By Staff
BATH – The 2009 PGA Junior Series event at Eagle Eye Golf Club in Bath could not have gotten off to a better start.
Scoring conditions were perfect and Daniel Stringfellow from Roselle, Ill. took advantage shooting the low round of the day five under 67 to take the round one lead in the Boy's 16-18 Division.
Stringfellow has a two shot lead over Alex Jones from Dewitt, who fired an impressive 69 and a four shot lead over Brian Burt from Dimondale, who shot a 71.
"I was hitting it solid today," said Stringfellow who shot his lowest tournament round of the summer today. "I had six birdies on the back nine and was more than happy with how I played."
Stringfellow and Jones played together today and fed off each others great play to both shot great scores during round one. They were both extremely comfortable under the tournament conditions and enjoyed the round on a lovely Michigan day.
In the Boy's 13-15 Division, Colton Wiggins from Indiana, Pa. shot a 73 to take the lead by two strokes over brothers Matthew DeMarois and David DeMarois from Brighton, who both shot a 75.
Wiggins is making his first appearance on the PGA Junior Series tour since coming in second place at our first even in Kentucky earlier this summer.
He was able to hit it close on the front nine carding a two under 34 but after some miss greens and inability to get up and down, Wiggins fell all the way back to one over for the tournament.
"My game plan is to have fun and if I have bad shots, shake it off and move on," said Wiggins. "It would be nice to win, but having fun is most important."
In the Girl's 16-18 Division, Shelby Phillips from Gilbert, Ariz. continued her impressive play on the PGA Junior Series with a 75 to take the round one lead over Devon Compton from Rochester by one stroke.
"I left a lot of opportunities for a lower score out there today," commented Phillips who will be entering her junior year high school in the fall. "It was nice to start with a birdie and end with a birdie today to give myself some momentum into the final round tomorrow."
Lastly, in the Girl's 13-15 Division, Gabrielle Yurik from Oakland shot a 76 to take a one shot lead over Sierra Everson from Gahanna, Ohio. With both of those scores, both girls have a great opportunity to win the overall title and earn an exemption into the 2009 Junior PGA Championship later this summer.
Tomorrow's final round commences at 7:30 in the morning with the Boy's 13-15 Division along with both Girl's Divisions.
The afternoon wave starts at 11:30 a.m. with the Boy's 16-18 Division.