AJGA Puerto Rico Open: Furuya leads
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Ryoto Furuya of
Wesley
Chapel, Fla., shot a 3-under-par 69 for the
second
straight day giving him a tournament total 138
and a
two-stroke lead heading into the final round of
the
Puerto Rico Junior Open.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf
Association,
the Puerto Rico Junior Open is a 54-hole
stroke play
competition featuring 72 boys, ages 12-18,
from 18
U.S. states and 14 foreign countries, as well
as eight
players from Puerto Rico. For the fourth year
in a
row, the champion will be awarded a
sponsor's
exemption into the PGA TOUR's Puerto Rico
Open
presented by seepuertorico.com, March 6-9.
The
par-72 Trump International Golf Club —
Championship
Course is playing 6,922 yards.
Consistent play so far this week has been the
key
for Furuya, 16. A bogey-free round today led
to his
second straight 69 and two birdies on his last
two
holes has his confidence high heading into the
final
round.
“The last two holes gave me a lot of
confidence,
especially with my putting,” said Furuya. “I
made a
couple 15-20-footers the last two holes for
birdie. It
really makes me ready for tomorrow and has
my
confidence up.”
With only 18 holes standing between Furuya
and a
PGA TOUR exemption he is trying to stay calm
heading into the final round and not get too
excited.
“I will be watching my fellow competitors and
it
almost feels like a match in match play, but I
also
don’t want to think too much and push myself
too
hard,” said Furuya. “I really just want to go
out and
have fun out there and hopefully the score will
come.”
Nathan Zhao of Placentia, Calif., and Jorge
Garcia of
Miami, are tied for second at 4-under-par 140.
In a
four-way tie for fourth at 2-under-par 142 is
Shotaro Onuki of Ibaraki, Japan, Jonathan
Rector of
Hendersonville, N.C., Luis Gerardo Garza of
Leon,
Mexico, and Jackson Lang of Lexington, Mass.
The American Junior Golf Association is a
501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall
growth and development of young men and
women
who aspire to earn college golf scholarships
through
competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides
valuable
exposure for college golf scholarships, and
has an
annual junior membership (boys and girls
ages 12-18)
of approximately 5,500 junior golfers from 49
states
and more than 40 countries. To ensure
scholarship
opportunities for all junior golfers who have
the skill,
the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive
Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide
financial
assistance to young players in need.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been
the
catalyst and driving force behind the
Association's
success since 1989. Rolex, which is in its third
decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural
AJGA
Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12
years of
support, Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's
second
Premier Partner.