Around the Green

Guercio and Jones Lead the Collegiate Preview After First Two Rounds

ANNA—Crosby Guercio of Frisco fired rounds of 71-67 and leads the Boys Division at the Collegiate Preview by one stroke after Monday’s first two rounds. Dallas’ Hailey Jones holds a two-stroke lead in the Girls Division at Hurricane Creek Country Club.

This is the Legends Junior Tour’s third annual Collegiate Preview and the fourth event thus far in 2016. The Collegiate Preview is modeled after a college-style event and is set to prepare junior golfers for the next level. The tournament features 78 golfers who are all over the age of 14 years.

Weather was a factor in this year’s Collegiate Preview, causing a 45-minute weather delay just after 12:00 PM. However players were able to navigate the challenging Leon Howard design course and complete the first two rounds of the event.

Guercio, who finished tied for fifth in last year’s rain-shortened Collegiate Preview, made nine birdies in two rounds on Monday, including five in his bogey-free second round. Guercio started on the 10^th hole on Monday and made back-to-back birdies on holes No. 16 & 17.

Trailing by one stroke in the Boys Division is Tucker Allen, who carded rounds of 70-69 to sit at 5-under-par 139 overall after the first two rounds. The Granbury native played the par-3s and par-4s at 4-under on Monday, making birdies on eight of the 26 holes.

Two players are tied for third heading into Tuesday’s final round. Plano native’s Travis McInroe and Pierceson Coody each sit at 3-under 141. Coody, who is the reigning Boys 15-18 Player of the Year, made an eagle on the third hole, a 405-yard par 4, which played as his final hole Monday. McInroe finished tied for 13^th in last year’s event.

Tobin Niblett of Austin, Ryan Grider of Lewisville and Kyle Robinson of Fayetteville, Ark. each sit at 2-under-par 142 and are tied for fifth. Niblett posted a 5-under 67 in the second round, while Robinson made 12 birdies on the day and played the par-5s at 7-under. Grider is the two-time defending champion of this event and sits just four strokes back heading into Tuesday’s final round.

Jones, who has won two events thus far in 2016, leads the Girls Division after rounds of 73-74 on Monday. The Winter Classic and James A. Ragan Memorial Champion made seven birdies on the day and an eagle on the par-5 15^th hole.

Trailing Jones heading after the first two rounds is Jennie Park, who won the inaugural North Texas Classic last October. The Carrollton native posted rounds of 71-78 and sits at 6-over-par. Chandler Rosholt of Cedar Park and Camille Enright of Plano are tied for third at 8-over 152.

Brett Permann of Frisco, Amber Park of Allen and Kennedy Pedigo of Fort Worth are tied for fifth at 158 overall, while four players are tied for eighth at 161 overall.

For more information about the Collegiate Preview and to see all the scores from the first two rounds, click here.