Around the Green

Martin Cards 68 to Lead George Hannon Junior

Garrett Martin Cards 68 to Lead George Hannon Junior Invitational

BASTROP – Garrett Martin of San Antonio stood on the par-4 eighth tee box at Wolfdancer Golf Club even par for the round. It was the last tee box he would be even par. Martin carded five birdies over his closing 11 holes en route to a 4-under-par 68 to lead the 2017 George Hannon Junior Invitational by one stroke.
 
Madelyn Jones and Jensen Jalufka of Austin sit atop the Girls Division after rounds of even-par 72. Matthew Comegys fired a 3-under-par 69 to lead the Boys 14 & Under Division. 
 
Martin, 16, closed his opening loop with birdies on the par-4 eighth and par-4 ninth holes to turn in 2-under 34. His approach shot on the par-4 10th missed long and left. The 2019 Texas Tech commit was faced with a downhill pitch from a hardpan lie. He executed the shot beautifully.
 
“When I got to the point it wasn’t a great lie,” Martin said. “I was just trying to find a way to make bogey and minimize the damage, so walking out of there with a par really kick started that back nine.”

Martin made back-to-back birdies on the par-5 14th and par-4 15th to reach 4-under par. The rising junior at Johnson High School closed with three routine pars to post the low round of the day, 68.
 
“Overall I hit I think 16 greens and made a lot of the 15 to 10-foot range to save a couple pars and get some momentum going with some birdies,” Martin said.
 
Luke Dossey of Austin trails Martin by one shot. The 2019 Baylor commit carded six birdies en route to a 3-under-par 69. Dossey and Martin played in the same pairing, and the future Big 12 opponents combined for 12 birdies. They said each other’s solid play helped to fuel their own.
 
“I mean you see Garrett’s putt drop and I am like alright this has got to go in if I want to stick around with him,” said Dossey, the 2017 Byron Nelson Junior Champion. “It was really good because we fed off each other the entire round.”
 
Andre Jacobs of League City sits in solo third after a 2-under-par 70. Nathan Petronzio of Austin and Christian Hernandez of League City are tied for fourth after rounds of 1-under-par 71.
 
In the Girls Division, Jalufka birdied holes eight and nine to turn at even par. The Vandergrift High School junior bogeyed the par-4 10th but bounced back with her fourth red figure of the day on the par-4 11th. She finished her opening round with seven straight pars to hold a share of the lead.  
 
Jones, a rising junior at Westlake High School, made a birdie of her own on the par-4 ninth to carry some momentum into the back side. She played her closing loop in 1-under 35 with a lone back-nine birdie on the short par-4 15th.
 
The Austin high school rivals will play in the final pairing tomorrow with Hailey Jones. The two-time Legends Junior Tour Girls Player of the Year shot a 1-over-par 73 and is one shot off the lead.
 
“I hope to just finish stronger,” Jones said. “There are some holes that are a little shorter and you have to really try to take advantage of those.”
 
Comegys of Plano fired a 3-under-par 69 and leads the Boys 14 & Under Division by four strokes. He said he tried to play steady golf and keep the ball in front of him. The 14-year-old cashed in five birdies and will seek his first Legends Junior Tour victory tomorrow.
 
“It is an honor to play out here and be out here and it would be a great experience to win,” Comegys said. “I am just going to trust my game tomorrow.”
 
The second round of the 2017 George Hannon Junior Invitational begins Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. For more information click here.