Hak and Lee Share First-Round Lead at TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook hosted by Sean O'Hair
Hwang leads Girls Division at Innisbrook's North Course in AJGA debut

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Shun Yat Hak of Lake Mary, Fla., and Tae Wan Lee of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., each carded a 1-under-par 70 to share the lead in the Boys Division and So Young Hwang of Bradenton, Fla., fired a 2-under-par 68 to set the pace in the Girls Division.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook hosted by Sean O'Hair is a 54-hole stroke play event held at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club. The 210-player field features junior from 28 states, and eight foreign countries. The Boys Division is playing the par-71 Copperhead Course at 7,277 yards, while the Girls Division is playing at the par-70 North Course at 5,805 yards. Hak, who hails from Hong Kong, was pleased with his opening round, but says he left a lot on the course that he can improve upon.

“I struck the ball really well today and got some good bounces in the fairways,” Hak said after a hot day out on the links. “I missed a couple of easy putts, but we have two more rounds left this weekend.”

Lee, who had a rough front nine with his driver, stepped it up a notch on the back by registering four birdies to put him at a tie for first.

“This course is playing really long,” Lee said. “I played poorly on the front and missed a lot of fairways. I need to hit my driver a lot better tomorrow.”

Kyle Kochevar of Glen Ellyn, Ill., and Joseph Lewis of Savannah, Ga., each shot an even-par 70 for a share of second place. Mason Haynes of Elizabethtown, Ky., Hank Lebioda of Winter Springs, Fla., Tanapol Vattanapisit of Bradenton, Fla., Conor Richardson of West Palm Beach, Fla., Nicholas Scott of Union, Ohio, Ryan Cole of Mount Airy, Md., and Zachary Herr of New Hope, Pa., all round out the top five after shooting 1-over-par 72.

In the Girls Division, Hwang who is a South Korea-native admitted that she was a bit nervous at her first AJGA event. Hwang made sure to let everyone know that she was not fazed with three birdies during her opening round, that gave her a two-shot lead over the competition.

“I'm just going to get some rest,” said Hwang on preparing for tomorrow. “I'm not going to go about it differently, just maybe come in a little less nervous.”

Kailey Walsh of Boca Raton, Fla., Victoria Tanco of Brandenton, Fla., Annie Park of Levittown, N.Y., and Lauren Coughlin of Chesapeake, Va., all finished the first round tied for second after shooting even-par 70.

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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.

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, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

Second-round tee times for the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook hosted by Sean O'Hair will begin with the Boys Division running from 8 — 9:40 a.m. and 12:30 — 2:13 p.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 tees of Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club's Copperhead Course. The Girls Division will play the North Course off of Nos. 1 and 10 tees from 8 — 9:48 a.m. For more information, please contact tournament headquarters at (585) 245-2782.