Gross four shots out of the lead heading into final round of Rolex Tournament of Champions

   Downingtown West junior Nick Gross dropped a spot on the leaderboard Tuesday, but gained some ground on the leader heading into the final round of the 45^th Rolex Tournament of Champions, the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.

   The tee times were gone by the time I got to the leaderboard, but Gross did some serious grinding, regardless of where he started. Gross, a U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist in August at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., made birdies at the first, third and 12^th holes and had 15 pars on his scorecard in a 3-under 69 that left him in a tie for third place with an 8-under 208 total.

   It was the kind of patient, don’t-force-the-issue round over TPC San Antonio’s 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course that really separates Gross from a lot of his junior rivals.

   Gross was tied for second place, but trailed Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz., the 36-hole leader, by seven shots following Monday’s second round of the 72-hole test.

   Clark, who will join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma State next summer, had taken control of the championship with a spectacular opening round of 9-under 63 Sunday and had added a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round.

   Clark backed off a little in Tuesday’s third round as he only managed to match par with a 72. Still, Clark was at 12-under 204 and will take a three-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round.

   Clark offset bogeys at the 11^th, 14^th and 18^th holes with birdies at three, seven and 15.

   It’s a complete role reversal for Clark’s closest pursuer as Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, N.C. took a two-shot lead into the final round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions a year ago at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Koivun, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn next summer, was caught by Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif. and lost the title in a playoff.

   This time, Koivun is the chaser as he put together a sparkling 4-under 68 that gave him a 54-hole total of 9-under 207 and left him three shots behind Clark.

   Again, not sure where he started his round, but Koivun, who began the day tied with Gross at 5-under, got it going in the middle of the Canyons Course layout with birdies at the fifth, sixth, eighth and 12^th holes. He also had a birdie at the second hole and a bogey at three on the outgoing nine, made his only other bogey at 17 and made a birdie at 18.

   Joining Gross in a tie for third place was Gerardo Gomez of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. via Mexico. In contrast to Gross’ steady round, Gomez’s loop was more of a roller-coaster ride, but he stayed aggressive, offsetting three bogeys with seven birdies in a 4-under 68 that enabled him to join Gross at 8-under 208, four shots behind Clark.

   Gross, who recently made a verbal commitment to join the program at SEC power Alabama, was an impressive winner of the District One Class AAA crown last month with rounds of 66 and 64 at Turtle Creek Golf Course and finished in third place a couple of weeks later at Penn State in defense of the PIAA Class AAA title he won in 2021 at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   On the girls side, defending champion Meja Ortengren of Sweden and No. 16 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) will take a one-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round as she carded a solid 3-under 69 over a Canyons Course that measured 6,242 yards for the girls and landed on 11-under 205.

   Ortengren, though, wasn’t able to quite shake Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, Calif. via China, a Class of 2027 youngster who recorded the low round of the day, a sparkling 5-under 67 that left her a shot behind Ortengren with a 10-under 206 total.

   Ortengren had to return to the golf course first thing Tuesday morning to complete a second-round 67 with a par at the 18^th hole.

   Ortengren did most of her damage in a six-hole stretch on the Canyons Course’s outgoing nine with birdies at the second and third holes, an eagle at the par-5 sixth and a birdie at seven. The only blemishes on her scorecard were bogeys at the ninth and 10^th holes.

   Zhao fell three shots behind Ortengren when she finished up her second round with a bogey at the 18^th hole. But she hung tough with a round that featured an eagle at the par-5 second hole and five birdies against two bogeys.

   Asterisk Talley, another talented Class of ’27 kid from Chowchilla, Calif., was three shots behind Zhao in third place at 7-under 209. Talley had shared the lead with Zhao following the opening round when each fired a 4-under 68. After adding a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round, Talley remained in contention with a solid 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s third round.

   Elise Lee, another player out of Irvine, Calif., matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round and was a shot behind Talley in fourth place with a 6-under 210 total. Lee plans to join the program at Big 10 power Northwestern in the summer of 2024.

   Anna Davis, the Spring Valley, Calif. kid who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last spring at age 16, got it going to the tune of a 4-under 68 and was alone in sixth place with a 4-under 212 total.

   Davis, who made the cut in five of the seven LPGA Tour starts she made in the aftermath of her bustout victory at Augusta National, has risen to No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR. It looks like Davis made a verbal commitment to join the program at Auburn in the summer of 2024 this week, although she still has an option to bypass college golf and turn professional between now and then.

   Gianna Clemente of Estero, Fla. and No. 73 in the Women’s WAGR was in the group tied for eighth place at 1-under 215 after signing for a 2-under 70. Clemente, the runnerup in last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Club at Old Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. at age 14, grew up in Warren, Ohio before relocating to Florida.

   A large group of players tied for 28^th place at 6-over 222 included a pair of Jersey girls and a Delawarian.

   Megan Meng of Pennington, N.J. and a junior at Hopewell Valley carded a 3-over 75. Meng captured the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 playing out of Jericho National Golf Club.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. struggled a little with a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s third round. Li, a quarterfinalist 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.

   Avery McCrery, a Tower Hill School sophomore from Wilmington, Del., posted her second straight 1-over 73. McCrery, playing out of Wilmington Country Club, won the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ crown in 2020 at Sandy Run Country Club.

   Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C. bounced back from an 80 in Monday’s second round with her best round of the week, a 1-under 71 that left her alone in 35^th place with a 225 total. Bartholomew, who will be an ACC rival of Li’s when she joins the program at Virginia next summer, was playing out of Indian Valley Country Club in Telford when she began her junior career.