Ariya Jutanugarn maintains lead at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship
Jutanugarn takes a one-stroke lead into Thursday's third round at Somerby Golf Club

Byron, Minn. — Ariya Jutanugarn of Bangkok, Thailand, continued her success in Wednesday's second round after posting a 4-under-par 68 despite rainy conditions.

The Rolex Girls Junior Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Somerby Golf Club in Byron, Minn. The tournament field includes 95 girls, ages 12-18, from 17 states, Puerto Rico, and seven foreign countries (Japan, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines, Thailand and China). The Girls Division is playing the course at 6,039 yards.

Jutanugarn was happy with her performance in the second round, but felt that she was unable to make putts close to the hole. Paired with her sister Moriya, Ariya was happy to end the day ahead of her on the leaderboard with a tournament total 9-under-par 135.

“Today I played good, but I missed a lot of short putts,” Jutanugarn said. “If I can make short putts tomorrow, I think I'm going to be better than today.”

Yu Liu of Beijing, China, stormed out of the weather delay by putting together four straight birdies to pull within one shot of Jutanugarn. Liu carded a 5-under-par 67 giving her a tournament total 8-under-par 136 as she sits in second place.

Kyung Kim of Chandler, Ariz., was able to match her first round score 3-under-par 69 in the second round, finishing the day in third place. Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla., improved by two strokes in the second round as she carded a 3-under-par 69, sitting five shots off the lead in fourth place. Rounding out the top five is Samantha Wagner of Windermere, Fla., who fired an even-par 72, just six shots behind the tournament leader.

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.

Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. Along with sponsoring the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, Rolex is also the title partner of the Rolex Tournament of Champions and the proprietor of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. 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 third round of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship will begin at 7 a.m. off the No.1 tee. For more information about the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, please contact AJGA Tournament Headquarters at (507) 775-3750, or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.

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