NORMAN NATIVE COX FIRES CAREER LOW 66 FOR THE FIRST-ROUND LEAD AT BELMAR
Eighty juniors invade Norman for an AJGA Ashworth Postseason event

NORMAN, OKLA. - Oklahoma native Jeff Cox of Norman created a Red River Shootout of his own as he fired a 4-under-par 66 Saturday for the first-round lead at the AJGA Ashworth Postseason Junior at Norman at the Belmar Golf Club, his home course. Trailing Cox by three strokes is Tyler Talman of Plano, Texas.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Ashworth Postseason Junior at Norman features 80 junior boys from 22 states. Twenty players in the field hail from the Sooner State.

Cox, a senior at North Norman High School, carded his career best and the lead in the competition.

"I honestly came out to play my game and have fun," the 17-year-old said. "I basically just wanted to see how I could measure up against the competition that the AJGA has to offer."

The Norman native Cox, who began the day off No. 10, started strong and did not look back. His back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 set the tone for his entire round.

Cox, who works and plays at Belmar Golf Club, had two secret weapons for Saturday's round; his driver and his putter.

"I hit it well of the tee and putts just happen to fall," Cox laughed. "The course played well and the playing conditions were great."

Cox made the turn with 3-under-par 31 and maintained a steady pace throughout the front nine. The 2004 high school graduate brought it up a notch after sinking a 24-ft putt for birdie at the 443-yard, par-4 fourth hole to finish his back nine 1-under-par 35. Cox completed the day with an impressive total of 35-31-66.

Behind Cox with rounds of 37-32-69 is Talman, while Minnesota native Trent Peterson of Eagan and Robert Belz of San Antonio both sit at third with 70s. Rounding out the top 5 at 1-over-par 71 Evan Wideman of Florence, Ala., Chris Oberst of Norman, Okla., and Stuart Gold of Centerville, Utah.

The tournament will award three AJGA Open tournament exemptions to the medallist(s), two to those who place in the top five, and one to those who finish in the top 15. In an effort to give the most future playing opportunities to juniors, the event will not have a playoff to break ties.

The AJGA Ashworth Preseason/Postseason Junior Series is a boys-only series designed specifically for first-time AJGA members or those who have yet to compete in an AJGA Open event, AJGA Invitational or AJGA Nike Golf Junior All-Star Series event. For those who are eligible, participation is limited to one Preseason event and one Postseason event per calendar year as long as the junior did not participate in any of the above events.

The series is now in its fourth year and has grown to 10 events nationally, all conducted by the AJGA. Other Postseason events took place in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Hagerstown, Md., Gainesville, Fla., and South Padre Island, Texas.

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, the largest association of its kind, has a junior membership of approximately 5,000 juniors (boys and girls ages 13-18) from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.

Sunday's final-round will be a 8 a.m. shotgun start at Belmar Golf Club.

For more information about the AJGA Ashworth Postseason Junior at Norman, please contact Robin Solovey, AJGA media official, in AJGA tournament headquarters at (678) 617-2420.