDELEIN, Ill. — KK Limbhasut of Loma Linda, Calif., will go into the final round of the Midwest Junior Players Championship atop the Boys Division at 4-under-par 140. In the Girls Division, Han Wu of La Mirada, Calif., and Kaira Martin of Paradise Valley, Ariz., are tied for a one-shot lead at 3-over-par 147 at Pine Meadow Golf Club.

The Midwest Junior Players Championship is a 54-hole stroke play tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Pine Meadow Golf Club. The tournament field features 57 boys and 21 girls, ages 12-18, from 16 states, Canada, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,131 yards while the Girls Division is playing at 6,198 yards.

After sitting one shot behind Corey Konieczki of Rockford, Ill., following the first round, Limbhasut responded with his second consecutive 2-under-par 70 to take the lead.

“I approached the green on No. 1 with confidence and tried to maintain that mentality throughout my entire round,” Limbhasut said. “My putting was very strong today and I hope to capitalize on that tomorrow as well.”

Konieczki sits alone at second place at 3-under-par 141. Kevin Workman of Burr Ridge, Ill., Jack Watson of Lincolnshire, Ill., and Ben-Marvin Egel, of Kokomo, Ind., are tied for third at 1-under-par 143.

Martin and Wu both carded solid rounds to sit atop the Girls Division tied at 3-over-par 147. Both players credited their successful round to putting.

“Everything was on for me today,” Martin said. “I was hitting my drives well so it set me up for good approach shots. I stayed focused and I tried to play my own game and not worry about other players.”

Wu overcame first-round nerves and zoned in on her short game.

“At the beginning of the tournament, I was a little bit nervous so I started topping a few shots,” Wu said. “But today I was able to focus and it was a good round for me. Since I played yesterday I got use to the speed of the greens so my short game improved.”

Kathy Sterling of Mokena, Ill., and Jessica Chulya of Bangkok, Thailand, are tied for third at 4-over-par 148.

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 30 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 Watch USA, 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 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

Final-round tee times for the Midwest Junior Players Championship will run from 7 a.m. — 8:48 a.m. off the Nos. 1and 10 tees at the Pine Meadow Golf Club. For more information about the Midwest Junior Players Championship please contact Tournament Director Lauren Shelly at (770) 298-4411.