Farmingdale, NY– The first two rounds of pool play at the 43rd Polo Golf Junior Classic are in the books. The 64 player field this year is headlined by 47 past AJGA champions and 26 Rolex Junior All-Americans. The 32 boys and 32 girls are competing in the only match play format event on the AJGA schedule. 11 boys and seven of the girls are ranked within the top-25 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
12 juniors, six in the Boys Division and six in the Girls Division, went undefeated through two matches.
- Eric Lee of Fullerton, California
- Jose Antonio Safa of Torreon, Mexico
- Adam Miller of Phoenix, Arizona
- Jack Roberts of Saint Marys, Georgia
- Henry Guan of Dallas, Texas
- Patton Samules of Clarksville, Tennessee
- Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, California
- Katie Li of Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- Lynn Lim of Gallatin, Tennessee
- Alexandra Gazzoli of Palm Coast, Florida
- Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California
Highlights of the day included the top seed in the Boys Division, Eric Lee, sweeping his Tuesday matches going 2-0. Lee went 2 & 1 over Kristoffer Kuvaas of Houston, Texas. Then in the afternoon finished 3&2 over Jack Usner of The Woodlands, Texas. Lee is currently ranked No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and looking for his second invitational win this season.
In pool H, Logan Kim of La Canada Flintridge, California, and Byungho Lee of (South Korea) Plano, Texas, both currently sit at 1.5 points. Lee kicked off his day with a match victory over Andrew Ramos of Blaine, Minnesota. He followed up the morning win halving his match against Carson Kim of Yorba Linda, California. Kim did just the opposite. He opened his day halving his match against Carson Kim, taking it to the full 18 holes. He followed it up in the afternoon with a commanding win over Ramos.
Some of the biggest wins of the day included:
- 8&6 afternoon win by Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California, over Claire Lu of Edison, New Jersey.
- 6&4 win by Jose Antonio Safa of Torreon, Mexico, over Mason Snyder of Las Vegas, Nevada
- 9&8 win by Jasmine Koo of Cerritos, California, over Bridget O'Keefe of Palo Alto, California
- 9&3 win by top ranked girl seed Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, California, over Savannah Barber of Fort Worth, Texas
If any of the below names win Wednesday morning they will force a sudden death playoff in their pool with the winner moving on to bracket play.
Boys Division
Pool A - Cayden Pope of Lexington, Kentucky and Kristoffer Kuvaas of Houston, Texas
Pool H - Andrew Ramos Carson Kim Byungho Lee
Girls Division
Pool A - Charlene Chung of Hong Kong or Kylie Chong of Torrance, California
Pool B - Charissa Shang of Calabasas, California, or Elizabeth Rudisill of Charlotte, North Carolina
Pool C - Ava Merrill of Johns Creek, Georgia, or Bridget O'Keefe
Pool D - Catherine Rao of Camarillo, California, or Elise Lee of Irvine, California
Pool G - Annika Ishiyama of Costa Mesa, California, or Sophie Thai of Los Altos, California
Matches to watch Wednesday include:
Boys Division
Byungho Lee versus Logan Kim at 9:30 a.m. ET - both currently at 1.5 points for a winner take all match.
Jose Antonio Safa versus Nicholas Gross at 7:20 a.m. ET - Safa currently at 2 points against Gross' 1.5 points. The winner will move on.
Girls Division
Alexandra Gazzoli versus Rianne Malixi at 11 a.m. ET - Gazzoli currently at 2 points against Malixi's 1.5 points. The winner will move on.
Angela Zhang versus Kynadie Adams at 11:30 a.m. ET - Zhang currently at 1.5 points against Adams' 1 point. The winner will move on.
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About Bethpage State Park Golf Courses - Black Course
The move of the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2022 to Bethpage Black marks the first time the event is being played on a public course. The Black Course is rich in tradition having hosted three major championships, two FedEx Cup playoff events and the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup.
The course which opened in 1936 as part of the Depression Era public-works project that build Bethpage State Park burst onto the scene in 2002 with its first hosting of the U.S. Open. It was this year that a young Tiger Woods, who won the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 1991, captured his second U.S. Open title. The Black Course again hosted the U.S. Open in 2009 where AJGA alumni Lucas Glover took home the title. The ‘extremely difficult course’ recommended ‘only for highly skilled golfers’ also hosted the 2012 and 2016 FedEx Cup playoff event, The Barclays. AJGA alumni Brooks Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship when the course hosted its first major in ten years.
About Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren, a premium lifestyle brand, has been a partner for more than three decades. Since 1995, Polo Ralph Lauren has supported junior golfers who become the next generation of college graduates and business leaders. Every week through AJGA social and digital content, Polo Ralph Lauren celebrates the top performances of AJGA members worldwide, through Polo Ralph Lauren #InspiredPerformances
. Polo Ralph Lauren has hosted the Polo Golf Junior Classic, an Invitational dating back to 1978 and one of the longest-running events in AJGA history.