Gross tied for second, but trails Clark by seven at halfway point of Rolex Tournament of Champions

   Downingtown West junior Nick Gross moved up the leaderboard in the second round of the 45^th Rolex Tournament of Champions at TPC San Antonio Monday, but couldn’t close the gap with pace-setter Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz.

   Gross, who stunned the world of amateur golf with his remarkable run to the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. as a 15-year-old, carded a 2-under-par 70 at TPC San Antonio’s 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course and shared second place with Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, N.C., each landing on 5-under 139 through two rounds of the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.

   Koivun, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn next summer, had the lead through three rounds of last year’s Rolex Tournament of Champions at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.  before settling for a runnerup finish to Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif.

   Gross, who recently made a verbal commitment to join the program at another perennial SEC power, Alabama, had opened with 3-under 69.

   Starting on the 11^th hole, Gross made birdies at the 12^th and 15^th holes, but gave those two shots back with back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18. Birdies at the second, fifth and seventh holes got Gross to 6-under for the championship before he closed with a bogey at 10.

   Gross captured the District One Class AAA individual crown last month with sizzling rounds of 66 and 64 at Turtle Creek Golf Course and led the Whippets to the team crown.

   Clark, who will join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma State next summer, was three shots clear of the field after a scintillating opening round of 9-under 63. He finally made a bogey in Monday’s second round, but still offset it with four birdies in a 3-under 69 for a 12-under 132 total that left him seven shots in front of Gross and Koivun.

   Starting off the first tee, Clark made a bogey at the fourth hole, but then made birdies at six, 10, 12 and 15 to maintain his blazing pace.

   Clark and Gross both had strong showings in last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline, Clark reaching the round of 16 and Gross also earning a spot in the match-play bracket and winning a match before falling in the round of 32.

   Koivun, starting off the 11^th tee in the same group with Gross, got off to a fast start with birdies at the 12^th, 13^th and 15^th holes before running into trouble with back-to-back bogeys at 16 and 17. Birdies at the first and sixth holes got him back on track as he added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 70 to join Gross at 5-under.

   Gerardo Gomez of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. via Mexico, Cayden Pope of Lexington, Ky., and Bryan Kim of Brookeville, Md. were a shot behind Gross and Koivun in a tie for fourth place at 4-under 140.

   Pope, who will join Koivun at Auburn next summer, and Kim were tied for third place after each recorded an opening-round 67 and each fell back a little with a 1-over 73.

   Gomez was tied for fifth place with Gross following an opening-round 69 and added a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round.

   On the girls side, it looks like they ran out of daylight with at least one group still left on the course.

   Defending champion Meja Ortengren of Sweden and No. 16 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) had grabbed the lead at 7-under with one hole left in her round.

   Ortengren had opened with a 3-under 69 over a Canyons Course that was playing to 6,242 yards for the girls and that left her a shot out of the lead. She began her second round with a bang, making an eagle on the par-5 first hole. A birdie at the third hole got her to 6-under for the championship, but she gave a shot back with the only bogey on her scorecard at four.

   Back-to-back birdies at the 11^th and 12^th holes got Ortengren to 7-under, which is where she stood with a hole left to play.

   That left Ortengren with a one-shot lead over playing partner Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, Calif. via China and Elise Lee, another Irvine, Calif. entry.

   Ziyi Zhao, a Class of 2027 entry, had grabbed a share of the lead with an opening round of 4-under 68. She was 2-under for her round through 17 holes and a shot behind Ortengren at 6-under.

   Lee, who plans to join the program at Big Ten power Northwestern in the summer of 2024, completed a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round after opening with a 70 and was in the clubhouse at 6-under.

   Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, Calif. had shared the opening-round lead with Ziyi Zhao with a 4-under 68 and was 1-under through 17 holes in Monday’s second round, leaving her alone in fourth place at 5-under. Like Ziyi Zhao, Talley is a Class of ’27 entry.

   Yana Wilson, the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship winner, headed a group of four players tied for fifth place with a 2-under 142 total. Wilson of Henderson, Nev. signed for a second straight 1-under 71.

   Anna Davis, the talented left-hander who captured the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last spring, added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 74 and was alone in 11^th place with an even-par 144 total. A whirlwind schedule that included three LPGA major championships in the summer has enabled Davis to rise to No. 7 in the Women's WAGR.

   Gianna Clemente, the runnerup to Wilson in a hard-fought U.S. Girls’ Junior final in 100-degree heat at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. last summer, headed a group of four players tied for 12^th place at 1-over 145.

   Clemente, a Warren, Ohio native who has moved to Estero, Fla., added a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 71.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. carded a solid 2-under 70 after opening with a 76 and headed a group of five players tied for 16^th place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Li, who reached the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke next summer.

   Another Jersey girl, Megan Meng of Pennington and a junior at Hopewell Valley, was part of a group of four players tied for 26^th place at 3-over 147. Meng, who captured the title in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Lebanon Country Club, added a solid 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round to her opening-round 76.

   Avery McCrery, of Wilmington, Del. and a sophomore at Tower Hill School, landed among a trio tied for 30^th place at 5-over 149. McCrery, winner of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Sandy Run Country Club, shaved three shots off her opening-round 76 with a 1-over 73.

   Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C. struggled to an 80 after opening with a 2-over 74 and was tied for 40^th place with a 10-over 154 total. Bartholomew, who will join the program at ACC power Virginia next summer, played out of Indian Valley Country Club in Telford early in her junior career before moving to North Carolina.