Maye Huang of Katy, Texas, is tied for the lead after a 4-under-par 67 in the first round. Huang had seven birdies in the round and closed with three birdies in her last four holes. She is looking for her first AJGA win and her previous best AJGA finish is runner-up at the 2020 Junior Golf Hub Junior All-Star presented by Explore York.
Ava Merrill of Johns Creek, Georgia, is tied with Huang at 4-under-par 67. Her round included six birdies, including one on No. 18 to tie the lead. At No. 46 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Merrill has two AJGA wins and two top-3 finishes in the 2021 season. Most recently, she finished T3 at the Sung Hyun Park Junior Championship in early April.
Madison Hewlett of Oldsmar, Florida, is in one stroke behind Huang and Merrill in third place after carding a 3-under-par 68. She started the round going bogey-free on the front nine and only carded one bogey on her back nine.
Hogan Ingram of Rome, Georgia, and Rylan Wotherspoon of Florence, Kentucky, carded rounds of 7-under par 64 to take a two-stroke lead in the Boys Division. Ingram, a Georgia Southern University commit, had nine birdies on the day and finished with birdies on two of his last three holes. Wotherspoon had a bogey-free round that included seven-straight pars on Nos. 12-18. Wotherspoon is verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati and has one AJGA win at the 2020 AJGA Junior at Knollwood presented by Yoder Oil. Ingram will be looking to close out his first AJGA win over the next two days.
Patton Samuels of Clarksville, Tennessee, shot a 5-under-par 66 to get into solo third place. Nolan Haynes of Barberton, Ohio, is one stroke behind Samuels in fourth at 4-under-par 67. In a tie for fifth place are Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Sheldon McKnight of Chattanooga, Tennessee, at 3-under-par 68.