Three pace crowded leaderboard at Team TaylorMade Invitational

BOWLING GREEN, FLORIDA -- Jonathan Griz of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, William Jennings of Greenville, South Carolina, and Mehrbaan Singh of Ashburn, Virginia, opened the inaugural Team TaylorMade Invitational at 5-under-par 67. In the lead by one stroke, all three juniors played the front nine bogey free.

Debuting at Streamsong Resort's Blue Course, half of the field of 78 players ended at par or better after the first 18 holes to kick off Memorial Day weekend and the official opening of the AJGA's 2021 summer season. Players from 21 states and two international countries (China, South Korea) include 42 AJGA champions, 25 Rolex Junior All-Americans, and 40 players committed to play college golf.

Griz, played bogey free on the front nine with birdies on Nos. 2, 6, 7, and 9. The rising high school senior Monday qualified into the Korn Ferry Tour's Club Car Championship at the Landings Club in Savannah in March and teed it up again 10 days ago on Monday at the Adventhealth Championship in Chicago. Griz, the No. 1 junior golfer in South Carolina in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American.

Jennings played the front nine 4-under-par 32 with consecutive birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, and Nos. 8 and 9. The 15-year-old had a pair of AJGA career high runner-up finishes in 2020 (Callaway Golf Junior Classic presented by UHY and TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star). The rising high school sophomore won a two-hole playoff to capture the 2020 Carolinas Junior Boys’ Championship.

Singh made the first hole-in-one in Team TaylorMade Invitational history on the par 3, No. 7 with a 7 iron after consecutive birdies on Nos. 5 and 6. The feat was the rising high school senior's sixth career holes-in-one. He opened the front nine at 5-under-par 31 thanks to an additional red number on the opening hole. The Virginia Tech verbal commit put together three runner-up finishes in 2020: the AJGA Junior Open presented by VisitFayettevilleNC.com, Visit Sanford Junior Open, and UHY / Celadon Junior Championship hosted by Marina Alex.

One stroke off the lead at 4-under-par 68 are Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, North Carolina.

Ford, one of five players in the Team TaylorMade Invitational field who also competed last week in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Chambers Bay, started the year with a T5 at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. The University of Georgia signee was a 2020 first team Rolex Junior All-American.

Surratt, the third-highest Rolex AJGA Ranked player in the field at No. 7, is a Tennessee verbal commit and 2020 second team Rolex Junior All-American. He opened the 2021 season with a pair of T8 finishes: Rolex Tournament of Champions and AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. Surratt battled and outlasted Ford a month ago at the Terra Cotta Invitational.

About Team TaylorMade

TaylorMade has been involved with the AJGA as a product supplier and partner for more than 25 years, joining as an Official Partner in 2011 and investing fully as a National Sponsor in 2016. The Official Golf Ball of the AJGA, Team TaylorMade athletes Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa, Sierra Brooks, Maria Fassi, Sung Hyun Park, and Charley Hull all have ties to the AJGA as player alumni, tournament hosts or program supporters.

About TaylorMade Golf Company

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade Golf is a leading manufacturer of high performance golf equipment, golf balls and accessories with industry-leading innovative products like SIM2 metalwoods, SIM2 irons, P Series irons, TP5/TP5X golf balls and Spider putters. A major force across the world's professional tours, TaylorMade has an unrivaled athlete portfolio that includes Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa, Harry Higgs, SH Park, Charley Hull, Maria Fassi and Sierra Brooks.