Spieth Evens the Score with Second-Round 66
Spieth, Proveaux share six-shot lead at HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Jordan Spieth of Dallas carded eight birdies in his second-round 66 Sunday, which moved him into a tie for the lead through 36 holes at the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. First-round leader Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C., carded a 1-under-par 71 and is also 8-under-par, which is six shots clear of the field.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods is a 54-hole stroke play competition played on the par-72, 7,345-yard Fazio Championship Course at The Club at Carlton Woods. The 78-player field features players from 22 states and nine foreign countries, and includes 27 Rolex Junior All-Americans.

With gusts up to 20 mph, Sunday's second round played more difficult than the first. For Spieth, who has committed to the University of Texas, it played to his advantage.

“I think the course played quite a bit harder today. I'm used to the wind, I'm glad the wind picked up, and the greens are firming up,” Spieth said. “It actually makes the course play a little shorter because you don't have to fly it all the way to the hole.”

After starting the first round 3-over-par through four holes, Spieth reversed his fortunes Sunday and recorded birdies on four of his first seven holes. A birdie on No. 17 evened the score with Proveaux, who started the day with a five-shot edge.

“I knew Cody wasn't going to stop hitting great shots judging from the way he played yesterday, so I just needed to get out early and firing,” Spieth said. “Making my putt on No. 1 was a big deal, to get out there and get confidence with the putter and let everything flow from there. Like I said, Cody didn't stop making birdies — he made six of them today — so it's going to be a battle tomorrow.”

Proveaux resumed the birdie binge he began Saturday and was as many as 11-under-par for the tournament. But bogeys on Nos. 13, 15 and 18 allowed Spieth to make his move.

“I had a solid round, got to 4-under at one point and had another five-shot lead, but kind of stumbled coming in,” said Proveaux, who had six birdies in a second-round 71. “Jordan picked up and made a lot of birdies, but I think we're going to have a lot of fun with it tomorrow.”

Proveaux and Spieth will play together for the third straight day during Monday's final round. Shun Yat Hak of Lake Mary, Fla., will join the final pairing, as his second-round 70 moved him into third place at 2-under-par.

Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village, Colo., is fourth at 1-under-par, while Taylor Moore of Edmond, Okla., and David Lee of Houston are tied for fifth at 1-over-par.

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 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.

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 Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

Final-round tee times will run from 8-9:48 a.m. Sunday on the Fazio Championship Course at The Club at Carlton Woods. For more information regarding the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods, contact AJGA Tournament Headquarters at (678) 644-4258.