Around the Green

McKinney's Jake Kuwtizky Finishes Strong in Opening Round of Spring Preview

CYPRESS – Jake Kuwitzky of McKinney fired a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday to lead the Boys 15-18 Division of the Spring Preview at BlackHorse Golf Club. Zachary Kingsland shot 2-under 70 and leads the Boys 14 & Under Division, while Calynne Rosholt and Jacqueline Nguyen are tied atop the Girls 12-18 Division.

Kuwitzky, who won the LJT Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic at Lakecliff Country Club last year, made three birdies and an eagle on Saturday to get to 3-under. The 2019 grad went out in 1-over after starting his round on hole No. 10, but made an eagle on the par-5 third hole and then closed with back-to-back-to-back birdies on holes seven, eight and nine to finish his round at 3-under.

Trailing Kuwitzky by two strokes is defending champion Brendan Powers of Mansfield and Truett Burns of Fredericksburg. Both players posted rounds of 1-under 71 on BlackHorse Golf Club’s North Course. Powers played steady golf through the day with two birdies, one bogey and 15 pars, while Burns totaled five birdies along with four bogeys and nine pars.

Austin’s Prayaag Oruganti and Dallas’ Connor Adams are tied for fourth in the Boys 15-18 Division at even-par 72, while Kingwood’s Damin Strydom, Houston's Logan Gould and Pearland’s Vishnu Sadagopan are tied for sixth at 1-over 73.

Austin Chung, Andy Yang, Gaven Lane, Jack Lawlor, Andrew Rodriguez and Thomas Bockholt III are tied for ninth at 2-over followed by Preston Holmes, Cole Sherwood, Evan Vo, Christian Hernandez and Shaheen Momin in a tie for 15^th at 3-over.

Austin’s Kingsland made six birdies in his round, including the par-5 18^th, which played to 477 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division. Kingsland leads Carson Ezell of The Woodlands by two strokes in the Boys 14 & Under Division.

Sebastian Moss and Keaton Vo are tied for third in the division, while Tram Le and Christian Clark are tied for fifth.

Le hit the shot of the day on the 182-yard 16^th hole. The 2022 high school grad hit a 4-irong for his fourth career hole-in-one.

Cedar Park’s Rosholt and Houston’s Nguyen are tied for the lead in the Girls 12-18 Division after shooting 1-over 73 in the first round.  Rosholt started her day with three birdies in her first five holes. Nguyen made birdies on the par-4 fifth, the par-5 eighth and the par-4 10^th in her first round.

Trailing the leaders in the Girls 12-18 Division are Houston’s Zoe Slaughter, Ashley Yen and Tiffany Nguyen, who all shot 3-over 75 and are tied for third. Sora Kim sits in sixth place at 4-over 76, while four girls sit in a tie for seventh at 5-over 77.

The Spring Preview returned to BlackHorse Golf Club in 2018, but the tournament is being held on the North Course. The course was designed by the Jacobson-Hardy firm and stretches out to 6,936 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,414 yards in
the Boys 14 & Under Division and 5,976 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.

The Final Round of the Spring Preview is scheduled to start at 8:00 am on Sunday, March 4. Players will tee off the No. 1 and 10 tees in the morning at BlackHorse Golf Club. To see all the scores from Saturday, click here. For more information about the Spring Preview, click here.