In the first round, Luke Poulter of (Great Britain) Orlando, Florida, shot 4-under-par 68 to grab the Boys Division lead. Poulter fired off five birdies with a bogey-free back nine in his first 18 holes.
Sitting in sole possession of second place, is Matvey Golovanov of (Russian Federation) Boca Raton, Florida, at 3-under-par 69. Golovanov carded five birdies in his first round and is looking for his first AJGA win. Tied for third place at 2-under-par 70 are You Seong Choi of (South Korea) Hacienda Heights, California, and Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala. Choi carded four birdies and Palacios carded a bogey-free back nine in their respective rounds.
Rounding out the top-five are juniors, Cooper Tate of Winter Garden, Florida, and Lee Poppell of Tallahassee, Florida, at even-par 72. Tate notched three birdies in his round while Poppell didn't card a bogey on his back-nine.
Leading the Girls Division at 3-under-par 69 is Luisamariana Mesones of (Peru) Wesley Chapel, Florida. Mesones was the only Girls Division junior to shoot under par in the first round with seven birdies. She is a 2022 graduate. Sitting in second place is Xinyi (Iris) Wang of (Hong Kong) Lake Mary, Florida, at 1-over-par 73. Wang notched five birdies in her first round.
In a tie for third place, four juniors sit at 2-over-par 74:
- Emily Zhu of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
- Karoline Tuttle of Lake Mary, Florida
- Alexia Siehl of Fort Mill, South Carolina
- Elan Zhang of Orlando, Florida