Humphrey, Cichan, Bateman tied for first
Pattamakijsakul leads Girls Division by five strokes
PINEHURST, N.C. - The first round of the Golf Pride Junior Classic concluded with three Boys Division leaders. Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., Christian Cichan of Charlotte, N.C., and Davis Bateman, also of Charlotte, are tied for first at 4-under-par 68. Thanya Pattamakijsakul of Nonthaburi, Thailand, leads the Girls Division by five strokes with a 5-under-par 67.
The Golf Pride Junior Classic is a 54-hole tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Forest Creek Golf Club's North Course. The event features 72 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 18 states and seven countries. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,120 yards while the Girls Division is playing the course at 6,016 yards.
Humphrey had three birdies and an eagle on No. 10. He attributes his lead to the ability to save pars.
“I played pretty well,” Humphrey said. “I think the key was just getting up-and-down. I hit quite a few bad shots, but I always found a way to make par and I only made one bogey.”
Cichan also had only one bogey, as well as five birdies. He plans to continue the same mindset for the second round.
“Absolutely not, my mindset will not change tomorrow,” said Cichan. “My mindset was just to hit targets, go from point A to point B and see where that takes me. It makes the score almost irrelevant.”
Bateman had five birdies during the first round. Not having played a practice round, he looks forward to the second round now that he is more familiar with the course.
“Today was the first time I played the golf course,” Bateman said. “I didn't play a practice round yesterday, so tomorrow I'll know the holes a little better and maybe go low.”
Pattamakijsakul carded seven birdies and feels she had a good, consistent round.
“The best thing today was my putting,” said Pattamakijsakul. “Almost every shot was within five feet and my drives were in the fairway all day. I'm going to concentrate on my putting again for tomorrow.”
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 more than 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, 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 500 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.
For more information on the Golf Pride Junior Classic, please contact AJGA Headquarters at (770) 601-5196 or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.
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