Around the Green

Wong Fires 5-Under 67 to Lead Spring Preview

CYPRESS, Texas – Houston’s Shuai Ming Wong fired a red-hot 5-under-par 67 in the Legends Junior Tour’s Spring Preview on Saturday afternoon. Gurleen Kaur, also of Houston, leads the Girls 12-18 division by one stroke after a first-round 2-under 70 at Blackhorse Golf Club. Austin’s J. Holland Humphries leads the Boys 14 & Under division after a 2-under 70.

Wong, who started on No. 10, played a bogey-free first nine holes to go out in 2-under 34. On his back side, he started out hot, making birdies on holes two and three. He carded his lone bogey of the day on the par-3 fourth hole, but followed it up with a birdie on the par-5 fifth. He had one more birdie coming in to his final hole, the par-5 ninth to take a four shot lead.

Two-time Spring Preview champion Kyle Hogan sits in a tie for second place with Temple’s William Paysse. Both players carded 1-under 71’s. Dallas’ Mark Reppe, Houston’s Jackson Taff, and Frisco’s Dawson Ovard sit in a tie for fourth place, five shots back of Wong heading into Sunday’s final round. The trio carded even-par 72’s in the first round.

Kaur, playing in her first Legends Junior Tour event of the season, played the front nine in 1-under 35, carding eight pars and a birdie on the ninth hole. She had her lone bogey of the day on the par-4 10^th hole, but had back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16 to take a one-shot lead.

Kingwood’s Hanna Alberto sits in second place after a 1-under 71. She had four birdies against one bogey and a double-bogey. Dallas’ Hailey Jones sits in third place, two shots back of Kaur. Cedar Park’s Chandler Rosholt carded a 1-over 73 and sits in fourth place.  

In the Boys 14 & Under division, Humphries had an up and down opening nine, carding two birdies against two bogeys. He opened his back nine with a birdie on the 10^th hole, and had two more birdies on his back side to get to 2-under 70.

Humphries sits two shots clear of two other Austin natives – Trey Bosco and Cole Sherwood. They both carded even-par 72’s on their opening round. Evan Vo, Maxwell Martinez and Dallas Hankamer all sit tied for fourth place, six shots back of Humphries.

This is the third tournament on the Legends Junior Tour in 2016 and is ranked nationally by Golfweek and Junior Golf Scoreboard. The Spring Preview has been one of the more popular events on tour recently. AJGA Performance Stars will also be awarded to some of the top finishers.

The Spring Preview has been held at BlackHorse Golf Club for the last three years. Designed by the Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy, The South Course was built around large lakes and the final six holes of the course take players through an expansive sand quarry which was transformed into wetlands. The scenic 17^th hole features a large body of water that players have to carry to get onto the green of the par 3.

The final round begins at 8:00 AM on Sunday with players teeing off on No. 1 and No. 10. Tee times and pairings can be found by clicking here. Results from Saturday’s first round can be found by clicking here.