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Dossey, Madden and Logis Lead Fall Challenge

Briefly: Sam Dossey of Austin fired a 7-under 65 in the opening round of the Fall Challenge and leads the Boys Division by two strokes at The Rawls Course in Lubbock. McKinney’s Jenna Madden leads the Girls Division after shooting 2-under 70 on Saturday, while Nicholas Logis leads the Boys 14 & Under Division at 6-under.

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Leaders: Sam Dossey made seven birdies in his final nine holes to get to 7-under overall and two strokes ahead in the Boys 15-18 Division. Dossey started his day with a bogey on the par-3 10th and got back to even-par with a birdie on No. 16. After making the turn at even-par he fired off five straight birdies on holes one through five followed by two pars and finished with a birdie on the par-4 eighth and another on the par-5 ninth. Jenna Madden holds a one-stroke lead in the Girls Division after shooting 2-under 70 in the first round. She made seven birdies, including three in her first five holes, including starting the day with a birdie on the par-4 first. Nicholas Logis holds a five-stroke lead in the Boys 14 & Under Division after shooting 6-under on Saturday. Logis made seven birdies in his first round, including five straight on holes No. 7-11. He kicked in two late birdies, one on the par-3 16th and another on the par-5 17th, to get to 6-under.   

In Contention: In the Boys Division, Hugh Donegan of Austin and Preston Cooper of Dallas trail Dossey by two strokes after shooting 5-under 67 in the first round. Five players are tied for fourth at 4-under, including Brian Comegys who won the Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic earlier this year. In total the division had 17 players at even-par or better after the first round. In the Girls Division, Jiyu Han of Cedar Park trails Madden after shooting 1-under 71 at The Rawls Course. Grace Frei of The Colony sits in third place at even-par, while Emma Von Hoffmann of Spicewood, Estelle Seon of Carrollton and Adrienne Ahn of Dallas are tied for fourth at 1-over. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, current player of the year leader Rhett O’Rear of Plano is tied with Frisco’s Luke Colton and Dallas’ Reese Roberts for second at 1-under. Austin Hofferkamp and Brooks Simmons are tied for fifth at 1-over.

Golf Course: The Rawls Course at Texas Tech is hosting the Fall Challenge for the second time in the last three years. The course was designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2003 and is truly a unique experience in the plains of West Texas. The course features wide fairways and contoured greens, stretching out to 7,000 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,500 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 5,900 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.

On a Roll: Sam Dossey is seeking his third straight win on the Legends Junior Tour after winning the George Hannon Junior Invitational in August and the North Texas Classic earlier this month. Dossey is currently in second in the LJT Player of the Year standings for the Boys 15-18 Division, trailing Trevor Algya by 278 points.

Weather: Temperatures started in the 60s and crept up to the mid-80s once the sun started to come out. Winds were steady around 10 miles per hour throughout the day, providing a good day for golf.

Tournament Format: The Fall Challenge is a 36-hole stroke play event with players ages 12-18 that have an active membership within the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The 84-player field is split into a Boys Division, Girls Division and a Boys 14 & Under Division.

Texas Junior Golf Alliance: The Alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The goal of the Alliance was to allow junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. Each of the three tier-two organizations (STPGA, NTPGA, HGA) conduct events that serve as qualifiers into the statewide tier-one events run by the Legends Junior Tour (LJT). This allows players to compete in local events in which they can earn spots to play in statewide tournaments.

Next Up: The Final Round of the Fall Challenge is scheduled for tee times at 8:00 am on Sunday, Sept. 26. Pairings for the final round can be found by clicking here. Following Sunday’s play, awards will be handed out to the top finishers of each division along with LJT Player of the Year Points.

For more information on the Fall Challenge, click here.