Junior Invitational at Sage Valley: Joshua Bai records scorching round to start
3/21/2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
see also: View results for Junior Invitational, Sage Valley Golf Club
Bai eagled his first hole to shoot a 7-under 65 to lead by four shots, while Asterisk Talley leads the girls division by two shots
Joshua Bai of New Zealand is quickly becoming one of the top juniors in the country.
After finishing runner-up to Bryan Kim in the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur, Bai now leads the 2024 Junior Invitational at the iconic Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, S.C., by four shots after round one.
Bai shot a first-round 7-under 65 that consisted of seven birdies, an eagle, and two bogeys. He started his round with a bang, holing out for eagle on the par-4 No. 1 for a two to start the round.
Hugo Le Goff of France and Erich Fortlage of Paraguay are T2 at 3-under and four shots back of Bai. Louis Klein of Czechia, Bowen Mauss of the United States, Byungho Lee of Korea, and Taishi Moto of Japan are all tied at T4 at 2-under.
Bai is ranked No. 106 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings. He also finished T11 in the Northeast Amateur.
Notable junior golfers Miles Russell is T14 at 1-over, Billy Davis is T19 at 2-over, and Blades Brown is T25 at 3-over.
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U.S. Junior: Bryan Kim outlasts Joshua Kim to win
In the girl's division, Asterisk Talley of the United States leads by two shots at 2-under and was the only girl to shoot under par. Talley recorded four birdies and one double bogey on hole No. 16. She bounced back from the double bogey with a birdie on No. 17.
Meja Ortengren of Sweden is in solo second place at even par and two shots back of Talley. Eila Galitsky of Thailand, the 2023 Asia Pacific Women's Amateur champion, Helen Briem of Germany, the 2024 Portuguese International Ladies Amateur champion, and Rianne Mikhaela Malixi of the Philippines are T3 at 1-over. Top-ranked junior Gianna Clemente is T6 at 2-over.
Talley is ranked No. 548 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings.
The Junior Invitational's mission is to operate the most prestigious junior golf championship in the world—an invitation-only annual event for the top 36 boys and 24 girls from around the globe, hosted by the renowned Sage Valley Golf Club.
About the Junior Invitational
The Junior Invitational's mission is to operate the most prestigious junior golf championship in the world—an invitation-only 72-hole annual event (increased from 54 holes prior to 2025) for the top 36 boys and 24 girls from around the globe, hosted ...
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