Reddy Cards Seven Birdies to Take Control of Boys Division at Preseason Junior Oak Valley
Bodnar leads Girls Division by one stroke after first round
BEAUMONT,
Calif. – Kethan Reddy of Anaheim, Calif., leads the Boys Division by two strokes
after shooting a 4-under-par 68 in the first round of the Preseason Junior at
Oak Valley. Natalie Bodnar of Pleasanton, Calif., sits in first in the Girls
Division with a 3-over-par 75.
The Preseason Junior at Oak Valley is a 36-hole stroke play tournament
conducted by the American Junior Golf Association. The event is hosted on the
par-72 Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif., and plays at 6,738 yards for
the Boys Division and 5,740 yards for the Girls Division. The tournament field
features 96 players from six states, including 73 from California.
Reddy picked up steam on the front nine, putting together a string of four straight birdies on Nos. 4 — 7. He would go on to record five birdies on the front nine and add two more on the back to finish with a total of seven.
“I started with a long birdie putt on No. 4, maybe 25 feet, and it got me pumped up and I kind of took off from there,” Reddy said. “I was more conservative on the back and it didn't work out so well but I switched back at the end and finished with two birdies.”
Trailing Reddy in second is Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver, British Columbia, who carded a 2-under-par 70. Connor Campbell of Seal Beach, Calif., is in third after a 1-under-par 71, while Brett Johnson of Vancouver, Wash., Clayton Yamaguchi of Los Angeles, and Justin Beck of Carlsbad, Calif., are all tied for fourth at even-par 72.
Bodnar's 75 leads the Girls Division by one stroke, but a bit of bad luck kept her from shooting even lower.
“I had a 1-footer on No. 15 that literally rolled 360 degrees around the cup and skipped out,” Bodnar said. “I played solid but there were more opportunities out there.”
Local golfer Wanasa Zhou, of Beaumont, Calif., and Marissa Hinchman of Lodi, Calif., are one stroke back after each carded a 4-over-par 76.
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 Preseason Junior at Oak Valley, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (770) 601-8922 or visit the AJGA website at ajga.org.
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