Artac leads after opening-round 67 at Goodman Networks Junior at Traditions
Sierra Sims sits five shots ahead of the field at the Traditions Club at Texas A&M.

BRYAN, Texas — Wes Artac of Kingwood, Texas, fired an opening round of 5-under-par 67 to lead the Boys Division of the Goodman Networks Junior at Traditions by two strokes. Sierra Sims of Austin, Texas, also opened with a 67 and leads the Girls Division by five strokes.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Goodman Networks Junior at Traditions is a 54-hole stroke play competition played on the par-72 Traditions Club at Texas A&M. The event features 90 boys and 43 girls, ages 12-18, from 21 states and seven countries. The Boys Division is playing the course at 6,978 yards while the Girls Division is playing the course at 6,094 yards.

Artac said that he has been waiting for his full game to come into form and it finally did during Friday's round.

“I hit the ball well, putted well, stayed patient, and made a bunch of pars,” Artac said. “I've been hitting the ball pretty well lately and have just been waiting for my putting to be there too. Today it was.”

Branson Davis of McKinney, Texas, sits in second place after a 3-under-par 69. Christopher Petefish of Scottsdale, Ariz., is alone in third place at 1-under-par 71. Rounding out the top five in a three-way tie for fourth place at 1-over-par 73 are Cole Madey of West Linn, Ore., Hayden Wood of Edmond, Okla., and Matthew Perrine of Austin, Texas.

Sierra Sims said that she was hitting on all cylinders, playing flawlessly from the tee and making plenty of putts.

“I got off to a real good start, which made me pretty confident,” Sierra said. “I hit every fairway and made most of my putts. I was just having a good day with everything.”

Mariana Sims, sister of Sierra, as well as Maddie Szeryk of Allen, Texas, are tied for second place after rounds of even-par 72.

About the AJGA

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 5,500 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.

Second-round tee times will run from 8:15 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at Traditions Club at Texas A&M. For more information about the Goodman Networks Junior at Traditions, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (770) 617-3050.