Duan Ties Record for Lowest 18-Hole Single Round Score in AJGA History
Nhim maintains lead in the Girls Division after second round of Trader Joe's Junior Championship hosted by Pat Hurst

Pleasanton, Calif. — Chenxiao Duan of Beijing, China, put his name in the record books after firing a 9-under-par 61 in the second round of the Trader Joe's Junior Championship hosted by Pat Hurst. Duan's spectacular round tied the lowest 18-hole single round score in the history of the AJGA. Kristina Nhim of Buena Park, Calif., steadily navigated the difficult Hill Course at Castlewood Country Club for the second day in a row to bring her tournament total to even-par 140

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Trader Joe's Junior Championship hosted by Pat Hurst is a 54-hole stroke-play event held at Castlewood Country Club on the Hill Course. The 99-player field features 72 boys and 27 girls, ages 12-18, from ten states, Canada, China, Mexico, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The Boys Division is playing the par-70 course from 6,197 yards and the Girls Division is playing from 5,529 yards.

Duan began his round by making birdie on five of the first six holes he played. Overall, Duan had 10 birdies on the day and only one bogey. Duan's short game was on fire during the second round. He chipped-in twice and only had to take 23 putts to get through his round.

“My putting was a key part of my round,” said Duan. “I was making putt after putt. I only had 11 putts on the front nine and 12 on the back.”

Duan's record-tying performance lowers his tournament total to 8-under-par 132, which leads the Boys Division by one stroke. This will be Duan's final AJGA event and he was thrilled to become a part of history before closing the book on his career as a junior.

“Tying the record is great, I have never shot this low before,” said Duan. “The AJGA is one of the best golf associations out there, so to tie one of its records is amazing.”

Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., had five birdies of his own in the second round on his way to finishing with a 4-under-par 66. Hossler sits just one stroke back of the leader at 7-under-par 133 for the tournament. Justin Pagila of Dublin, Calif., sits in third place after two rounds with a score of 4-under-par 136. Rounding out the top five in the Boys Division are Shotaro Ban of San Jose, Calif., and Matt Crawford of Redwood City, Calif., who both sit at 2-under-par 138.

In the Girls Division, Nhim carded an even-par 70 for the second day in a row. She leads the field by three strokes at even-par 140.

“I was very steady today,” said Nhim. “I hit a lot of greens and was pretty consistent with my putting.” Nhim went on to say that her iron play was very good and that she did not miss too many greens.

Sitting alone in second place in the Girls Division with a tournament total of 3-over-par 143 is Irina Paulin Gabasa of Cebu, Philippines. Gabasa finished the second round with a 1-under-par 69 and was the only girl in the field to card a sub-par score in the second round. Kortnie Maxoutopoulis of Pleasanton, Calif., and Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif., are tied in third at 4-over-par 144 for the tournament.

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.

Final round tee times will run from 7 a.m. — 12:20 p.m. off the No. 1 tee. For more information about the Trader Joe's Junior Championship hosted by Pat Hurst, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (770) 601-5196.