Two Georgia Natives Atop the Leaderboard at Charles Howell III Junior Championship
Taylor Ramsey leads sister by one at West Lake Country Club

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Cody Shafer of Evans, Ga., and Dru Love of Sea Island, Ga., are tied for the lead each with a two round total of 4-under-par 140. Taylor Ramsey of Bradenton, Fla., shot a 1-under-par 71 to lead by one stroke heading into the final round.

The Charles Howell III Junior Championship is a 54-hole stroke-play tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at West Lake Country Club. The field features 102 boys and 29 girls, ages 12-18, from 17 states and Colombia, Paraguay, New Zealand and Canada. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 6,828 yards while the Girls Division is playing at 6,089 yards.

Love carded 5 birdies and just one bogey in his second-round 3-under-par 69. He said it was hitting 16 greens in regulation that helped him go low.

“I missed a lot of putts but I hit 16 greens,” Love said. “Hitting greens consistently helped me today.”

Shafer, who won the Burgett H. Mooney, Jr. Rome Classic last week in Rome, Ga., made eight birdies on his way to a second-round 4-under-par 68.

“I doubled the par 3 [thirteenth] and it kind of made me a little upset,” Shafer said. “Then I decided to get a little revenge and birdie the next couple holes.”

Trey Valentine of Melbourne, Fla., is in third place with a two day total of 3-under-par 141. Rounding out the top five are Todd Eckstein of Durham, N.C., and Chenxiao Duan of Bradenton, Fla., who are tied for fourth with a two-round total of 2-under-par 142.

Ramsey carded six birdies, but also had five bogeys on her scorecard. She says even though it was an up and down day, she tried to stay positive.

“It was kind of up and down, there was nothing really consistent about my round,” Ramsey said. “I just try to keep it in perspective. I told myself I was 1-under at the time, and I can still do this.”

Ashlan Ramsey of Bradenton, Fla., the younger sister of Taylor, trails by one stroke after she carded a 2-under-par 70. The two sisters will play together in the final group tomorrow at West Lake Country Club. Rounding out the top three in the Girls Division are Jessica Hoang of North Augusta, S.C., and Rinko Mitsunaga of Roswell, Ga., who are tied for third eight strokes back of the lead.

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 Charles Howell III, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

Thursday's final round tee times for the Charles Howell III Junior Championship will run from 7:45 — 9:24 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 tees at West Lake Country Club. For more information, contact Tournament Director Courtney Jones at (678) 617-9406.