BOWLING GREEN, Florida - Iris Lee of Orlando, Florida, leads the Ninja Invitational hosted by Janet Xiyu Lin after carding a first round, 4-under-par 69.
The 2025 event features 36 juniors ranked inside the top 100 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The 72-player field includes nine Rolex Junior All-Americans, representatives from five countries and 16 players from Florida. In addition, 21 competitors have already committed to play college golf.
Lee began her round on the par-5 No. 12, picking up her first birdie at the par-3 No. 15. She added back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 before finishing with two more — on the par-4 No. 3 and par-5 No. 10.
Lee, the youngest player in the field at 12 years old, is ranked No. 50 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. A 2025 Junior All-Star Team member, she has already captured titles at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the AJGA Junior All-Star presented by Visit Tallahassee.
"My driver and putter were both really good today, so I was able to give myself a lot of birdie opportunities. I didn't think I was going to make it to an Invitational this year, but I did and that makes me really proud."
Clairey Lin of Palos Verdes Estates, California, and Destiny McNeil of Castroville, Texas, are one shot back at 3-under-par.
Lin opened on No. 1, making her first birdie at the par-4 No. 3. She then strung together 16 straight pars before finishing strong with an eagle on the par-5 No. 18.
A 2024 Rolex Junior All-American and 2025 Wyndham Cup West team member, Lin is ranked No. 8 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and owns six AJGA victories.
McNeil opened strong with an eagle on the par-5 No. 12, adding birdies at Nos. 14, 18 and 3 before closing with five straight pars.
Competing in her first AJGA Invitational, she has already earned two wins this year at the Ochsner Health / AJGA New Orleans Classic and the AJGA Junior at Ratliff Ranch presented by Discover Odessa.
About the Course
Streamsong Black, designed by renowned architect Gil Hanse, is a bold and expansive Par-73 championship layout that has quickly earned national acclaim. Named Golf Digest’s Best New Golf Course of the Year in 2018, it currently ranks No. 33 on Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses (2025) and No. 31 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play (2025). Known for its massive greens—the largest in the country—Streamsong Black challenges players with creative contours, rolling elevation changes, and dramatic sand ridges reminiscent of Australia’s famed Sand Belt Region. The course has become a familiar stage for elite junior golf, marking the AJGA’s fifth event at Streamsong Black and the third time it has hosted the AJGA Girls Invitational, now known as the Ninja Invitational hosted by Janet Xiyu Lin.
About Janet Xiyu Lin
Janet Xiyu Lin has emerged as one of the most accomplished players in women’s golf, with 29 career top-10s and 85 top-25 finishes. Turning professional in 2011, she quickly made her mark on the CLPGA and LET before joining the LPGA Tour, where she has been a consistent contender for over a decade. Lin has represented China in three Olympic Games, finishing T4 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, T9 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and capturing a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the second Chinese woman to earn an Olympic medal in golf. She has also been a key contributor on Team China at the International Crown in 2016 and 2023. Known for her consistency, competitiveness, and ability to perform on the world stage, Lin continues to be a trailblazer for Chinese golf and an inspiration to aspiring players worldwide.
Schedule
Second-round tee times will run from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 12 on Sunday, August 30.
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