Pool Play at the 45th Polo Golf Junior Classic

Farmingdale, NY - The Polo Golf Junior Classic started today with the first two rounds of Pool Play. The 64 player field this year is headlined by 51 past AJGA champions and 28 Rolex Junior All-Americans. The 32 boys and 32 girls are competing in the only match play format event on the AJGA schedule. Seven boys and six of the girls are ranked within the top-25 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings.

15 juniors, six in the Boys Division and six in the Girls Division, went undefeated through two matches.

• Nicholas Gross of Downingtown, Pennsylvania
• Jay Leng Jr of San Diego, California
• Michael Riebe of Encinitas, California
• Kale Fontenot of Lafayette, Louisiana
• Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Virginia
• Nathan Miller of Dallas, Texas
• Smith Summerlin of Raleigh, North Carolina
• Gloria Nip of Port St. Lucie, Florida
• Jude Lee of Walnut, California
• Nikki Oh of Torrance, California
• Megan Meng of Pennington, New Jersey
• Kylie Chong of Torrance, California
• Avery McCrery of Wilmington, Delaware
• Michelle Woo of Fremont, California
• Lucy Yuan of San Diego, California

Highlights of the day included defending champion Byungho Lee of Plano, Texas, falling in his afternoon match to Jack Turner of Orlando, Florida, with a final score of 6&5.

No. 2 seed in the field Nicholas Gross swept his Tuesday matches going 2&1 over Alejandro Fierro Saul of Mexico, and 6&4 against Jack Roberts of Saint Marys, Georgia. Gross is a University of Alabama commit and came into the field top ranked in the Boys Division currently No. 4 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.

No. 1 seed in the Girls Division Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California, was upset in her first match of the day where Gloria Nip won 6&5.

Some of the biggest wins of the day included:

• Morning win by Jay Leng Jr. over Rocco Salvitti of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, at 6&5
• Morning win by Alisa Inprasit of Thailand over Gracie McGovern of Scottsdale, Arizona, at 6&5
• Carson Bertagnole of Pinehurst, North Carolina, beat Will Hartman of Marvin, North Carolina, 5&4
• Eduardo Derbez Torres of Mexico, beat Canadian Alex Long, 7&6
• Boyi (Barry) Zhang of (China) Lake Mary, Florida, beat Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, 5&3

Matches to watch Wednesday include:

Boys Division

• In Boys pool G the match of Logan Reilly versus Nathan Miller will decide who moves on to the bracket play.
• Boys Pool D (Mawhinney, Zhu, Bertagnole, Hartman) each have one point after the first two matches. A toss up that is anyone's game and could force a sudden-death playoff.
• Jay Leng Jr. (Pool C) and Kale Fontenot (Pool F) are most likely moving on from their respective pools. Each head into Wednesday with two points.

Girls Division

• Pool F, Kylie Chong and Mi Li of (China) Kissimmee, Florida, control their fate. An outright winner would move one of them through, but a tie opens the door to others in the pool.
• Michelle Woo and Avery McCrery in Pool G also are in the drivers seat. The winner here will move on out of the pool.
• The girls in Pool H also have a deciding match between Ryleigh Knaub of Debary, Florida, and Lucy Yuan of (Canada) San Diego, California.

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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.