Johns Island, SC - The final round of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship begins today at 8:00 am off Nos. 1 and 10. Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Florida is the current leader at 12-under-par 204.
Pairings to watch
9:50 am off No. 1 – Alexa Pano, Lei (Angelina) Ye of Bradenton, Florida, and Sophia Bae of Norwood, New Jersey
· Pano carded two 5-under-par 67 rounds yesterday during rounds two and three. She is on the hunt for her first AJGA Invitational win and is currently No. 3 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
· Lei (Angelina) Ye, No. 21 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, sits at solo second at 10-under-par 206.
· Sophia Bae, a verbal commit to Duke University, is in solo third at 6-under-par 210.
9:40 am off No.1 – Megan Propeck of Leawood, Kansas, Phoebe Brinker of Wilmington, Delaware, and Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana.
· Propeck, Brinker and Shepherd are currently all T4 at 4-under-par 212.
· Propeck is already a 2019 AJGA Champion. She took home the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior last week.
· Brinker and Shepherd are both Duke University commits. Brinker is verbal and Shepherd signed her national letter of intent this past fall.
9:30 am off No. 1 – Jensen Castle of West Columbia, South Carolina, Bailey Shoemaker of West Edmeston, New York and Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California.
· Castle, Shoemaker and Li are currently T7 at 1-under-par 215 for the tournament.
· Castle is signed to play collegiate golf at the University of Kentucky this fall.
· Shoemaker is a verbal commit to the University of Southern California.
· Li is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American and three-time AJGA Invitational Champion. She took home the ANA Junior Inspiration, The PING Invitational and Rolex Tournament of Champions all in 2017.
About the field
· 17 current Rolex Junior All-Americans
· 46 AJGA Champions including 2017 Rolex Girls Junior Championship champion, Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee.
· 41 total players committed to play college golf
· 22 total states and six countries represented in the field
About the course
The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek is a first-time host of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship. The golf course located on 800 acres of Johns Island was designed by famed golf course architect Rees Jones. Jones designed seven US Open sites, nine PGA Championship courses, two Walker Cup venues and six Ryder Cup venues.
Experience in top AJGA Girls events
· 44 competed in the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex
· 32 played in the Buick Shanshan Feng Girls Invitational
· 30 have competed in the ANA Junior Inspiration
· There are 46 first time Rolex Girls Junior Championship participants
10 of the Top 25 players in the Rolex Top 25 AJGA Rankings
3 Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Florida
5 Erica Shepherd
6 Bohyun Park of Farmers Branch, Texas
7 Amanda Sambach of Davidson, North Carolina
8 Rachel Heck
10 Lucy Li
21 Lei (Angelina) Ye
23 Jiarui (Joyce) Jin of Encinitas, California
24 Jensen Castle of West Columbia, South Carolina
25 Caroline Curtis of Richmond, Virginia
Tournament Schedule
Friday, June 14 -
· 8:00 am to 9:50 am – Final Round off Nos. 1 and 10 tees
· 3:00 pm – Awards Ceremony
Social
Follow along on social with our hashtag, #RolexGirls or visit AJGA.org
About Rolex
An unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise
Rolex, a Swiss watch manufacture headquartered in Geneva, is recognized the world over for its expertise and the quality of its products. Its Oyster Perpetual and Cellini watches, all certified as Superlative Chronometers for their precision, performance and reliability, are symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. The word “Perpetual” is inscribed on every Rolex Oyster. But more than just a word on a dial, it is a philosophy that embodies the company’s vision and values. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, instilled a notion of perpetual excellence that would drive the company forward. This led Rolex to pioneer the development of the wristwatch and numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, invented in 1931. Rolex has registered over 500 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Furthermore, Rolex is actively involved in supporting the arts and culture, sport and exploration, as well as those who are devising solutions to preserve the planet.
About the American Junior Golf Association
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 7,200 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.