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AJGA NIKE GOLF JUNIOR
ALL-STAR CLASSIC AT AMES
Veenker Memorial Golf Course
Ames, Iowa
June 2-5, 2003
HU
AND JONES SHARE OPENING-ROUND LEAD IN AMES
Leclair and Smith lead Girls Division
AMES, Iowa - After
shooting 3-under-par 69s, Mu Hu of Bradenton, Fla., and Mark
Jones of Odessa, Texas, lead after the first round of the
AJGA Nike Golf Junior All-Star Classic at Ames. Bethany Leclair
of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Megan Smith of Atlanta shot 83 to
lead the Girls Division.
The Nike Golf Junior All-Star Classic at Ames features 87
players with boys and girls, ages 13-15, representing 20 different
states. The 54-hole event is being held on the par-72 Veenker
Memorial Golf Course on the Iowa State University campus.
In the Boys Division, both Hu and Jones contributed their
success to putting.
"My strength today was making my putts," said the
13-year-old Hu. "I only had 29 putts and got up-and-down
6 out of 7 times."
Jones believes his success began at the first hole.
"On the first hole I drove down the middle and put my
approach on the green," explained Jones. "It really
set the tone for the rest of my day."
Tied for third in the Boys Division with 1-under-par 71s were
Adam Long of St. Charles, Mo., and Brent Potts of Broken Arrow,
Okla. Christopher Ward of McKinney, Texas, and Philip Francis
of Scottsdale, Ariz., followed close behind shooting even-par
72s.
In the Girls Division, Leclair and Smith emerged atop the
leaderboard after round one. Shannon Fish of Spring, Texas,
and Emily Johnson of Warsaw, Ind., finished day one tied for
third place two shots back of the leaders.
Smith, one of the leaders, gained her momentum on the back
nine.
"I played much better on the back side," said Smith.
"I made lots of up-and-downs, struck the ball better
and gained more confidence."
Second-round tee times will begin Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. off
the No. 1 tee at Veenker Memorial Golf Course.
The winners from this week's event will receive two tournament
exemptions into AJGA Open events and an invitation to the
Nike Golf Junior All-Star Series Championship in Portland,
Ore. A top-eight finish for the boys and a top-three finish
for the girls in any Nike Junior All-Star Classic Series event
will receive an invitation to the Nike Golf Junior All-Star
Series Championship.
For more information on the AJGA Nike Golf Junior All-Star
Classic at Ames, contact the AJGA at Veenker Memorial Golf
Course at (515) 294-6727.
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