On moving day at the 12th ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex, Benedetta Moresco of Caldogno, Vicenza, Italy, took a one-stroke lead after carding a 2-under-par 70 in the second round.
Moresco, a University of Alabama verbal commit, had four birdies on the day and sits at 3-under-par 141 for the tournament. Three of her four birdies came on the front nine to get her out to a lead that she wouldn’t give up the rest of the day. Moresco will be playing in the final group tomorrow in her first time competing in an AJGA tournament. In 2019, she had 7 top-5 finishes in international golf events and was a member of the 2019 European PING Junior Solheim Cup team.
Sadie Englemann of Austin, Texas, sits in second place after matching the low round of the day with a 3-under-par 69. She shot up the leaderboard thanks to four birdies on the day, including a bogey-free back nine. The Stanford University commit is one back of the lead at 2-under-par 142 and is looking for her first AJGA win since 2018.
Paris Hilinski of Los Angeles, California, is in third place at 1-under-par 143 after a second round of 1-under-par 71. Hilinski is playing in her first AJGA event since 2018.
Megha Ganne of Holmdel, New Jersey; Rose Zhang of Irvine, California; Valentina Rossi of Rosario, Argentina; and Amari Avery of Riverside, California, are all tied for fourth at even-par 144.
The final round will take place at the World Golf Village - Slammer & Squire course on Monday, January 20, on Nos. 1 and 10 from 8:15 a.m. to 10:05 a.m.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
The ANNIKA Foundation is devoted to growing the game of golf around the world. In addition to its involvement with the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and ANNIKA Award, it annually hosts six girls-only invitational tournaments on five continents: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex, the ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup (Sweden), ANNIKA Invitational Mission Hills (China), the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia (New Zealand).
Since the inaugural Foundation tournament – the 2009 ANNIKA Invitational USA – 60 ANNIKA event alumnae have earned LPGA cards. Twenty-eight alumnae competed in the 2019 ANA Inspiration.
For more information, please visit www.annikafoundation.org .
About the AJGA
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 12-19) of more than 7,000 members from 50 states and 60 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
TaylorMade and adidas are the AJGA’s National Sponsors, supporting the AJGA for more than 25 years. TaylorMade has served as the Official Ball of the AJGA since 2016. adidas has been the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA since 2017. Rolex, in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 900 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson.