Beck Goes Low to Take the Lead in AJGA Junior at Steelwood presented by AT&T
Oubre' and Doty are atop the field in Girls Division at Steelwood Country Club

LOXLEY, Ala. — Jimmy Beck of Columbus, Ga., fires a 5-under-par 67 to lead by three after the first round. However, Beck's solid round was not the only talk of the day. Adam Sanders of Oxford, Ala., scored a hole-in-one while A.J. Crouch of Jacksonville, Fla., knocked it in for double eagle. Gabi Oubre' of Mobile, Ala., and Elizabeth Doty of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., both shot even-par 72 to lead by one in the Girls Division.

The AJGA Junior at Steelwood presented by AT&T is a 54-hole tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Steelwood Country Club in Loxley, Ala. The event features 75 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 11 states and China. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,014 yards while the Girls Division is playing the course at 6,034 yards.

On the front nine Beck fired a 4-under-par 32 with four birdies and no bogeys. He continued his momentum on the back nine by shooting a 1-under-par 35 with three birdies and two bogeys.

“I was just hitting fairways and greens and when I was on the green I was able to make the putts for birdies,” said Beck. “It was just one of those days.”

It was one of those days for two other junior golfers as well.

Sanders used his 6-iron from 208 yards out to make his first ever ace on No. 17.

“I had no idea, I was getting ready to play a lost ball and looked in the hole and there it was,” said Sanders.

Crouch holed out from the fairway for double eagle on the par-5 ninth.

“I had 238 yards and I swung as hard as I could with my 3-iron,” said Crouch. “I can't even really be mad the rest of the week.”

Rounding out the top five in the Boys Division are Crouch, Stewart Jolly of Birmingham, Ala., James Yoon of Bradenton, Fla., Caleb Morris of Metter, Ga., William Sellers of Montgomery, Ala., and Mason Seaborn of Montrose, Ala., who all tied for second after shooting 2-under-par 70.

Also having her fair share of birdies was first round co-leader Gabi Oubre' with five, but had three bogeys along with one double bogey.

“I just tried to keep it together,” said Oubre'. “You can't win it on the first day, so I'm just trying to shoot a good score and get myself in contention.”

Doty also had an up and down day with three birdies and three bogeys but was able to use her putter to put her in contention.

“I did make a decent number of putts but I think I can improve my iron shots,” said Doty. “That's something I can work on for the next couple of days, overall it was pretty good.”

Rounding out the top three in the Girls Division are Michelle Butler of Dunedin, Fla., and Ashlan Ramsey of Bradenton, Fla., who both shot 1-over-par 73.

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.

For more information about the AJGA Junior at Steelwood presented by AT&T, please contact Kelli Holloway at (678) 315-3446.