ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, California, shot a 3-over-par 73 during the second round for a two-day total 1-over-par 141 to retain her lead at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship at The Country Club of Rochester.
Wang birdied No. 10 for the second time this week but made the turn at 2-over-par 37. She rallied on her back nine by repeating birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 and maintained the lead through 36 holes using her first-round, three-stroke cushion.
As one of the youngest players in the field, Wang will experience playing in an Invitational leader group for the first time in her AJGA career.
“Going into tomorrow, I guess I will be a little bit more nervous because the pairings will be based on score, and I will actually play with the girls tied for second,” the two-time AJGA champion said. “It will be interesting. I am just going to play my own game tomorrow and the next day and see what I can do.”
During the second round, more spectators came to The Country Club of Rochester, including more than 20 college coaches who watched the top female junior players in the country compete on one of the biggest stages.
“It was fun having college coaches watch me today. I didn’t have many last year, but the more the merrier,” the 14-year-old leader said.
With identical first and second-round scores and a two-day total of 4-over-par 144, Mariel Galdiano of Pearl City, Hawaii, and Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Arizona, are tied for second.
During the second round, O’Sullivan shot a 4-under-par 31 on the back nine using five birdies (Nos. 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9) to one bogey and three pars. The rising junior finished second at the 2013 Rolex Girls Junior Championship and is competing for the third year in the event (2011, 2013, 2014.)
Galdiano, playing for the first time in the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, played a consistent second round with four birdies. The rising junior is playing in her third AJGA Invitational and finished T10 at the ANNIKA Invitational.
The similarities don’t end with scores; both are Rolex Junior All-Americans and are verbally committed to California universities (Galdiano, UCLA; O’Sullivan, USC).
Tied in fourth with a two-day total 5-over-par 145 are Kristen Gillman of Austin, Texas, and Amy Lee of Brea, California.
Third-round tee times will take place on Thursday, June 12, from 7 – 8:39 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at The Country Club of Rochester. For more information, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (678) 485-1135.
About Rolex
Rolex, which is in its fourth decade of support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. Along with sponsoring the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and the Rolex Tournament of Champions, Rolex is the proprietor of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams and founding partner of the ACE Grant.
