Ford, Zhang impressive winners in Rolex Tournament of Champions at PGA National

    David Ford of Peachtree Corners, Ga. and Rose Zhang of Irvine, Calif. and No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) had taken command of the respective Boys and Girls divisions of the Rolex Tournament of Champions, the premier event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) through three rounds at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Saturday, they proved they could close the deal.

   Ford, who grabbed the lead in the second round and never let it go, finished up with a businesslike 4-under-par 68 at PGA National’s Fazio Course that gave him a 72-hole total of 22-under 264 that was seven shots clear of the elite field of junior golfers.

   Zhang was her typically efficient self with a six-birdie, no-bogey 6-under 66 on the Champion Course that gave her a 16-under 272 total that was four shots clear of stubborn runnerup Xin (Cindy) Kou of China.

   Ford, who will join the North Carolina program next summer, had put a stranglehold on the trophy with a brilliant 10-under 62 on the Fazio Course in Friday’s third round.

   The left-hander has been playing some really strong golf for a while now, earning wins in the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield and The Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and a tie for third place in the PING Invitational at Karsten Creek. But he saved his best stuff for the biggest event of the year.

   He toured the front nine of the 7,122-yard, par-71 Champion Course in 1-under with birdies at the third and seventh holes around a bogey at the fifth. Two more birdies at the 10^th and 13^th holes gave him a 4-under round for the day.

   Fellow Georgian Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek matched Ford’s final-round 68 and held on for runnerup honors with a 15-under 271 total. Murphy, who is headed for Tennessee next summer, had a share of the opening-round lead with a 7-under 65 at the Fazio Course and hung around near the top of the leaderboard all week. There was just no catching Ford.

   Sean-Karl Dobson of Austin, Texas had the best round of the day Saturday, a sparkling 7-under 65 at the Champion Course, as he climbed to third place on the final leaderboard at 14-under 272, a shot behind Murphy. Dobson, who has made a verbal commitment to join the Stanford program in the summer of 2022, had fired a 6-under 66 on the Fazio Course in Friday’s third round.

   Gordon Sargent of Birmingham, Ala. was almost as good as Dobson was in the final two rounds as he finished with a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s final round after matching Dobson’s 66 on the Fazio Course Friday. That left Sargent, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Vanderbilt next summer, in sole possession of fourth place at 13-under 272.

   William Love of Atlanta had shared the opening-round lead with Murphy and also spent the week hanging around the top of the leaderboard. He closed with a 1-under 70 at the Champion Course to finish alone in fifth place at 11-under 275. Love will join the program at Duke next summer.

   Downingtown West’s Nick Gross, the District One Class AAA champion as a freshman this fall, prevailed in his week-long battle with Carlisle senior John Peters, the District Three Class AAA champion this fall, for low-Pennsylvania honors, although both ran out of gas a little in Saturday’s final round. Junior golfers don’t play a lot of 72-hole tournaments.

   Gross, who was a dominant winner in the Boys 13-and-under division in the inaugural Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship at Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Kinder, La. last week, salvaged his worst round in a while by making birdie at his last two holes, the eighth and ninth, to finish up with a 7-over 78 at the Champion Course.

   That left Gross in the group tied for 50^th place at 7-over 293. He was coming off his best round of the week, a 4-under 68 at the Fazio Course in Friday’s third round.

   Peters, winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship last summer at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, finished up with an 8-over 79 and was alone in 56^th place at 295. Peters also had his best round of the week Friday on the Fazio Course, a 2-under 70.

   On the girls side, Zhang completed a wire-to-wire romp to her second straight Rolex Tournament of Championships trophy. Some of the junior players haven’t had as many competitive opportunities as others, but Zhang has been playing a lot of  golf.

   The Stanford-bound Zhang got the most and then some out of her U.S. Women’s Amateur experience in August at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., reaching the final and then going 38 holes to finally defeat Southern California senior Gabriela Ruffels and claim the Robert Cox Trophy.

   Beginning the day with a three-shot lead, Zhang made a birdie on the fifth hole and eight pars on the outgoing nine. Kou birdied four of her first six holes and actually caught Zhang, the two tied for the lead heading to the back nine. But Zhang turned it on down the stretch over the 6,175-yard, par-72 Fazio Course with birdies at 10, 11, 13, 14 and, finishing in style, at 18.

   Zhang will collect her second straight Rolex Junior Player of the Year award this week. Then it will be on to Champions in Houston and the U.S. Women’s Open. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she contends and not just for low amateur.

   Kou, a Southern Cal recruit, was the only other player in the same zip code as Zhang as she matched the 5-under 67 she fired in the second round at the Fazio Course in Saturday’s finale. That gave her a 12-under 276 total, four shots behind Zhang.

   It was six more shots back to Megha Ganne, the teen phenom from Holmdel, N.J. and Madison Hewlett of Oldsmar, Fla., both of whom landed on 6-under 282 and in a tie for third place.

   Ganne, who plans to join Zhang at Stanford in the summer of 2022, closed with a 3-under 69. Ganne reached the semifinals of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. Hewlett, who will join the Florida State program next summer, matched Zhang’s final round with a sparkling 66 of her own.

   Lucie Malchirand of France closed with a 5-under 67 to get a share of fifth place with Lake Worth, Fla. phenom Alexa Pano, each ending up at 4-under 284. Pano seems like she’s been around forever, but she’s still only 16 and always seems to be particularly tough when playing close to home in South Florida. She closed with a 3-under 69 on the Fazio Course.

   Speaking of phenoms, Warren, Ohio seventh-grader Gianna Clemente, one of the youngest players in the field, finished up with a 1-over 73 on the Fazio Course and finished in a tie for 11^th place at 2-over 290. The kid seems to be going places.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J., a product of the New Jersey Section PGA Junior Tour, closed with a solid 2-under 70 at the Fazio Course and finished among the group tied for 18^th place at 5-over 293.

   Another Jersey girl, Angelina Tolentino of Mount Laurel, N.J., whose competitive roots are in the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, also finished strong, matching the 1-under 71 she registered in the second round on the Fazio Course to finish in a tie for 35^th place at 11-over 299.

   Pennsbury senior Jade Gu, who wrapped up her scholastic career by finishing in a tie for ninth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County last month, got better in each round at PGA National, closing with a 1-over 73 at the Fazio Course as she finished among the group tied for 47^th place at 305.

 

 

 

 

 

Ford extends his advantage to seven shots in Rolex Tournament of Champions; Zhang leads girls field by three shots

    David Ford of Peachtree Gardens, Ga. made a statement with a remarkable 10-under-par 62 on the PGA National Resort & Spa’s Fazio Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Friday and will take a commanding seven-shot lead into Saturday’s final round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions, the premier event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) calendar.

   Downingtown West freshman Nick Gross, the District One Class AAA champion, had his best round of the week, a 4-under 68 over the 6,869-yard, par-72 Fazio layout, and moved from one shot behind to one shot ahead of Carlisle senior John Peters, the District Three Class AAA champion, in the battle for low Pennsylvanian at PGA National.

   Gross, who finished third in last month’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County to cap his freshman season, was among the group tied for 34^th place at even-par 215 after three rounds.

   Peters, winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship last summer at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, carded a solid 2-under 70 that landed him in the group tied for 41^st place at 1-over 216.

   But this Black Friday belonged to Ford, who will join the North Carolina program next summer. The left-hander already owns two big wins on the AJGA circuit in 2020 in the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield and in The Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

   Ford very simply went off on the Fazio Course Friday, making eight birdies on the first 11 holes. At some point, 59 had to have  crossed his mind, but Ford cooled off a little while still making birdies at the 15^th and 17^th holes and parring the rest. It added up to 10 birdies and nary a bogey on a glittering scorecard.

   Ford had surged into the lead on the strength of a Thanksgiving Day 6-under 65 on the Champion Course that gave him a three-shot advantage following Thursday’s second round.

   Ford's heroics Friday left him with a 54-hole total of 19-under 196 and a seven-shot advantage over fellow Georgian Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek, who put together a pretty tidy 8-under 64 himself, but still lost ground to Ford.

   Murphy, a Tennessee recruit, had owned a share of the lead following the opening round when he and William Love of Atlanta, yet another Georgian, both signed for a sparkling 65 at the Fazio course. Murphy struggled a little in a 3-over 74 in the second round at the Champion Course before bouncing back in a big way Friday. Murphy’s 64 left him in sole possession of second place at 12-under 203.

   Love, who is headed for Duke next summer, posted a solid 4-under 68 and was alone in third place at 10-under 205. The trio at the top of the leaderboard are certainly representing for the Peachtree State this week.

   Gross, coming off a dominating 13-shot victory in the Boys 13-and-under division in the inaugural Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship at Koasati Pines at Coushatta last week in Kinder, La., found his groove a little on the Fazio Course Friday. He had opened with a 2-over 74 on the Fazio Course Wednesday and added a 2-over 73 at the Champion Course in Thursday’s second round.

   Not sure if Gross started his day off the first tee or the 10^th tee, but he was typically solid. He bookended seven pars on the outgoing nine with birdies at the first and ninth holes. He also had birdies at the 11^th, 12^th and 14^th holes, giving him five for the round, against his lone bogey of the day at 16.

   Peters also had his best round of the week, a 2-under 70. Peters had opened with a 1-over 73 on the Fazio Course before adding a 2-over 73 at the Champion Course in his Thanksgiving Day round.

   Again, not sure where Peters started his round, but he did get an eagle on the par-5 first hole. He also had a bogey at the fourth hole and birdied the fifth and was 2-under on the outgoing nine. On the back nine, Peters had a birdie at the 12^th hole and a bogey at 13.

   On the girls side, Rose Zhang of Irvine, Calif. and No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), maintained her three-shot lead with a solid 3-under 69 over the 6,399-yard Champion Course, which plays to a par of 72 for the girls.

   Zhang, winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. in August, was typically efficient. Zhang had birdies at the sixth and eighth holes and, after making eight straight pars on the back nine, she closed with a birdie at the last. Her 69 left her with a 10-under 206 total heading into Saturday’s final round.

   Zhang, who will join the Stanford program next summer, is trying for a repeat in the Rolex Tournament of Champions and will receive the Rolex Junior Player of the Year award for the second straight season next week. After that, it’s off to Champions in Houston for the U.S. Women’s Open, pushed back to December by, what else, the coronavirus pandemic.

   Xin (Cindy) Kou, a Southern California recruit from China, kept the pressure on Zhang as Kou matched Zhang’s 3-under 69 and was three shots behind her future Pac-12 rival at 7-under 209.

   It was four more shots back to Megha Ganne, the Holmdel, N.J. standout who reached the semifinals of the 2019 U.S. women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. Ganne carded a 2-under 70 and was alone in third place at 3-under 213. Ganne has verbally committed to join the Stanford program in the summer of 2022.

   The only other player under par for three rounds was South Florida phenom Alexa Pano of Lake Worth. Pano, the runnerup to Yealimi Noh in the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula, also got it around the Champion Course in 3-under 69. That left Pano with sole possession of fourth place at 1-under 215.

   The youngest player in the top 10 was Warren, Ohio seventh-grader Gianna Clemente, who matched par with a 72 in Friday’s third round at the Champion Course to join the group tied for seventh place at 1-over 217.

   Angelina Tolentino, a product of the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour from Mount Laurel, N.J., struggled a little on the Champion Course, registering a 5-over 77 that left her among the group tied for 39^th place at 12-over 228.

   It was a three-shot improvement on Tolentino’s opening-round 80 at the Champion Course. She bounced back with a 1-under 71 Thanksgiving Day at the Fazio Course.

   Pennsbury senior Jade Gu, who finished in a tie for second place in this fall’s District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Club, had her best round of the week, a 2-over 74 at the Champion Course, and landed in the group tied for 47^th place at 232.

   It was an eight-shot improvement from her opening-round 82 at the Champion Course and Gu added a 3-over 75 in her first  crack at the Fazio Course on Thanksgiving Day.

 

 

 

 

Pennsylvanians Peters, Gross separated by a shot after two rounds of the Rolex Tournament of Champions

   Carlisle senior John Peters, the District Three Class AAA champion, and Downingtown West freshman Nick Gross, the District One Class AAA champion, continued their tournament within a tournament in the battle for low-Pennsylvania honors while one of the top players in 2020 on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, David Ford of Peachtree Corners, Ga., took control of the Boys division as the second round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions played out on Turkey Day in South Florida.

   Peters, winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course last summer, stumbled with a double bogey on the 18^th hole of the PGA National Resort & Spa’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. to end  up among the group tied for 40^th place at 3-over 146.

   It had been a solid round over the 7,122-yard, par-71 Champion Course until the unfortunate ending for Peters. He had overcome early bogeys at the fifth and seventh holes with birdies at 11 and 14 to get it back to even for the round before the closing double left him with a 2-over 73.

   Peters had opened with a 1-over 73 Wednesday over a Fazio Course that seemed to play a little easier for a field filled with many of the best junior players on the world.

   Gross, who finished third in last month’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County, matched Peters’ 2-over 73 and was among the group tied for 45^th place at 4-over 147. Gross is coming off a spectacular 13-shot victory in the Boys 13-and-under division in last week’s inaugural Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship at  Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Kinder, La.

   Gross had three double bogeys on his Thanksgiving Day scorecard, but kept battling and had five birdies. Gross started fast with birdies at the first two holes before hitting a rough patch that saw him make double bogeys at four and six around a bogey at five.

   Gross righted the ship with birdies at the 10^th, 13^th and 16^th holes that got him back to even-par for the round before he slipped back with a double bogey at the 17^th. Gross had opened with a steady 2-over 74 at the Fazio Course Wednesday.

   Ford, who will join the North Carolina program next summer, was one of the few players who solved the Champion Course as he ripped off an efficient six-birdie, no-bogey 6-under 65 to surge to the top of the leaderboard at 9-under 134. Combined with his opening-round 69 at the Fazio Course, the left-hander opened up a three-shot cushion on the field at the midway point of the 72-hole event.

   Ford has been the best player on the AJGA circuit in recent months with victories in the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield and a tie for third in the PING Invitational at Karsten Creek Golf Club.

   In August, the kid put together a combined 6-under at Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails to finish in a tie for fifth place in qualifying for match play in the U.S. Amateur before falling in the opening round.

   Starting off the 10^th tee, Ford immediately got it in red figures with a birdie at his opening hole. He added birdies at the 16^th and 18^th holes and headed for the front nine at the Champion Course at 3-under. He put the finishing touches on his scintillating effort with three straight birdies at the second, third and fourth holes.

   Ford’s closest pursuers were Bryan Lee of Fairfax, Va., who added a 2-under 69 to his opening-round 68 at the Fazio Course, and William Love, a Duke recruit from Atlanta who cooled off with a 1-under 70 at the Champion Course after opening with a 67 at the Fazio Course. Both players landed on 6-under 137.

   Bruce Murphy, a Tennessee recruit from Johns Creek, Ga., had grabbed the opening-round lead with a sparkling 7-under 65 at the Fazio Course. He backed off with a 3-over 74 at the Champion Course, but was still in a group tied for fifth plae at 4-under 139.

   Preston Summerhays of Scottsdale, Ariz., winner of the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, improved off his opening-round 73 at the Fazio Course with a solid 3-under 68 at the Champion Course that left him in the group tied for 12^th place at 2-under 141.

   On the girls side, Rose Zhang of Irvine, Calif. and No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), expanded her lead to three shots as she closed with four birdies on the back nine of the 6,175-yard, par-72 Fazio Course for a 5-under 67. Combined with her 2-under 70 at the Champion Course in Wednesday’s opening round – the Champion plays to a par of 72 for the girls – Zhang stood at 7-under 137 after two rounds.

   The defending champion, Zhang, who will pick up her second straight Rolex Player of the Year award next week, had an up-and-down outgoing nine at the Fazio Course, making a birdie at the second hole, a bogey at three, a birdie at five, a bogey at six and a birdie at eight to make the turn in 1-under.

   But Zhang, who will join the Stanford program next summer, twice went back-to-back on the incoming nine with birdies at the 10^th and 11^th and 17^th and 18^th holes, to get it to 5-under for the round.

   It’s the kind of play that enabled Zhang to outlast Southern California senior Gabriela Ruffels in 38 holes to claim the U.S. Women’s Amateur crown last summer at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

   Zhang’s closed pursuer was Xin (Cindy) Kou, a Southern Cal recruit from China who matched Zhang’s 67 to finish two rounds at 4-under 140. Kou opened with a 1-over 73 at the Champion Course Wednesday.

   A couple of future Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, Florida State recruit Madison Hewlett of Oldsmar, Fla. and Virginia recruit Amanda Sambach of Davidson, N.C., shared third place, each landing on 2-under 142. Hewlett carded a 4-under 68 on the Fazio Course after opening with a 74 on the Champion Course and Sambach added a 3-under 69 to the 1-over 73 she posted at the Champion Course in the opening round.

   Megha Ganne, the Jersey girl from Holmdel who reached the semifinals of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., moved into sole possession of fifth place with a 4-under 68 at the Fazio Course that left her at 1-under 143. Ganne, who has made a verbal commitment to join the Stanford program in the summer of 2022, had opened with a 3-over 75 at the Champion Course.

   Maybe we’ll see Ganne wearing the Red, White & Blue at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course for the 2022 Curtis Cup Match against Great Britain & Ireland. As far as I know the 2022 Curtis Cup Match is still on schedule, despite the 2020 Curtis Cup Match being postponed until Aug. 26 to 28, 2021 at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales.

   The youngest member of the top 10, by far, was Warren, Ohio seventh-grader Gianna Clemente, who signed for a 1-under 71 to join the group tied for ninth place at 1-under 143. Clemente had opened with a 2-over 74 at the Champion Course.

   Clemente, playing out of Avalon at Buhl Park just across the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in Sharon, finished in a tie for fifth in the 2019 Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Alexa Pano, the 16-year-old phenom from Lake Worth, Fla., also carded a 1-under 71 at the Fazio Course to join the group tied for 15^th place at 2-over 146. Pano, the runnerup to Yealimi Noh in the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula, had opened with a 3-over 75 on the Champion Course Wednesday.

   A very nice rebound for Angelina Tolentino, another Jersey girl from Mount Laurel who posted a solid 1-under 71 at the Fazio course after opening with an 80 at the Champion Course. Tolentino’s 7-over 151 total left her in the group tied for 34^th place.

   Tolentino birdied the first hole, made bogey at six and birdied the ninth to make the turn at 1-under. Other than a birdie at the 14^th hole and a bogey at 15, Tolentino made seven pars on the Fazio Course’s incoming nine.

   Pennsbury senior Jade Gu, who capped her scholastic career by finishing in a tie for ninth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Heritage Hills, carded a 4-over 76 at the Fazio Course and was among the group tied for 60^th place at 155. Gu, who finished in a tie for second place in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Club, had opened with an 82 at the Champion Course Wednesday.