Konieczki Takes the Boys Division Lead at Midwest Junior Players Championship
Lin and Sitompul sit atop Girls Leaderboard at Pine Meadow Golf Club

MUNDELEIN, Ill. – Corey Konieczki of Rockford, Ill., took an early one-shot lead at the Midwest Junior Players Championship shooting a 3-under-par 69. Christine Lin of Austin, Texas, and Bernice Sitompul of Jakarta, Indonesia, are tied for the lead in the Girls Division at 1-over-par 73.
            The Midwest Junior Players Championship is a 54-hole stroke play tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Pine Meadow Golf Club. The tournament field features 57 boys and 21 girls, ages 12-18, from 16 states, Canada, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,131 yards while the Girls Division is playing at 6,198 yards.
            Finishing the round with five birdies and an eagle, Konieczki credited his successful round to putting.
            “My short game was on today,” Konieczki said. “My chip in on Nos. 5 and 9 gave me the confidence to finish the round strong.”
            In the Boys Division, Scott Cahill of Carpentersville, Ill., and KK Limbhasut of Loma Linda, Calif., are tied for second at 2-under-par 70. Sean Jones of Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Tyler Gentilella of Parkland, Fla., are tied for fourth at even-par 72.
            Lin was consistent on the front nine and kept a strong mental game throughout the round to card a 1-over-par 73 in the Girls Division. Sitompul said she started off rough, but her game picked up on the back nine after a good birdie shot on No. 12.
            “I made very few mistakes on the back nine, but I still want to improve on my bunker shots and chipping for the tournament,” Lin said. “I hope I can just stay calm and play my own game during the next two days.”
            “It was rough out there at the beginning of the round for me,” Sitompul said. “I would have liked to sink more putts but my mental game picked up and I finished strong.”
            Han Wu of La Mirada, Calif., sits in third place at 2-over-par 74.
            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 30 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 Watch USA, 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 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.
            Second-round tee times for the Midwest Junior Players Championship will run from 7 a.m. – 8:48 a.m. off the Nos. 1and 10 tees at the Pine Meadow Golf Club. For more information about the Midwest Junior Players Championship please contact Tournament Director Lauren Shelly at (770)298-4411.