BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – It was another competitive day of golf at Streamsong Golf Resort with the boys going low and the girls remaining tightly bunched atop the leaderboard. Despite two dangerous weather delays, all rounds were completed, and the boys field has been narrowed to 73 players at +1 or better.
What Happened?
71st Boys’ Junior Championship
In the first group to go off, Clark Mason took early control. Mason continued to capitalize on his length off the tee and it was noticeable how confident he was in his swing.
After playing the first seven holes in four under, his first trouble came at the par 4, 8th hole where he hit his tee shot through the fairway into the water. From there, a solid approach shot went to 15 feet, and he drained the putt for par to keep his momentum.
Playing the rest of the round in three under, Mason was the first in the clubhouse at 13-under par.
Making a late charge was William Lisle, who is also leading the 13-15 division. On the par-3 16th, Lisle stuck it to 6 feet from about 209 when the horn blew shortly after. Coming back out nearly an hour later, he buries the birdie.
One shot back heading into 18, he pounds a drive, stuck his wedge shot to about 8 feet, and drained the putt to tie Clark Mason for the 36-hole lead. Expect many more birdies to come out of these two for an exciting final round.
66th Girls’ Junior Championship
An exciting day was all but guaranteed following the tightly packed leaderboard after round one. A more accessible course setup led to lower scores, and several competitors took full advantage.
Morning co-leaders Evyn Cannon and Sofia Rivera’s 3-under kept the pace through the front nine, while Eva Lye and Krishny Elwin surged into contention.
Elwin, coming off an opening-round 73 (+1), caught fire on the front nine with a 4-under burst, surging herself 10 spots up the leaderboard. She continued the charge with clutch birdies on holes 16 and 17 to reach 6-under on the day and 5-under overall. By day’s end, Elwin had seized the outright lead.
Ana Boone also made noise, carding a 4-under 67 to put herself into a share of second place at 5-under total. She’s joined there by Lye, who followed her opening 72 with a solid 68 to reach 140 across two rounds.
Leah Gram produced one of the steadiest rounds of the day, 17 straight pars before a birdie on 18 bumped her to 3-under, tied with Iris Lee, who matched her at that mark.
What’s Next?
In the Boys’ Junior Championship, the field has been cut to 73 players, and the remaining 18 holes will be played on the Blue Course. Meanwhile, the Girls’ Junior Championship will continue on the Red Course. By the end of the day, we will crown the 71st Boys’ and 66th Girls’ Junior Champions.
Notable (Boys)
- Jeremy Hsu is moving day’s biggest jumper, moving up 102 spots with a 63 highlighted by a 29 on the front nine
- William Lisle has only made one bogey over the span of 36 holes
- The top four players on the leaderboard are all on Team Florida
Notable (Girls)
- Krisny Elwin posted the low round of the day firing a 6-under (66) and holds the outright lead with a jampacked leaderboard
- Staci Pla recorded the only eagle of either round on 11th hole of the Red Course
- The scoring average of the second round 76.38 versus a first round scoring average of 77.76
Quotable (Boys)
“I love when people watch me. It was really cool having a gallery, especially when it is important people like college coaches from really great programs. I just wanted to show them what I could do” - Clark Mason said in response to being asked how he handles the pressure of college coaches watching.
“I am just going to play my own game. Hopefully the putter stays hot. Hit some fairways, hit some greens, and see what happens” - William Lisle on the keys to finishing strong tomorrow.
Quotable (Girls)
“I think my mentality definitely was my key to success for today. I think mentally I was really prepared for this and I know my game is in a really good place right now, so mentality was definitely my biggest strength today.” – Krishny Elwin on her key to success today.
“Yesterday I was playing okay, I made a lot of good shots, but I knew I could have played better. So, I wasn’t too hard on myself last night and I came back here very relaxed and tried to do the best I could do and it really worked out.” – Ana Boone on going from a round one 73 to a round two 67.
