Rogan Maintains Lead Heading into the Final Round at Columbia Country Club
Tobey staves off stiff competition in the Girls Division to keep lead

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Shane Rogan of Columbia, S.C., kept his first-round lead Wednesday after firing an even-par 72 for a second round total of 2-under-par 142 at the AJGA Palmetto Junior Classic. In the Girls Division, Mattie Tobey of Denver, N. C., also shot well to hold her lead, carding an even-par 72 for a second round total of 1-under-par 143.

The AJGA Palmetto Junior Classic is a 54-hole tournament conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Columbia Country Club in Blythewood, S.C. The tournament field features 75 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-18, from 16 states, Columbia, Argentina and Taiwan. The Boys Division is playing the par-72 course at 7,111 yards while the Girls Division is playing at 6,185 yards.

Rogan played another solid round of golf today at Columbia Country Club, carding one birdie and one bogey for an even-par 72. The only blemish on his card Wednesday was actually a focusing mechanism, he said.

“On No. 9 I actually bogeyed and that put me back into my focus and kept me really playing hard on the back nine,” Rogan said.

Striking the ball well and relying on accurate tee shots, Rogan managed to find the fairway most of his round.

“My game was very solid today,” Rogan said. “I was in the fairway probably 12 out of 14 times and that really made it easy on me. I didn't hit a bad one and I didn't beat myself out there. That really helped me attack the hole and try to make birdie.”

Going into Thursday's final round, Rogan said he plans to play his own game and hopes to continue finding the fairway.

In a tie for second place are Jonathan Lilly of Evans, Ga., Noah Walker of Norwell, Mass., and Brendon Caballero of Brentwood, Tenn., after carding second round totals of 1-over-par 145. In a tie for fifth place are Seth Gandy of Huntersville, N.C., Conor Richardson of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Jay Pinkos of Clifton, Va., with two-day totals of 2-over-par 146.

Tobey had an up and down day at Columbia Country Club, but after a strong back nine, she maintains the lead in the Girls Division. Struggling to find her game on the front nine, Tobey admitted she had to fight to keep herself playing well.

“I didn't play as well today as I did yesterday,” Tobey said. “I really had to scramble.”

After telling herself to turn her game around, Tobey carded two birdies on the back side, one on No. 11 and the other on No. 17. After two rounds, Tobey holds the lead alone, something she has never done.

“It feels great,” Tobey said of leading going into Thursday's final round. “I was expecting to be sharing the lead. The competition is so close.”

McKenzie Talbert of Edgefield, S.C., and Manuela Carbajo Re of Necochea, Argentina, are tied for second at 1-over-par 145.

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.

Final-round tee times for the AJGA Palmetto Junior Classic will run from 7:30-12:50 a.m. off the No.1 tee at Columbia Country Club. For more information about the AJGA Palmetto Junior Classic please contact Tournament Director A.J. Donaldson at (678) 386-1487, or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.

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