Around the Green

Breezy Opening Round of James A. Ragan Memorial Complete

CORPUS CHRISTI – Trenton Leffingwell and Jzeke Dukes post 1-under rounds on Sunday and sit atop the leaderboard in the Boys 15-18 Division at the James A. Ragan Memorial. Libby Winans leads the Girls 12-18 Division, while Connor Adams leads the Boys 14 & Under Division.

James Ragan was a former Legends Junior Tour Player that was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 13 years old. Ragan started playing on tour in 2008 and recorded three top-25 finishes in his LJT career. The Corpus Christi native was a member at Corpus Christi Country Club and was the 2009 Junior Club Champion.

This tournament is set up in his honor and benefits his foundation, “Triumph Over Kids Cancer.”

New Braunfels’ Leffingwell and Houston’s Dukes made five birdies each in the breezy conditions at Corpus Christi Country Club.

Starting on No. 10, Leffingwell made four birdies in his first six holes, including the par-3 14^th, which plays at 183 yards. The first-round leader in last year’s event, Leffingwell, bounced back from three straight bogeys by making a birdie on the 150-yard fourth hole, which played as the sixth toughest of the day in the Boys 15-18 Division.

Dukes, who also started on No. 10, made birdies on his first two holes and then added another on the 545-yard 15^th. His 33 on the front was brought back to earth when he made a tough triple-bogey on the second hole. The 447-yard second hole played as the toughest hole in the Boys 15-18 Division. Dukes made birdie on No. 6, bogeyed No. 7 and then birdied No. 8 to get back to 1-under on the day.

Trailing the leaders by one stroke is Corpus Christi’s Billy Teichman, who shot even-par 71. Teichman, who is the current Junior Club Champion at Corpus Christi Country Club, finished third in last year’s event and has played in all three James A. Ragan Memorial tournaments since 2015.

Austin’s Jack Wehman sits alone in fourth place at 2-over, while John Keefer, Francois Jacobs, Jake Holbrook, Tucker Allen and Brian Garrett are all tied for fifth at 3-over.  Jenson Rogenes, Holden Wisener, Dawson Ovard and Jansen Smith are tied for 10^th heading into Monday’s final round.

Winans of Richardson holds a two-stroke lead over the field in the Girls 12-18 Division. Winans made a birdie on the par-4 seventh hole. Fort Worth’s Kennedy Pedigo and Austin’s Sara Camarena played with Winans in the opening round and each shot 5-over 76. Pedigo made two birdies on the day, while Camarena birdied the par-4 18^th.

Frisco’s Brett Permann and Houston’s Zoe Slaughter sit tied for fourth at 6-over, while Grace Cassity, Savanah Snyder and Bentley Cotton are tied for sixth at 7-over. Denise Pan, Haley Vargas and Michelle Zhou round out the top ten and are tied for ninth.

Dallas’ Connor Adams leads the Boys 14 & Under Division by one stroke heading into the final round. Adams made three birdies en route to his 4-over 75 and leads San Antonio’s Joe Fontana by one. Andrew Spaulding sits two back in the division and is in third place, while Shoichiro Kato is in fourth.

This is the first year that Corpus Christi Country Club has hosted the James A. Ragan Memorial. The event spent its first two years at Palmilla Beach Golf Club in Port Aransas.

The second round is scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM on Monday, Feb. 20. Players will tee off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees again and the awards will be handed out at the conclusion of play.

For more information about the James A. Ragan Memorial, click here.