Sophie Dalfonsi of Bend, Oregon, is the leader of the Girls Division with a score of 3-under-par 69. Dalfonsi had five birdies on the round and zero bogeys on the back nine. In 2020, she had two top-ten finishes in AJGA tournaments.
Sofia Choi of Littleton, Colorado, sits at T2 with a score of 1-under-par 71. Choi had four birdies on the round. Choi qualified for the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in June 2021.
Lauren Kim of (Canada) Surrey, British Columbia, shares second with Choi at 1-under-par 71. Kim was the only player in the field to have seven birdies in the round.
Will Kates of Centennial, Colorado, shares the lead in the Boys Division with a score of 3-under-par 69. Kates had five birdies in the first round. In his only tournament of 2021, he had a top-10 finish in the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado's Spring Tour- Country Club of Colorado tournament.
Owen Cornmesser of Fort Collins, Colorado, shares the lead with Kates. In 2018, he was named the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado's Player of the Year. #HaleIrwinJr is Cornmesser's first AJGA tournament since October 2020.
Four boys share a piece of third with a score of 2-under-par 70, Ryan Shellberg of Prosper, Texas, Matthew Spaulding of Spring, Texas, Camden Braidech of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Jeffrey Nelson II of Commerce City, Colorado.
Shellberg had four birdies on the round, all coming on the back nine of play. Spaulding carded five birdies on the day. In August 2020, Spaulding won the Gateway First Bank Tulsa Junior hosted by Bo Van Pelt. Braidech had two birdies on his bogey-free card. This is his sixth AJGA start. Nelson II is on a hot streak. He's had top-ten finishes in all four of his 2021 tournament starts.