Thanana Kotchasanmanee (AJGA Photo)
Thanana Kotchasanmanee of Rome, Ga., leads the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex with a 36-hole score of 11-under.
The Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex is back for the 16th time. The 54-hole stroke play event is bringing together the top-72 female junior golfers from around the world to compete at Eagle Creek Golf Club this week. The event hosted by the ANNIKA Foundation and AJGA is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2024. The weekend includes a clinic put on by Annika Sorenstam for the field tonight, as well as a Q&A session on Monday between 2015 champion Angel Yin and our host Annika.
The champion of this weekend's event will receive two exemptions. The first to the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions LPGA event is being contested at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. The second to a 2024 Epson Tour tournament.
Kotchasanmanee's round started on the back nine. She carded seven consecutive pars before finding her first birdie of the day on the par-3 No. 17. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American continued this momentum and fired off three consecutive birdies on Nos. 18, 1 and 2, with another one coming later on the par-5 No. 9. Kotchasanmanee's round was highlighted by a sole eagle on the par-4 No. 6. The Princeton University commit moved two spots up the leaderboard en route to her 6-under-par 67.
Kotchasanmanee is currently No. 51 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is searching for her first AJGA win this week.
Natalie Yen of West Linn, Ore., holds the solo second-place position at 9-under. The Texas A&M University committed a bogey-free round that included three birdies on Nos. 2, 6, and 15.
Yen, a 2023 Rolex Junior All-American, is ranked No. 41 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is also looking to claim her first AJGA win.
Jude Lee of Walnut, Calif., and Madison Messimer of Myrtle Beach, S.C., share third place at 6-under.
The final round will take place at Eagle Creek Golf Club on Tuesday, January 16, with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
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ABOUT THE ANNIKA Invitational
Conducted by the American Junior Golf
Association, the ANNIKA Invitational is a 54-hole
stroke play competition featuring 72 girls, ages
14-18.
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