Sharp, Friel, Miller and Billups share lead at the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands
Armstrong capitalizes on par-5's and leads the Girls Division at Boyne Highlands Resort - Moor Course

Harbor Springs, Mich. — Michael Sharp of Kendallville, Ind., Sean Friel of Rochester Hills, Mich., Drew Miller of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Griffin Billups of Ada, Mich., carded rounds of 2-under-par 70 and hold a share of the lead at the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands. In the Girls Division, Ashley Armstrong of Flossmoor, Ill., fired a 3-under-par 69 that included birdies on each of the par-5's on the Moor Course.

The Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands is a 54-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Boyne Highlands Resort — Moor Course in Harbor Springs, Mich. The tournament field includes 105 boys and 36 girls, ages 12-18 from 14 states, Canada, Colombia and Thailand. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 6,832 yards and the Girls Division is playing at 6,028 yards.

After a 2-over-par 38 on the front nine, Sharp was able to card a 4-under-par 32 on the back. The Indiana native felt that his putting improved on the back nine and was happy with his overall performance in Tuesday's opening round.

“The front nine wasn't as good as I wanted, but the back was good,” Sharp said. “I made more putts and read the greens better.”

Friel looks to improve on the second place finish he had in this tournament a year ago. The Michigan native credits his 2-under-par 70 to his ability to get up-and-down and hit fairways.

“Last year I finished second, so I'm hoping I can win it this year,” Friel said.

Miller felt he had a solid day as a result of good ball striking and making pars. As this is the first time he has been atop the leaderboard at an AJGA event, Miller plans to continue attacking the flagstick in the second round.

“It was a consistent day and it feels good to be in the lead,” Miller said. “This is what the goal was, now I just have to capitalize on it.”

Billups put together a clean round that included 16 pars and two birdies. He feels that if he can continue hitting greens and fairways, he will be in the hunt for the next two days.

“I really didn't make mistakes,” Billups said. “Today I hit fairways and hit every green but one. I'll have to stay calm and try to play as well as I did today to have a chance to win.”

Nick Hardy of Northbrook, Ill., Michael Nagy, of Manistique, Mich., Voramate Aussarassakorn of Bangkok, Thailand, Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill., Grant Weaver of Wooster, Ohio, and Derek Hinchcliffe of Corunna, Ontario all sit in a tie for fifth place following rounds of 1-under-par 71.

Armstrong gave credit to her putting for her opening round success as she was forced to knock down lengthy par putts. In her last AJGA event before attending Notre Dame this fall, the Illinois native looks forward to the next two days of competition. She enters the second round with a two-shot lead.

“I made a lot of par putts from 10-15 feet and they definitely kept me playing well,” Armstrong said. “It would be awesome to win my last one. We will see how the next two days go but I'm optimistic.”

Fresh off a win at the Cleveland Junior Open, Jessica Porvasnik of Hinckley, Ohio, carded a 1-under-par 71 and sits in second place. Lindsey Weaver of Scottsdale, Ariz., fired a 1-over-par 73 rounding out the top three in the Girls Division.

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.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex, 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 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.

Boyne Highlands Resort, located in Harbor Springs, Michigan, is home to The Golf Channel's Big Break X: Michigan. The full-service resort lures golfers with 72 holes of public play championship golf and delights vacationers with its Scottish charm. Luxury accommodations, savory cuisine, a par-3 course, horseback trail rides and the Young Americans Dinner Theatre make Boyne Highlands Resort a popular destination for golf and family vacations. Golf and lodging packages start at $76 per person. For more information, visit www.BOYNE.com.

Second round tee times for the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands will run from 7:30 — 9:18 a.m. for the first wave and noon— 1:39 p.m. for the second wave off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at Boyne Highlands Resort — Moor Course. For more information about the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands, contact Tournament Director Rachel Graves at (770) 861-0519 or visit ajga.org.