Co-Leaders Kennedy and Janss Hold 1-stroke Lead at Aaron's / Bob Estes Abilene Junior
Malagon current girls leader after first round at Abilene Country Club-Fairway Course

ABILENE, Texas — Bogeys were the fuel for good play for co-leaders Cole Kennedy of Texarkana, Texas and Nick Janss of Austin, Texas. Both shot a 3-under par 69 at the Abilene Country Club-Fairway Course to lead the competition heading into the second round. In the Girls Division, Alicia Malagon of Tampico, Mexico, shot a 2-under par 70 at the Aaron's / Bob Estes Abilene Junior.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Aaron's / Bob Estes Abilene Junior is a 54-hole stroke-play event, held at the Abilene Country Club-Fairway Course in Abilene, Texas. The 142 field features 114 boys and 28 girls from 16 states and Mexico. The boys are playing the course at 7,044 yards, and the girls are playing the course at 6,029 yards.

Kennedy came into this tournament with the goal of playing a solid round. After carding two bogeys on the front nine, Kennedy turned it around and had four birdies on the back nine, including a birdie on No. 18.

“That hole was tough, because I was hitting into the wind and trees were on the right,” Kennedy said, “I hit a driver onto the fairway and a 7-iron to chip it low into the wind. Then I was in great position to finish that hole.”

Steady play helped Janss to finish the round on top. After bogeying No. 12, Janss birdied the next two holes to finish out with a 3-under par 69.

“I thought the front played harder today because of the wind,” Janss said. “But that bogey on No. 12 made me focus to do better.”

Luke Kwon of Carrollton, Texas, and John Rafael of Corpus Christi, Texas, are tied in third place with a 2-under par 70. Cody Gonzalez of League City, Texas, Corey Hayford of Friendswood, Texas, Logan Philley of Robert Lee ,Texas, Garrison Lackey of Weslaco, Texas, Carter Gaskill of Newport Beach, Calif., and Jamison Youree of Fort Worth, Texas, are all tied in fifth place shooting a 1-under-par 71.

Malagon leads the Girls Division with a 2-under par 70. After playing at the difficult Blessing course at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, Malagon felt better prepared coming into this tournament.

“After the Blessings course, I went home and practiced a lot,” Malagon said. “My goal was to have a good round today, but overall I just wanted to have fun.”

Malagon rounded out the back nine with an eagle on No. 14, which helped her take a three-stroke lead over Kaylin Terry and Haley Haught, both from Austin, Texas, are tied in second place with a 1-over par 73.

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 30 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 Watch USA, 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 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

Second-round tee times for Aaron's / Bob Estes Abilene Junior will run from 7:30 a.m. — 9:09 a.m. (first wave) and noon — 1:39 p.m. (second wave), off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at the Abilene Country Club-Fairway Course. For more information, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (325) 695-1800 ext. 299.