Day Two of the Champions Gate Junior Golf Classic saw Mark (Tyler) McCumber of Ponte Vedra, FL (2009) card his second 72 to move from one stroke back into a tie for the lead in the boys 13-15 division with overnight leader Mike Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (2008). For the second day in a row, Smith carded an eagle - this time on the par 5 8th hole. McCumber played the back nine (his first nine) at 1 under par while Smith played it at +1. In round one, Smith played it at 2 under. They will start on the back nine for round 3, and how they start could determine how they finish. They will be paired with Hojin Kang of Longwood, FL, who is 2 strokes back, after playing both nines under par and posting the low round of the day (-2). Taylor Bowen of Rehoboth, MA, dropped from 3rd to 4th place and Jordan Rizzo of Sarasota, FL (2009) moved into 5th place with a round of 73 on Saturday.
Sixteen year old Ian Gilley of Howey-in-the-Hills, FL, fired a round of 4 under par 68 on Saturday. Gilley was in the clubhouse early sitting in 2nd place and will start the final round in 3rd position. Gilley, who was a 2nd Team FCWT All-American in 2003-04, had 6 birdies and 2 bogeys on the day. Michael Boutin and Nuno Henriques both carded rounds of 1 under par that moved them up the leaderboard to T12 and T7 respectively.
Meanwhile, overnight leader and future Clemson Tiger, Sam Saunders, fired his second consecutive under par round on Saturday to go to 5 under for the tournament. With only one bogey on the day, Saunders increased his advantage to 4 strokes over 2nd place Tommy Mou of Bradenton, FL (2009). Mou, who started the day two strokes back of Saunders after posting an opening round of 72, carded his own under par round of 71 on Saturday. In addition to chasing Saunders, Mou will need to keep an eye on Gilley who will be aiming for another round of 68.
Shaun O'Meara of Windermere, FL (2007) and Justin Kim of Orlando, FL (2006) will start the final round tied for 4th at 145. In the boys 11-12 division, Sean Kelly of Staten Island, NY, (2011) , will start the final round with a 9 stroke lead over Jason Hak of Beijing, CHINA.
First round co- leader Elisa Aoki of JAPAN distanced herself from the pack on Saturday by posting a second round score of 1 under par 71. Aoki who began the day tied with Ines Chandra of INDONESIA after posting an opening round of 73, carded only one bogey on Saturday on #2 (her 11th hole) to go with her 2 birdies on #4 and #13. Sherlyn Popelka of Zuerich, SWITZERLAND (2009) [pictured right], carded the second lowest round of the day with a 74 and will start the final round 5 shots back of Aoki. The first round co-leader, Ines Chandra of INDONESIA, will start the final round in 3rd place 3 strokes back of Popelka. Innapha Tantanavivat of Bangkok, THAILAND (2007)will start in 4th place. Rounding out the Top 5 will be senior Rhea Nair of UAE. |
