Dou, Lee and Angard taking it deep at Oak Valley Golf Club
Esther Lee fires 67 to move into three-way tie atop Girls Division

BEAUMONT, Calif. — Zecheng Dou of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., John Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif., and Alex Angard of Encino, Calif., vaulted into the lead in the Boys Division at the AJGA Junior Challenge at Oak Valley Golf Club, all sitting at 4-under-par 140. Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif., Amy Lee of Brea, Calif., and Chieh Peng of Shenzhen, China, sit atop a crowded Girls Division leaderboard at 3-under-par 141.

The AJGA Junior Challenge is a 54-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif. The tournament field features 102 boys and 42 girls from seven states and ten countries. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 6,982 yards and the Girls Division is playing at 6,080 yards.

Dou hit all nine greens on his front nine Wednesday, contributing to five birdies in his first 13 holes.

“I was hitting my irons well on the front nine, but struggled a bit on the back,” Dou said. “That is something that I will be able to work on heading into tomorrow.”

Angard has dominated the par 5's this week and looks to maintain his aggressive attitude.

“I've played the par 5's in 5-under-par thus far,” Angard said. “The hole locations have gotten progressively more difficult, but I look to keep my momentum going.”

John Lee hit a roadblock in the middle of his round, bogeying three consecutive holes, but was able to rebound and birdie three of his final six.

“My putting is really what carried me through the round,” said Lee, who needed only 12 putts to navigate the back nine.

Tied for fourth at 3-under-par 141 are Shearn Chua of Beaumont, Calif., and Luke Park of Fullerton, Calif.

John's sister, Esther, came out of the gate strong making three birdies and an eagle en route to a 4-under-par 32 on the front nine. She credited her second-round comeback to a little assistance from her father this morning.

“I spent some time working on my putting with my dad, and was able to make most everything I looked at today,” Lee said. “The only short putt I missed was a three-footer on No. 8, but was able to follow it up with an eagle on my final hole of the day.”

Amy Lee, fresh off her win at the Stockton Convention and Visitors Bureau Junior Open last week, continued her steady play today posting a 2-under-par 70. Lee will be looking to replicate last week where she delivered a final-round 66.

“I didn't have a great ball-striking day,” Lee said. “But my putting was able to keep me in the tournament.”

Also tied for the lead at 3-under-par 141 after the second round is Chieh Peng. Peng spends her summers training at Oak Valley Golf Club and feels her local knowledge is a huge asset this week.

“It can be tough to see subtle breaks on this course,” Peng said. “Being able to play here on a regular basis is a big advantage.”

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, Rickie Fowler, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.

Final-round tee times for the AJGA Junior Challenge will run from 7 — 9 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees, Thursday at Oak Valley Golf Club. For more information about the AJGA Junior Challenge, contact tournament headquarters at (678) 571-7994 or visit the website at ajga.org.

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