Martino leads by one stroke in the Signsational Signs Junior at The Woodlands
Szeryk sits atop Girls Division with three-stroke lead

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Vincent Martino of Southlake, Texas, fired a 4-under-par 68 in Tuesday's first round of the Signsational Signs Junior at The Woodlands, taking the lead in the Boys Division. Maddie Szeryk of Allen, Texas, shot a 3-under-par 69.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Signsational Signs Junior at The Woodlands is a 54-hole stroke play competition held at The Woodlands Country Club — Player Course. The par-72 course plays to 6,931 yards for the Boys Division and 6,014 yards for the Girls Division. The 96-player field features players from 6 states, Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines.

Martino carded back-to-back birdies on his opening holes and said he was pleased with his ball striking throughout the round.

“I hit the ball really well today, and it helped a lot,” Martino said. I was able to hit 12 of the 18 greens today, and that was part of my success. I am going to continue to work on my short game.”

Maxwell Miller of College Station, Texas, and Trevor Vega of Victoria, Texas, are tied for second place after shooting 3-under-par 69's. Luke Sheehan of Cypress, Texas, sits in fourth place after carding a score of 2-under-par 70. Rounding out the first round in fifth place shooting 1-under-par 71 are Brendon Jelley of Tulsa, Okla., Brad Dalke of McKinney, Texas, and Stratton Nolen of Austin, Texas.

Szeryk's combination of making putts and hitting the ball really well allowed her to succeed on the course today. No. 18 was a challenge, but she managed to hold onto the lead.

“My most memorable hole was No. 18. I hit a really good drive, and then I sunk my 7-iron into the bunker,” Szeryk said. “I knew I was 3-under, and I haven't shot a 69 in an AJGA tournament before, and I wanted to accomplish that. I knew I had to get up & down, and I did.”

Tied in second place shooting a score of even-par 72 are Jordan Lippetz of Bradenton, Fla., Kayli Quinton of Houston and Irina Paulin Gabasa of Cebu, Philippines. 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.

The second round of the Signsational Signs Junior at The Woodlands will tee off the No. 1 tee from 7:15 am to 12:25 pm. For more information, please contact the Tournament Director Rachel Graves at (770) 861-0519.

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