Fang and Vesely Break Par and Lead Winter Classic
Full Leaderboard
Division Leaders: Plano’s Fang posted the low round of the day in the Winter Classic with his 3-under 69. Fang made four birdies in the tough conditions with only one bogey and leads the Boys 15-18 Division by one stroke. Austin’s Vesely finished at 1-under on Saturday and leads the Girls 12-18 Division by five strokes. The 2018 Winter Classic Girls 12-18 Division Champion made four birdies in the first round. Burnett of Flower Mound and Marion of San Antonio are tied for the lead in the Boys 14 & Under Divisionat 1-over 73. Both players are seeking their first wins with the Legends Junior Tour.
In Contention: In the Boys 15-18 Division, League City’s Jacob Salazar sits behind Fang by one stroke heading into the final round. McKinney’s Peter Clark is in third place at 1-under 71 followed by Heath’s Andrew Baucum in fourth and Granbury’s Ty Holbrook in fifth. Sitting in sixth place in the Division is Ben Brogdon from Little Rock, Ark. With four players tied for seventh at 4-over and seven players tied for 11th at 5-over. In the Girls 12-18 Division, Austin’s Darrelyn Webster sits in second at 4-over followed by Ashley Liu and Summer Lee of Plano, who are tied for third. Eubin Shim, Meagan Winans and Ellie Szeryk are tied for fifth in the division. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Austin’s Trenton Mierl sits in third place and one stroke back of the leaders.
Weather: Conditions were tough out at Dallas Athletic Club’s Blue Course on Saturday. Temperatures ranged in the 50s throughout the day, but the wind was gusting upwards of 30 miles per hour from the north. The sun was out for the first time in a couple days in Dallas and helped dry the course out after two consecutive days of rain.
Course: Dallas Athletic Club is hosting the Winter Classic for the 11th straight year. The Blue Course was originally designed Ralph Plummer and then remodeled by Jack Nicklaus in 1984. Nicklaus won the 1963 PGA Championship, which was held at Dallas Athletic Club. The course stretches out to 6,700 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,200 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and close to 6,000 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.
Tournament Format: The Winter Classic is a 36-hole stroke play event for players with an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. Players ages 12-18 are split into three different divisions. The event is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard, Golfweek and has AJGA Performance Stars that will be handed out to the top finishers.
What’s Next: The final round of the Winter Classic is set for Sunday, January 19 with tee times going off the No. 1 and 10 tees starting at 8:00 am. Pairings for Sunday are drawn according to score from the first round and can be found by clicking here.
About the LJT: The Legends Junior Tour is part of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance, which is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The Tour operates as part of the Texas Golf Association and its Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Since its inception in 2005, the Tour has provided more than $250,000 to promote junior golf initiatives and exposure to the game to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity across the state.
To learn more about the Winter Classic, click here.