Round 1 Recap

"Michael" Yang fired 6 birdies in a row to lead at World Woods

Yao-Chun "Michael" Yang (2009) opened the World Woods Open with a bang.  Yang fired an opening round of 3 under par 69 that included a string of 6 birdies from # 17 (his 8th hole) to # 4.  Yang, playing in his first event of the season, will have a 2 stroke advantage over Zachary Plutzik of New York, NY (2007), Stanislav Matus of CZECH REPUBLIC (2008), and Luis Thiele of BRAZIL (2008), heading into Sunday's final round.  Thiele will be paired with FCWT newcomer Benjamin Martin of TRINIDAD (2008) and Kenny Chong of Bradenton, FL (2010), who are tied for 5th at 74 (+2), 5 shots back of Yang.  Chong was one of 2 players to card an eagle on Saturday;  David James was the other.

Three players are tied for 7th at 75: Shang Zhi (2010), who led this division in pars with 15, 14 year old Cyril Suk (2011) and John Boehme of Jacksonville Beach, FL (2012).  Right behind them are 3 players tied for 10th at 76:  Roy Steinberg of ISRAEL (2008), Benjamin Palanski of HUNGARY (2010), who won this event last year at the 13-15 level with rounds of 69-68, and Andrew Kim of Old Tappan, NJ (2010).

Andrew Gain fired a 66 to lead all scores in the Boys 13-15 division

Gain accumulated 8 birdies on his trip around the course on Saturday.  He has a 6 shot advantage over 13 year old Chad Merzbacher of Dublin, OH (2012), who opened with a solid round of even par.  Merzbacher was named a 2006-07 FCWT All-American after winning in January at Innisbrook.  Gain, a first year FCWT player, is quickly moving towards that achievement as well.  He finished T2 at TPC Tampa Bay and now looks to earn a win in only his 2nd event.  Another FCWT All-American is tied for 3rd.  Twelve year old Joshua Lee of Orange Park, FL (2013), a third year FCWT player, was named the Player of Promise from the Boys 11-12 division last season after winning 4 times during the regular season, then went on to win the Boys National Championship at that level.  Fourteen year old James Yoon (2012), a newcomer to the FCWT from PARAGUAY, is tied with Lee for 3rd place.

In the Boys 11-12 division, James Leadbetter of Orlando, FL (2013) fired a 2 under par 70 to lead all scores.  Leadbetter leads his buddy Ryan Stovash, also of Orlando, by 6 strokes.  Leadbetter carded 6 birdies on Saturday - sure to make Dad proud!  He and Ryan will be paired with Gavin deFisser of Gilbert, AZ (2015) for the final round.  Eleven year old deFisser is a 3rd year player who won the ASU Open last season.

Sally Watson of Earlsferry, SCOTLAND (2009) led the 21 girls in the Girls 13-18 division of the World Woods Open with an opening round of 2 under par 70.  Her four birdies on the day (the most in this division) offset her 2 bogeys and she heads into Sunday's round with a 2 stroke advantage over two players tied for 2nd.  Cyna Rodriguez of Manila, PHILIPPINES (2009) and Maria Imelda Isabel Piccio, also of the PHILIPPINES (2009), will be paired with Watson for the final round.  Miss Watson, playing in her first event of the season, will be looking for her first FCWT win.  Miss Rodriguez finished 2nd at Tampa in September and Miss Piccio is playing her first ever FCWT event.  Laetitia Beck of ISRAEL (2010), who won the PGA Club Open in September, will start the final round in 4th place.  Ginger Howard of Bradenton, FL (2012), Christina Miller of Bradenton, FL (2010), Daniela Lendl of Bradenton, FL (2011), and Andrea Watts of Bradenton, FL (2008) will begin the final round tied for 5th at 75, 5 strokes back of Miss Watson.