Lewis gains sole possession of lead at the Frederica Junior Open
Kim, Clark continue share of lead in the Girls Division at Frederica Golf Club
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Joe Lewis of Savannah, Ga., continued his success as he posted 5-under-par 67 in Wednesday's second round, making him the lone 36-hole leader at 9-under-par 135. In the Girls Division, Anna Kim of Chandler, Ariz., and Aliea Clark of Carlsbad, Calif., carded identical scores for the second consecutive day as they both fired even-par 72 in the second round totaling 2-under-par 142 on the tournament.
The Frederica Junior Open is a 54-hole stroke play event conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Frederica Golf Club. The tournament field includes 72 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18 from 13 states and Canada. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,154 yards and the Girls Division is playing at 6,243 yards.
Lewis picked up right where he left off birdying six holes in the second round to one bogey, four of which were on the front nine. The Georgia-native takes a one-shot lead into the final round.
“I wasn't making any mistakes,” Lewis said. “This golf course really fits me because you can spray the ball a little bit and still be fine.”
Michael Pisciotta of Alpharetta, Ga., matched his first round score of 4-under-par 68 and ended the day just one shot behind Lewis in second. In a tie for third are Riley Davenport of Woodstock, Ga., and Parker Derby of Columbus, Ga., who entered the clubhouse at 7-under-par 137 on the tournament. Derby worked his way back into contention by carding 8-under-par 64 in the second round. Rounding out the top-five is Joshua Lee of Orange Park, Fla., who finished the day at 4-under-par 140.
In the Girls Division, Kim looks to her mental game plan and consistency for the final round. After making the turn at 1-over-par 37, she was able to make a pair of birdies on the way in to post a 1-under-par 35, totaling even-par 72 on the day. As her approach shots were where they needed to be, putts weren't falling and that's something Kim feels she will need to win.
“I'm trying to carry what I did in the first round through and continue to stay positive,” Kim said. “I was able to stick it to a lot of pins today, but my putting just wasn't there.”
Following a bogey on her first hole of the day on No. 10, Clark put together 14 straight pars before birdying No. 7 en route to an even-par 72 that put her on top of the leaderboard with Kim. In her last AJGA event of the summer, she looks to fine tune her putting Wednesday night and end the summer with a win.
“I hit every fairway and green out there, except for one,” Clark said. “My putting was a little off today, so I'm going to work on that in preparation for tomorrow.”
Christine Lin of Austin, Texas, sits in third place in the Girls Division, two shots behind co-leaders Kim and Clark. Lin posted 1-over-par 73 on Wednesday to put her at even-par 144 on the tournament.
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.
Final round tee times for the Frederica Junior Open will run from 7:30 a.m. — 9:31 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at Frederica Golf Club. For more information about the Frederica Junior Open contact Tournament Director Jeremy Freyman at (678) 617-9917.
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