Two boys are tied for the lead following round one of the Jack Newton Junior Golf State Age Championship, while Victorian Feiyu Xing leads the girls division by one shot after Round One at Moruya Golf Club and Catalina Club.
Pennant Hills GC’s Riley Lam and Queenslander Callum Misso both fired three-under-par 69s at Catalina Country Club to share top spot in the boys division heading into round two.
A group of five is locked together in a share of third at two-under-par 70, headlined by NSW pair William Eldridge and Christian Fong (both Avondale GC), alongside Victorians Elbert Kim (Huntingdale GC) and Tyler Murray (Riversdale GC), with New Zealand’s Jerry Zuming Tian (Pupuke GC) also in the mix.
In the girls division, Victorian Feiyu Xing leads the way after an opening one-under-par 72 at Moruya Golf Club. Xing arrives at the Championship in red-hot form, having claimed the Queensland Junior Amateur title just last week, a victory that included a course record.
Concord GC’s Mirabelle Naaman sits one shot back in second on level par 73, while The Australian GC’s Sophie Tong and Concord’s Tsawm Laphai are tied for third at two-over-par 75.
Lam, who claimed his age group title at Catalina last year, was pleased with a solid start to the week.
“I just played pretty decent golf all day, hit it in the right spots. Made a couple of putts and that’s about it, really,” Lam said.
The Pennant Hills product pointed to a strong par save on the second as a highlight, crediting a sharp approach game for his round.
“I made a pretty big par on two, and stuck it close on one, so that was pretty nice. Hitting it inside 10, 15 foot all day and then making some putts.”
Despite a history of success at Catalina, Lam is keeping his goals for the week realistic.
“Winning the overall would be a bit of a stretch, but I’ll try and maybe make top five, something like that would be nice. It’s only round one, so keep it going, I guess.”
Misso, playing the back nine first, made a hot start to his week with a string of birdies before weathering a mid-round rough patch and steadying his card down the stretch.
“I started well, played the back nine first. Got a few birdies, which was nice, and then had a rough patch and then brought it back at the end,” he said.
It’s Misso’s first time playing the Jack Newton State Age Championship, or any Jack Newton event for that fact, and he wasn’t setting expectations for himself this week.
“I’ve never played Jack Newton event before, so it’s good to see something (good on the scorecard).”
With a course swap on the cards for round two, he’s is keeping his approach simple.
“I like Moruya, it looks fun. I’ll just take it one shot at a time and stay in the present.”
The field will switch venues for round two tomorrow, with players who competed at Catalina Club moving to Moruya Golf Club, and those who played Moruya heading to Catalina.
