LUNDGREN GRABS EARLY LEAD AT AJGA JOHN DEERE CLASSIC JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Kurokawa fires a 3-under-par 69 to take the lead in the Girls Division

LONG GROVE, Iowa - Darren Lundgren of Ballwin, Mo., fired an opening round 4-under-par 68 to grab the lead at the inaugural AJGA John Deere Classic Junior Championship. Elena Kurokowa of Redondo Beach, Calif., shot a 3-under-par 69 to top the leaderboard in the Girls Division despite light rain for most of the round.

The 54-hole event, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, is being held at the par-72 Glynn's Creek Golf Course. The field features 99 of the top junior golfers in the nation, representing 18 states.

Lundgren started to heat up on the 505-yard, par-5 seventh hole after sticking a 5-iron from 205 yards to within seven feet and draining the putt for eagle. Lundgren kept the momentum going on the back, knocking in a pair of 15-foot birdie putts on Nos. 10 and 13 to move to 2-under-par on the day.

"The eagle on No. 7 really turned things around for me," Lundgren said. "But the birdie on No. 10 gave me momentum on the back nine. I missed a couple of short putts on the front, but some putts started to fall for me on the back."

The Ohio State signee took advantage of both the par 5s on the back, with a two-putt birdie on No. 15 after reaching the green with a 5-iron and then sticking a lob wedge within three feet of the hole on No. 17 to set up his fourth birdie of the day. Lundgren played the par 5s at 4-under-par and hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation to help get him to the top of the leaderboard.

"I was hitting my driver well today. I hit three of the par 5s in two and had wedges into most of the par 4s," Lundgren said. "I played a solid round today and put myself in a good position for the last two days."

James Song of Oxnard, Calif., is one-stroke back after a 3-under-par 69. Mike Calkin of St. Charles, Ill., Spencer Hutton of St. Cloud, Minn., and Kyle Murphy of Eau Claire, Wis., are locked in a tie for third after posting 70s.

In the Girls Division, Kurokawa carded a pair of birdies on the front and back on her way to a 34-35--69. The 17-year-old had a hot putter early, connecting on a 30-footer for birdie on No. 4 and rolling in a five-foot putt for birdie on No. 5.

"I putted well today," Kurokawa said. "The back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 gave me confidence and helped me relax and play well."

Kurokawa, who finished fourth earlier this year at the AJGA La Purisima Junior, finished strong with two more birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to move her into the lead.

Alice Kim of Los Angeles, Calif., is one stroke back at 36-34--70, while Taylor Leon of Dallas, Texas, is in third place after carding a 37-37--74.

Second-round action begins Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. For more information regarding the AJGA John Deere Classic Junior Championship, please contact tournament headquarters at (319) 285-6635.

#AJGA#

LONG GROVE, Iowa--First-round results from the AJGA JOHN DEERE CLASSIC JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Glynn's Creek Golf Course. Par: 36-36--72. Yardage: Boys: 6,995 Girls: 5,836

BOYS DIVISION

Darren Lundgren (2001) Ballwin, Mo.* 36-32--68
James Song (2002) Oxnard, Calif.* 34-35--69
Mike Calkin (2002) St. Charles, Ill.* 35-35--70
Spencer Hutton (2002) St. Cloud, Minn.* 34-36--70
Kyle Murphy (2002) Eau Claire, Wis.* 35-35--70
Trent Leon (2005) Dallas, Texas* 36-35--71
Scott Seibert (2002) Chesterfield, Mo.* 35-36--71
Matt Spielmann (2003) Freeport, Ill.* 37-34--71
Josh Hart (2003) Cordova, Ill.* 36-35--71
Daniel Vojta (2002) Palatine, Ill.* 36-36--72
Daniel Kim (2004) Cerritos, Calif.* 36-36--72
Brandon Boomsma (2002) Munster, Ind.* 35-37--72
Brad Marek (2002) Arlington Heights, Ill.* 34-38--72
Josh Esler (2003) Wauconda, Ill.* 37-35--72
Kyle Hougham (2002) Walcott, Iowa* 37-35--72
Brandon Melville (2002) Lubbock, Texas* 35-38--73
T.J. Redding (2002) Creston, Iowa* 37-36--73
Brian Carroll (2002) Crystal Lake, Ill.* 34-39--73
Gabriel Borrud (2002) Beaver Dam, Wis.* 36-37--73
Danny Zimmerman (2004) Verona, Wis.* 36-37--73
Nicholas Schenk (2002) Batavia, Ill.* 34-39--73
Scott Weber (2002) Lake Forest, Ill.* 36-37--73
Mike Fiedler (2003) Faribault, Minn.* 37-36--73
Brett Barkelar (2001) Schofield, Wis.* 35-38--73
Nick Dean (2002) Omaha, Neb.* 36-37--73
Joe Weber (2002) Bryant, Wis.* 38-36--74
Tyler Swanson (2002) Clinton, Iowa* 38-36--74
David Cangemi (2002) Jacksonville, Fla.* 38-36--74
J Hlavacek (2003) Aurora, Ill.* 39-36--75
Jimmy Toal (2001) Milan, Ill.* 40-35--75
Cody Holub (2002) Leawood, Kan.* 36-39--75
Nick Sheedy (2003) Burlington, Iowa* 39-36--75
Jeff Osby (2001) W. Des Moines, Iowa* 39-36--75
Tim Kaminsky (2003) Glen Ellyn, Ill.* 36-39--75
Nathan Williams (2002) Olive Branch, Miss.* 38-37--75
Jason Clamors (2002) Ozark, Mo.* 36-39--75
Adam Vandoski (2003) Greenwood, Ind.* 34-41--75
Chad Wilcox (2003) Peoria, Ariz.* 39-37--76
Tyler Peglow (2004) Marshalltown, Iowa* 39-37--76
Judd Cornell (2002) Omaha, Neb.* 37-39--76
Barrett Martens (2002) Platte City, Mo.* 36-40--76
Parker Labarge (2002) St. Louis, Mo.* 40-36--76
Paul Huddle (2003) Wapello, Iowa* 39-37--76
Dustin Robbins (2003) Henderson, Nev.* 36-41--77
Clint Brotherton (2002) Taylorville, Ill.* 39-38--77
Ali Siam (2001) Westlake Village, Calif.* 41-36--77
Matt Brooks (2001) Mesa, Ariz.* 39-38--77
Greg Zick (2001) Leclaire, Iowa* 41-36--77
Corey Beelke (2002) W. Lafayette, Ind.* 38-40--78
Scott Gustafson (2002) Eden Prairie, Minn.* 38-40--78
Ben Hermes (2003) Dixon, Ill.* 39-39--78
Jon Stecher (2003) Fargo, N.D.* 39-39--78
Scott McGrath (2003) Lake St. Louis, Mo.*37-41--78
Brad Kopsick (2002) Lake Forest, Ill.* 39-40--79
Kyle Ritchie (2003) Bedford, Iowa* 41-38--79
Chris Denny (2002) Colorado Springs, Colo.* 39-40--79
Paul Jabour (2001) Clive, Iowa* 41-38--79
Dan Weinbeck (2002) Burlington, Ill.* 38-41--79
Danny Allen (2001) Palm Harbor, Fla.* 35-44--79
Brandon Beck (2003) Oak Park, Calif.* 39-40--79
Gregory Takata (2002) Palatine, Ill.* 40-40--80
David Blue (2003) Edina, Minn.* 39-41--80
A.J. Durand (2002) Burlington, Iowa* 36-44--80
Adam Johnson (2002) Warsaw, Ind.* 39-41--80
Sean Meier (2002) Palm Desert, Calif.* 37-43--80
Michael Moss (2002) Claremore, Okla.* 41-39--80
Drew Dalziel (2002) Burlington, Iowa* 41-40--81
Todd Barkelar (2003) Schofield, Wis.* 38-44--82
Ryder Frerichs (2002) Edina, Minn.* 39-43--82
Cean Geronimo (2002) Redondo Beach, Calif.* 41-41--82
Cole Peevler (2005) Keokuk, Iowa* 42-40--82
Blake Olney (2002) Wichita, Kan.* 43-39--82
Chris Zeller (2002) Branson, Mo.* 39-44--83
Bob Muchow (2002) Palatine, Ill.* 39-44--83
Ben Smock (2003) San Antonio, Texas* 41-42--83
Camron Flanders (2002) Lawrence, Kan.* 43-40--83
Robby Storm (2002) Belle Plaine, Iowa* 41-43--84
Patrick O'Leary (2002) Springfield, Minn.* 42-44--86
Eric Asbury (2002) Hamilton, Ill.* 42-44--86
Jonathan Holstad (2002) Dellwood, Minn.* 47-44--91
Andy White (2002) Keosaugua, Iowa* --DQ-Rule 6-3a

GIRLS DIVISION

Elena Kurokawa (2002) Redondo Beach, Calif.* 34-35--69
Alice Kim (2003) Los Angeles, Calif.* 36-34--70
Taylor Leon (2005) Dallas, Texas* 37-37--74
Noriko Nakazaki (2003) Hanoverpark, Ill.* 36-39--75
Jaclyn Burch (2003) Wildwood, Mo.* 39-37--76
Jessica Castle (2003) Plantation, Fla.* 38-38--76
Staci Smoot-Charlson (2004) Rochester, Minn.* 38-38--76
Kelly Weisgarber (2003) Fargo, N.D.* 39-38--77
Miranda Orr (2002) Victoria, Tex.* 42-35--77
Christi Athas (2003) Eldora, Iowa* 39-38--77
Whitney Bauer (2002) Mitchellville, Iowa* 38-39--77
Kelly Flynn (2002) Kent, Ohio* 39-38--77
Seema Sadekar (2003) Bradenton, Fla.* 41-39--80
Erin Goranson (2002) Edmond, Okla.* 40-40--80
Brittany Willborg (2003) Cologne, Minn.* 40-40--80
Brittany Lambert (2004) Keokuk, Iowa* 43-41--84
Stacey Linduska (2003) Woodbury, Minn.* 41-43--84
Lynzee Gumm (2002) Galesburg, Ill.* 45-42--87