Around the Green

One Round Remains at 96th Texas Junior Amateur

HORSESHOE BAY – Houston’s Jaivir Pande fired a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round of the Texas Junior Amateur to take a two shot lead in the Boys Division. Pande, a rising senior at Kinkaid High School, recorded an eagle on the par-5 fourteenth hole on Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock course to vault into the 36-hole lead. In the Girls Division, two are tied atop the leaderboard at 1-under par 143 total. Bellaire’s Kenna Lee and Austin’s Kate Pickrell lead a slew of competitors bunched at the top headed into Wednesday’s final round at Horeshoe Bay’s Apple Rock course.

Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock and Apple Rock courses again proved to be a stern test for the state’s best in round two. The Boys 15-18 Division are playing the Ram Rock course while the Girls 15-18, Girls 14 & Under, and Boys 14 & Under Division’s are playing the Apple Rock course.

In the Boy’s 15-18 Division, Pande tallied three birdies and an eagle in route to the solid second round score. Pande leads by two and will look to continue his strategies in Wednesday’s final round.

“Today, I did the same thing as yesterday,” Pande said. “I was able to just limit the mistakes. I only had two bogeys on the card.”

Pande is set to begin his senior year of high school in a few weeks and likes where his game is at.

“The Texas Junior Amateur is one of the biggest tournaments we have here in Texas, so to be able to be on the top of the leaderboard is very motivating and makes me want to work harder for the rest of my tournaments,” Pande said.

Eyan Edsall of Montgomery joined Pande as the only two players to post consecutive rounds under par. The incoming freshman at Stephen F Austin University sits in second and two shots back of the lead heading into Wednesday’s final round on Horeshoe Bay’s Ram Rock course. Edsall made the turn at three under in Tuesday’s second round before suffering a couple bogeys down the stretch.

Trevor Algya of Highland Village and Tyler Blackwell of Austin sit in a tie for third at 3-over for the championship and seven shots back of the lead.

The division has been cut to the low 45 players and ties heading into Wednesday’s final round.

In the Girl’s 15-18 Division, co-leaders Kenna Lee of Bellaire and Austin’s Kate Pickrell will look to battle off a stacked leaderboard headed into Wednesday’s final round. They lead by one shot over three girls sitting even-par for the championship.

“Today, I just told myself I was going to play smart golf,” Lee said. “I wasn’t going to be too aggressive. I was going to focus on shooting a good score.

Pickrell fired the low round of the day in the Girls 15-18 division with a score of 2-under 70.

“Tomorrow I am going to try and be patient and take advantage of those putts that are pretty close to the hole,” Pickrell said.

Huntsville’s Grace Jin, Cedar Park’s Jiyu Han, and San Antonio’s Marissa Loya sit one shot back of the lead in a tie for third at even-par 144 total. All three girls posted second rounds under par to position themselves nicely with eighteen holes remaining.

The division has been cut to the low 27 players and ties heading into Wednesday’s final round.

Jack Clancy of Dallas defeated Luciano Follmer of Austin in a three-hole playoff to earn the title of Boys 14 & Under Division Champion. Clancy posted a final round 3-over 75 that included two birdies on the back nine. Aiden Tiet of Garland, Dylan Ma of The Woodlands, and Asher Vargas of Spring all finished at 1-under for the championship to share third place.

Katy’s Yixin (Emily) Zhang shot her second consecutive round of 2-under 70 to claim the Girls 14 & Under Division title at 4-under total. Zhang finished five shots ahead of runner-up Kaylee Yuan of Joshua, who finished at 1-under for the championship. Rounding out the top three was Austin’s Isabel Emanuels at 8-over par for the tournament.

Round 3 of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur begins Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.

For more information, including leaderboard and pairings, click here.