Wood claims medalist honors at Polo Golf Junior Classic
Jutanugarn, Boutier carry top seeds into match play at PGA National Resort & Spa

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Adam Wood of Zionsville, Ind., shot two consecutive under-par rounds in stroke play qualifying to claim medalist honors at the Polo Golf Junior Classic and take the first seed into match play. Moriya Jutanugarn of Bangkok, Thailand, and Céline Boutier of Montrouge, France, tied for medalist honors in the Girls Division.

The Polo Golf Junior Classic, which has been conducted annually since 1978, marks the first tournament of the American Junior Golf Association's 2012 season. The 156-player invitation-only field is made up of 78 boys and 78 girls, ages 12-18, from 24 states, Puerto Rico and 14 foreign countries. Former champions include Stewart Cink (1989), Trevor Immelman (1995), Tiger Woods (1991), Paula Creamer (2002), Grace Park (1994, 1996) and Morgan Pressel (2004).

During Tuesday's second round, the Boys Division played the Champion Course (7,131 yards, par 71), while the Girls Division played the Haig Course (6,275 yards, par 72). The tournament fields were cut to the low 32 players and ties following the second round.

After carding a 5-under-par 67 in the first round of stroke play qualifying, Wood brought the momentum over to the Champion Course for the second round. His first round combined with his 1-under-par 70 in the second round bested the rest of the Boys Division by one stroke. With medalist honors comes the top seed heading into match play.

“Coming into this tournament, my goal was just to make match play, but after yesterday, I knew I could make different goals,” Wood said. “I'm excited to get on into match play tomorrow.”

First-team Rolex Junior All-Americans advancing to match play include: Connor Black of Houston; Parker Derby of Columbus, Ga.; defending champion Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C.; Motin Yeung of Orlando, Fla.; Matthew NeSmith of North Augusta, S.C.; Brad Dalke of McKinney, Texas; and Jonathan Garrick of Atherton, Calif.

Jutanugarn and Boutier each had a share of the lead following the first round. With second rounds of 1-under-par 71 for both, they will take the top-two seeds into match play. This marks the second consecutive year Jutanugarn has claimed medalist honors at the Polo Golf Junior Classic.

“It's good to be on top going in, but I want to do better in match play this year,” Jutanugarn said. “My driver is working well for me right now and it is making it easier to stay in the fairway.”

Boutier, a quarterfinalist at last year's Polo Golf Junior Classic, plans to use her match play experience to guide her through the next round.

“Match play is very different and anything can happen,” Boutier said. “It's nice to be in the lead, but in match play, it doesn't matter who was ahead.”

First-team Rolex Junior All-Americans advancing to match play in the Girls Division include: Jutanugarn, Boutier, Emma Talley of Princeton, Ky.; Gabriella Then of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; defending Polo Golf Junior Classic Champion Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla.; Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J.; Shannon Aubert of Reunion, Fla.; and Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, Ga.

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.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories and fragrances. For more than 40 years, Polo's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include “Polo by Ralph Lauren”, “Ralph Lauren Purple Label”, “Ralph Lauren Collection”, “Black Label”, “Blue Label”, “Lauren by Ralph Lauren”, “Polo Jeans Co.”, “RRL”, “RLX”, “Rugby”, “Ralph Lauren Childrenswear”, “American Living”, “Chaps”, and “Club Monaco” among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands. For more information, go to http://investor.ralphlauren.com.

First-round matches will begin Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., while second-round matches will begin around noon. The Girls Division will play its first-round matches on the Haig Course, while all other Girls and Boys Division matches will be held on the Champion Course. For more information, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (561) 627-2000, ext. 6455.