Atlanta Country Club host round one of SJGT Championship
It’s Champ Week on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, as the spectacular Atlanta Country Club is playing host to the SJGT Championship. Nestled in the trees of Marietta, GA is the beautiful par 72 course that tips out around 7,000 yards. Atlanta Country Club played host to 84 juniors, some who traveled as far as Florida to compete for a title. The challenging course made its presence known today as only five players found a way to stay out of black numbers. Leading the charge is Augusta, GA native Ballou Phillips who fires an incredible round of four under par 68. Phillips makes five birdies and an eagle in route to the low score of the opening round. Thienna Huynh sits atop the leaderboard in the female 12-19 division after a round of two over par 74.
A shootout is in store for the male 14-19 division after 14 competitors put themselves in contention for a shot at becoming overall male champion after rounds of 75 or better. All players will be chasing Byron, GA resident Brannen Suggs tomorrow after he posted a round of two under par 70 in round one. Suggs fires a two under par 34 on his closing nine, and makes five birdies in total for his great round of 70. Sitting in a solo second place is Sam Lape of Atlanta, GA, who has been on a recent tear as of lately. Lape is coming off a recent victory at Berkeley Hills last week. Lape fires a round of one under par 71 to put himself in the final pairing tomorrow morning. A three way tie ensues for third place as all competitors finish their day with rounds of even par 72. The three way tie includes Preston Topper (Suwanee, GA), Gordon Sargent (Birmingham, AL) & Brock Nixon (Acworth, GA). The final round should be ultra-competitive within the division as so many players sit only a handful of strokes off the lead.
The male 12-13 division brought their A-games to the starting tee this morning as five players finish their day at 74 or better. Although two players had it clicking today as round of 68 and 70 are posted within the division. Leading the way for overall as well as the division is Augusta, GA player Ballou Phillips who fires an incredible round of four under par 68. Trialing Ballou by two strokes entering final round action tomorrow is Tallahassee, FL player Parker Bell who posts a round of two under par 70. Valdosta, GA local Brock Blais and Atlanta, GA resident Harris Barth find themselves in a tie for third place after rounds of one over par 73. Phillips, Bell and Blais will round out the final pairing of the division tomorrow, starting at 8:57.
The female 12-19 division is led by Lilburn, GA player Thienna Huynh, with a score of 74. Huynh posted three birdies in her very solid opening round and takes a two-shot lead heading into tomorrow. Tied in second place with four-over totals of 76 are Kate Mashburn and Kimberly Shen. Mashburn, a Georgia native, raced to three-under par after her first six holes. Shen also made three birdies, coming on the very difficult 16th, 17th, and 18th holes. Those birdies on 16-18 gave Shen a 34 total for the back nine at Atlanta Country Club. The race for the overall female SJGT Championship is wide open heading into tomorrow’s final round, with six players within six shots of the lead.
