OSSO JUNIOR AT OAK TREE
Oak Tree Country Club, East Course
Edmond, Oklahoma
June 23-26, 2003

KNOLL CATCHES JONES AFTER SECOND ROUND AT OAK TREE
Three deadlocked at top of Boys Division

EDMOND, Okla. - Ashley Knoll of The Woodlands, Texas pulled into a first-place tie with Lacey Jones of Idabel, Okla. at 7-over-par 147 after the second round of the OSSO Junior at Oak Tree on Wednesday.

In the Boys Division, Zac Reynolds of Edmond, Okla., Robby Ormand of Austin, Texas, and Trey Todd of Abilene, Texas, ended the second round with matching scores of 3-over-par 143.

The 54-hole competition, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, is being played at the Oak Tree Country Club, East Course. The field consists of 145 players representing 14 states, including 58 players from the state of Texas. The tournament contains two divisions consisting of boys and girls, ages 13 to 18.

Knoll, who began the day one shot behind Jones, opened her round with a 1-over-par 36 on the front nine, including birdies on the sixth and ninth. On the back nine, Knoll only recorded one birdie and carded a double bogey on the 16th, which played as the hardest hole on the course.

"I had a few bad holes," Knoll said about her second round. "That's kind of the way it goes. It wasn't good. It wasn't bad."

Knoll also said finishing her round strong would be critical in the final round.

Jones, like Knoll, had issues finishing her round strong and didn't capitalize on a fantastic start. Five holes into her first nine, Jones was 3-under-par with birdies at Nos. 11, 12 and 14. However, she followed that stretch with bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes and a double bogey on the 18th. She closed her first nine at even-par 35, and she continued to falter on the front nine. Consecutive bogeys on the fifth through the eighth led to a 5-over-par 40.

"I expected to come in and be at least four out (of the lead)," Jones said. "I played well on my first nine, and just couldn't keep it together. Then I came to my back nine and I just couldn't get it in the hole."

Knoll and Jones, tied with a score of 7-over-par 147, will be paired in the final Girls Division group with Ali Griffin of Edmond, Okla. Griffin, who came into the second round seven shots off the pace, roared to the front by shooting a 1-under-par 69. It was the first subpar score in the Girls Division. Griffin stands alone in third with an 8-over-par 148.

In the Boys Division, Reynolds went out early and set the pace for the field to follow. He shot an even-par 35 on his first nine, the back nine. Then, two birdies on the front nine propelled him to a 1-under-par 34 Wednesday.

"I didn't hit it all that great, but I got around in 69," Reynolds said. "I made some great putts. It's good I scored a 69 when I wasn't hitting it well."

Ormand's round was not nearly as smooth as Reynolds.' Ormand, who started on the back nine, picked up a triple bogey on the 16th, which added to his 5-over-par 40. However, after making the turn, he quickly responded with a bogey-free final nine holes. Birdies on Nos. 2, 7 and 9, his closing hole, resulted in a 3-under-par 32.

"(The front nine) was huge especially coming off the 40," Ormand said. "To be able to come out here and shoot 3-under on this course, on any nine is very good golf. It's going to be big going into (Thursday) having this much confidence going off this course with 3-under."

Todd started his round slowly as he bogeyed his first three holes, the 10th through the 12th, but he had little trouble later in the round. Despite scoring a 2-over-par 37 on his first nine holes, he fired an even-par 35 on the front nine.

"I'm just trying to make my grandma proud," Todd said. "That's one of my goals for the week. I'm just having fun right now."

Todd is playing in his second-to-last AJGA event, and as for his plans in the final round, Todd said: "You can't play in the dirt without getting dirty."

Kevin Schultz of Richardson, Texas, fired a 5-over-par 75 for a two-day total of 147 and is in fourth place, four shots back of the leaders. Shane Sirotiak of San Antonio, Texas, Jordan Cook of Edmond, Okla., and Austin Welch of The Woodlands, Texas, sit in fifth place, five shots back of the leaders with two-day totals of 8-over-par 148.

Play was delayed because of inclement weather for an hour on Wednesday. The delay lasted from 9:40 to 10:40 a.m.

The final round of the OSSO Junior at Oak Tree will consist of two waves of tee times from the first and 10th tees. The first starts at 7:30 a.m. and concludes at 9:09 a.m. The second wave will begin at noon and conclude at 1:39 p.m. For more information on the OSSO Junior at Oak Tree, call tournament headquarters at (405) 330-9545.