Stanford, CA – Xin (Cindy) Kou of Whittier, California, leads the AJGA Girls Invitational at Stanford by two strokes after firing the low second-round of 7-under-par 64. The 2021 graduate is in pursuit of her fourth AJGA Invitational win.
The 78-player field features the top females in junior golf. The entire field is ranked within the top 350 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings, including 35 from the top 100. 20 college commits and 40 AJGA champions round out the overall successes of the field.
In partnership with the Symetra Tour, the winner of this year’s AJGA Girls Invitational at Stanford will receive an exemption into the Symetra Tour’s Guardian Championship in Prattville, Alabama, at the Senator Course of Capitol Hill on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail from September 18-20.
Kou, a nine-time AJGA champion, is a verbal commit to the University of Southern California just 20 miles from her home in Whittier. The AJGA Girls Invitational at Stanford marks Kou’s return to competitive golf after a year hiatus from AJGA events. In her last start at the 2019 Swinging Skirts AJGA Invitational, Kou finished T7. She fired rounds of 71 - 68 – 73 for a tournament total 212 on Stanford Golf Course. As of October 2019, Kou is T12 on the all-time AJGA wins list with nine.
"This is my first tournament in a whole year so I was just really trying to focus on the process of each shot and just give it 120%. Focusing on targets and the processes was the main thing."
Kou carded the low round of the day at 7-under-par 64. Her day included a bogey-free front-nine and eight total birdies.
Two-strokes back of Kou is Brooke Biermann of Wildwood, Missouri. The 2021 graduate shot a bogey-free second round, carding six birdies for a 6-under-par 65. The three-time AJGA champion’s most recent win came at the 2020 AJGA Stan Utley and Mid-America Youth Golf Foundation Junior Championship in July. Biermann is a verbal commit to Michigan State University. She is currently ranked No. 52 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Jacqueline Nguyen of Houston, Texas, and local Palo Alto native Sydney Sung are tied for third at 4-under-par 138.
Nguyen, currently No. 67 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings is making her second career AJGA Invitational start this week. Her 3-under-par 68 moved her to T3 heading into the final round.
Palo Alto native Sung is no stranger to Stanford Golf Course. The 2022 graduate is making her first AJGA Invitational appearance this week at her home course. The No. 105 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings has five top-10 finishes in her AJGA career.
The final-round of the AJGA Girls Invitational at Stanford begins tomorrow at 7:10 am PST off Stanford Golf Course No. 1 and 10 tees.