Hymer leads 98th Texas Junior Amateur after Dominating Moving Day
WHITNEY – Gavin Hymer of San Antonio leads after the second round of the 98th Texas Junior Amateur Boys Division. The sophomore fired a 6-under 66 to climb the leaderboard and hold the clubhouse lead heading into the final round.
Moving Day at the 98th Texas Junior Amateur Boys 15-18 Division welcomed back 120 players battling for their spot in the final round of the last major championship on the boys’ calendar for 2024.
Hymer, who carded a first-round 2-under 70, dominated the second round, setting himself up in a great position. The San Antonio native’s 6-under 66 propelled him to the top of the leaderboard at 8-under.
“I just kept the same game plan,” Hymer said. “I didn’t hit the ball crazy, but the putter was on fire, so it just led to a good round.”
Hymer, who posted the lowest score of the second round, recorded only one bogey on the day while making birdie on every par 5.
“After about Hole 7, I had the confidence that I could pretty much make anything,” the sophomore said.
Hymer will head into the final round tomorrow with a five-stroke lead over a talented field chasing him. That doesn’t bother him as he plans to stick with his game plan.
“I played well in the first round and second round, so I’m just going to try and do the same thing tomorrow,” he said.
In second place is Shiv Parmar of Selma. The senior got off to a rocky start with a double bogey on No. 1 and a bogey on No. 2. However, he showed his tournament experience by battling back for the rest of the round, going bogey-free and including five birdies. He finished with a 2-under second round and 3-under overall.
“It was really good besides the first two holes,” Parmar said. “I mean, I started off double-bogey, and it could have been terrible, but I played really good golf after that for a bogey-free 3-under, made a lot of putts, and kept it in the fairway.”
Parmar, who won the Legends Junior Tour Winter Classic this year, proved it’s never over until the final putt.
“I mean, it’s not over after the first two holes,” said the Texas A&M golf commit. “I know I’ve started pretty good and finished bad yesterday, but mentally I just know it’s not over.”
In third place is Sundown’s Isaiah Igo. The sophomore carded a 2-over 74, dropping two shots in the second round. Igo will head into the final round six strokes back from the leader but remains well within contention for the championship.
In fourth is University of Texas Golf commit Adam Villanueva of Kenedy, who carded a 1-over 73 to move to 1-under overall. The 2024 George Hannon Invitational champion will look to make one final push in the final round and secure his second championship of the season.
Finishing the top five heading into the final round is Matt Pawly of San Antonio. The University of Houston golf commit fired a 1-over 73 to finish even-par overall.
Tomorrow, the 98th Texas Junior Amateur champion will be exempt into the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club, as the USGA announced the Texas Junior Amateur is an official exemption event in 2023.
The official yardage for the round was 6,914 yards, with Hole No. 18 playing as the hardest hole. The long par 4 that drops in elevation halfway to the green saw four birdies, 38 pars, 47 bogeys, and 23 double bogeys or worse.
The final round of the 98th Texas Junior Amateur will commence at 8 a.m. tomorrow off the No. 1 tee.
To see Round 2 results and read more information on the 98th Texas Junior Amateur, click here.