Little leads after the second round at Harvey Penick Junior All-Star
Coleman takes the lead at Grey Rock Golf Club

AUSTIN, Texas - Jack Little of Montgomery, Texas, sits atop the leaderboard at the Harvey Penick Junior All-Star after carding a 4-under-par 68. In the Girls Division, Taylor Coleman of San Antonio, Texas leads by three strokes, after posting a 1-under-par 71 at Grey Rock Golf Club.

The Harvey Penick Junior All-Star is one of ten events in the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series. Specifically designed for boys and girls ages 12-15, the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series presents opportunities for younger players to develop their skills and earn entry into AJGA Open tournaments. The Series concludes with the Montverde Academy All-Star Invitational over Columbus Day weekend for winners and top finishers in Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy All-Star Series events. The tournament field includes 55 boys and 20 girls, ages 12-15, from 13 states, Canada, Barbados and Mexico. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 6,607 yards, while the Girls Division played at 5,854 yards.

Little's playing in just his fourth event, and Tuesday he posted his lowest round in an AJGA event. The class of 2016 grad recorded seven birdies on the round. Putting was key for Little to score low.

“I was putting well,” Little said. “I made everything inside of 10 feet.”

Through two rounds, Little has carded a tournament total of 2-under-par 142. Little's gameplan for the final round is remaining consistent and similar to how he played in the first two rounds.

“I just want to stick to what I've been doing these last two days, which is hit fairways and greens, and putt well,” Little said.

Shintaro Ban of San Jose, Calif., sits one stroke off the lead at 1-under-par 143. Tharusyan Pillay of San Jose, Calif., is in third place at even-par 144. Osama Khan of St. James Barbados sits in fourth place at 1-over-par 145. Rounding out the top five is Connor Smith of Birmingham, Ala., Carter Patterson of The Woodlands, Texas, and Kenneth Li of Westmont, Ill., all tied at 3-over-par 147.

In the Girls Division, Coleman totaled 4-over-par 148 for the first two rounds. Coleman has won two events in her AJGA career, including this event last year. The course management skills and safe play of Coleman aided her in the second round.

“I was hitting all the fairways and I was making sure that I was hitting the greens and getting myself close to give me birdie opportunities”.

Coleman is currently ranked No. 26 in the Polo Golf Rankings. The class of 2015 graduate gave credit how her short game was the strong point of her game on Wednesday. Coleman's 1-under-par 71 was the lowest girl's score for the first two rounds of play.

Anna Kim of Broken Arrow, Okla., is in second place at 7-over-par 151. Rounding out the top three is Courtney Dow of Frisco, Texas at 9-over-par 153.

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.

Final-round tee times for the Harvey Penick Junior All-Star will run from 7:30 a.m. — 9:30 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at Grey Rock Golf Club. For more information about the Harvey Penick Junior All-Star at Grey Rock contact Tournament Director Lindsay Dodge at (770) 365-1699.

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