Around the Green

Horseshoe Bay Plays Tough in Round 1 of 96th Texas Junior Amateur

HORSESHOE BAY – Frisco’s Luke Colton grabbed the lead in Monday’s first round of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur with a 2-under 69 on Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock course. Colton’s round was the only sub-70 score as he leads the Boys Division by one. In the Girls Division, there are three tied atop the leaderboard at 2-under par 70. Bellaire’s Kenna Lee, Camille Pazouki of San Antonio, and Huntsville’s Grace Jin all share the lead headed into Tuesday’s second round at Horeshoe Bay’s Apple Rock course.

A round under-par was hard to come by as Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock and Apple Rock courses proved to be a stern test for the state’s best juniors. The Boys 15-18 Division played the Ram Rock course while the Girls 15-18, Girls 14 & Under, and Boys 14 & Under Division’s played the Apple Rock course.

In the Boy’s 15-18 Division, Colton carded three birdies on the back nine to finish out a strong first round. Colton is one of the younger players in the division but showed no youth on Monday as he leads by one.

“I managed to roll in a few putts around the turn,” Colton said. “That kind of set me up for the rest of the round. The course has a lot of doglegs and it’s pretty tight, so you have to be specific off the tee on your lines. I think that works to my advantage. Usually, my driver is pretty straight.”

Carding rounds of 1-under 70 to sit in a tie for second were Houston’s Jaivir Pande and Eyan Edsall of Montgomery. Edsall tallied up three birdies on the day while Pande had six.

Austin’s Tyler Blackwell and Kyle Doolittle of New Braunfels sit two shots back of the lead after rounds of even-par 71. A stacked leaderboard will look to make moves in Tuesday’s second round on Ram Rock.

The division will cut to the low 45 players and ties after Tuesday’s second round.

In the Girl’s 15-18 Division, each of the three co-leaders took advantage of Apple Rock’s front nine. Lee made the turn at three under, while Pazouki and Jin turned at 2-under.

“The round was pretty good,” said Pazouki, a rising senior from San Antonio. “The front nine went well. Putting was just automatic on the front. The back nine started off with two bogeys but I got it under control to finish off strong.”

Sitting just one shot back of the lead at 1-under par are San Antonio’s Marissa Loya and Cedar Park’s Jiyu Han. San Antonio’s Julia Vollmer carded an even-par round of 72 to put herself in sole possession of sixth heading into the second round. Four girls sit tied for seventh at 1-over par.

The division will cut to the low 27 players and ties after Tuesday’s second round.

Jack Clancy of Dallas carded the low round of the tournament thus far with a 5-under 67 to take control of the Boys 14 & Under Division. Clancy’s solid round included an eagle on Apple Rock’s par-5 tenth hole. Clancy leads the division by two shots over Allen’s Elijah Estonilo who carded a first round 3-under 69. Sitting in sole possession of third at 2-under par is The Woodlands’ Dylan Ma.

Katy’s Yixin (Emily) Zhang shot a first round 2-under 70 to take the lead in the Girls 14 & Under Division. She will look to claim the division title tomorrow as she leads by four strokes over Joshua’s Kaylee Yuan who carded a respectable round of 2-over 74.

Both the Boys and Girls 14 & Under Divisions are playing 36 holes and will crown champions on Tuesday. The Boys and Girls 15-18 Divisions are playing 54 holes and will conclude play on Wednesday.

Round 2 of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur kicks off Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.

For more information on the 96th Texas Junior Amateur, click here. For the full leaderboard, click here.