Gross falls three shots behind the leaders at halfway mark of AJGA's Rolex Tournament of Champions

 

   Downingtown West senior Nick Gross struggled a little in Monday’s second round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions, the signature event of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), but is still only three shots out of the lead at TPC San Antonio’s Canyons Course.

   Gross, a two-time District One Class AAA winner and the 2021 PIAA Class AAA champion, had grabbed the lead with a 4-under-par 68 in Sunday’s opening round.

   The 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course exacted some revenge on Gross, who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. before he reached his 16th birthday in the summer of 2022, as he signed for a 4-over 76 in Monday’s second round that left him at even-par 144 at the halfway point of the 72-hole stroke-play event.

   But the Canyons Course seemed to be rough on just about everybody Monday, so even though Gross was tied for seventh place, he was only three shots behind a foursome of players tied for the lead at 3-under 141. Gross was joined at even-par by Mexico’s Eduardo Terbez Torres, who will join the powerhouse Texas program at the end of next summer.

   Starting off the 10^th tee, Gross got into almost immediate trouble when he made a triple bogey at the par-4 11^th hole. He bounced back with a birdie at the 12^th hole, but a bogey at 17 left him at 3-over heading for the outgoing nine at the Canyons Course.

   Gross, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Alabama at the end of next summer, made a birdie at the first hole and a bogey at two before again finding trouble with a double bogey at the par-3 fourth hole that dropped him back to 5-over for the round. A birdie at the sixth hole enabled Gross to finish at 4-over.

   Gross missed the high school postseason of his senior year as he was representing the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup outside of Rome. As in Italy.

   Billy Davis of Spring Valley, Calif. had the best round of the day, a 4-under 68, as he headed the quartet tied for the lead at 3-under.

   Billy Davis, the twin brother of Anna Davis, the No. 6 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), made five birdies to offset the one bogey on his scorecard. Billy Davis had opened with a 1-over 73. Billy Davis will be running into Gross when he joins the program at Auburn, the Crimson Tide’s ancient SEC rival, at the end of next summer.

   Kihei Akina of Kahuku, Hawaii had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and posted a solid 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round to join the group at 3-under.

   Michael Riebe of Encinitas, Calif. and Jake Albert of Blacksburg, Va., both, like Akina, Class of 2025 entries, rounded out the foursome tied for the lead.

   Riebe and Albert had both opened with a 1-under 71 and each had matching 2-under 70s in Monday’s second round. Albert has already committed to join Billy Davis at Auburn in the summer of 2025.

   Lake Lehman senior Michael Lugiano, who finished in a tie for second place in last month’s PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State, bounced back from an opening-round 77 by matching par in the second round with a 72 that moved him into the top 20. Lugiano’s 5-over 149 total left him in the group tied for 19^th place.

   Lugiano made birdies at the second, sixth, 11^th and 12^th holes to offset a pair of bogeys and a double bogey at 13. Lugiano will join the program at ASUN power Liberty, joining Norristown’s Josh Ryan, the 2019 District One Class AAA champion.

   Episcopal Academy senior Hunter Stetson struggled to a 6-over 78 in Monday’s second round after opening with a 77 and was alone in 39^th place with a 155 total.

   Stetson, who led the Inter-Ac League’s regular-season points standings this fall to take its Champion Golfer of the Year trophy, had four birdies, but couldn’t stay off the bogey train, his card including eight bogeys and a double bogey.

   Stetson, a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club, will join the program at the Atlantic Coast Conference’s North Carolina State at the end of next summer.

   On the girls side, Jasmine Koo of Cerritos, Calif., carded a 3-under 69 to grab a two-shot lead over Aphrodite Deng, the reigning Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Girls champion.

   Koo, who will join the program at powerful Southern California at the end of next summer, had opened with a 1-under 71 over a Canyons Course measuring 6,242 yards for the girls that left her three shots behind Deng.

   Koo started off the 10^th tee and made a bogey at 13, the only blemish on her scorecard. Koo made a birdie at the 15^th hole and then patiently recorded seven straight pars before ripping off three straight birdies at six, seven and eight that got her to the clubhouse with a 4-under 140 total.

   Deng, a Canadian who has made Short Hills, N.J. her base of operation in the States, had opened with a 4-under 68. Deng is a Class of 2028 entry, basically an eighth-grader. We’re talking phenom here.

   Deng got off to a good start in Monday’s second round as she made a birdie at the second hole and, after a bogey at four, added birdies at seven and 10 and was 6-under for the championship at that point. But Deng faltered a little down the stretch, making a double bogey at the 13^th hole and bogeys at 14 and 18 to finish with a 2-over 74 that left her two shots behind Koo with a 2-under 142 total.

   Speaking of phenoms, Alice Ziyi Zhao, who was the co-medalist in qualifying for match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur as a 13-year-old in 2022 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., headed a trio of players tied for third place at 1-under 143.

   Zhao, a Class of ’27 entry, is a native of China who has made Irvine, Calif. her base of operation in the U.S. She added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 73.

   Zhao was joined at 1-under by Lisa Herman of Jenks, Okla. and Ryleigh Knaub of Debary, Fla.

   Herman, a Class of ’26 entry, had trailed Deng by just a shot after an opening round of 3-under 69, but backed off a little with a 2-over 74. Knaub, who plans to join the program at SEC power LSU in the summer of 2025, matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-under 71.

   Megan Meng, a senior at Hopewell Valley Central from Pennington, N.J., had opened with a 1-under 71, but struggled to a 79 in Monday’s second round that left her tied for 18^th place at 6-over 150.

   Meng, who earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, will join the program at Big Ten power Northwestern at the end of next summer.