FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas - Lily Peng of San Ramon, California shoots a 4-under-par 68 to lead the Girls Division after the first round of the Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational.
Peng opened the round with a birdie on the second hole and continued her strong play with five additional birdies to follow. Peng is currently ranked No. 41 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and has one career AJGA win to her credit. She was named a 2023, Rolex Junior All-American and has four top-five AJGA career finishes. Peng believes staying consistent will lead to success in the following rounds of the tournament.
I'm just trying not to pressure myself too much about the score...Just play each shot one at a time and see where it goes.
Sitting two shots behind Peng are Sofia Cherif Essakali and Aphrodite Deng. The two competitors are tied for second after carding a 2-under-par round of 70.
Chase Jerome, Andy Dai and Luc Kelty all lead the Boys Division with a score of 3-under-par after the first round.
Jerome of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada carded seven birdies throughout the round to highlight his scorecard. Jerome is currently ranked No.136 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and has one career AJGA victory.
Andy Dai of Bradenton, Florida made four straight birdies on the front nine to lead the way after the first round. Dai has two top-five career AJGA finishes in his junior golf career.
Luc Kelty birdied five of the last nine holes to jump up the leaderboard into a tie for first after the opening round. Kelty is competing in his first AJGA invitational and has two top-five AJGA career finishes.
Kelty explains that the conditions at Blessings Golf Club helped him play well today.
Here at Blessings Golf Club, you always have a great lie in the fairway and it makes me feel more comfortable with my chipping.
Following the leaders, Manav Bharani and Chase Hughes are tied for fourth with a score of 2-under-par to round out the top-five.
In the boys versus girls challenge, the boys collectively shot 11-under-par to take the lead over the girls by three after the first round.
Tournament History
The Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational has occurred annually since 2015. In this year's event, former Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational champion, Alice Ziyi Zhao is competing in the tournament field. The Stacy Lewis All-Star Invitational was originally hosted at Fayetteville Club before returning to Blessings Golf Club in 2017.
About 2024 Player Field
In the 2024 Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational field, 11 juniors are currently ranked inside the top-100 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings:
No. 6 Aphrodite Deng of Short Hills, New Jersey
No. 19 Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, California
No. 34 Sofia Cherif Essakali of Orlando, Florida
No. 41 Lily Peng of San Ramon, California
No. 43 Eliana Saga of Stevenson Ranch, California
No. 50 Samantha Chiou of Orinda, California
No. 55 Ruihan Kendria Wang of Bellevue, Washington
No. 64 Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Washington
No. 67 Clara Ding of White Rock, British Columbia
No. 73 Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
No. 87 Ava Zhang of Lake Mary, Florida