AJ Ott of Fort Collins used two eagles on Thursday to expand his lead to three strokes heading into the final round of the national PGA Junior Series tournament at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Academy.
Ott, the 2015 CJGA Tournament of Champions winner, backed up his first-round 67 with a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday, giving him an 8-under 136 total with just Friday’s final round remaining.
The Colorado State University signee (pictured) supplemented his two eagles — on the fifth and 16th holes — with two birdies and three bogeys on Thursday. The 18-year-old is three up on Walker Lee of Houston (70-69) and seven up on Luke Travins of Colorado Springs (71-72). Among the five players tied for fourth at 144 are Davis Bryant of Aurora, Oliver Jack of Denver and David Leede of Greenwood Village.
Meanwhile, in the girls 15-18 division, two players from the Thailand contingent are among the top three golfers after Thursday. Nicha Vorrasanpisut of Thailand (74-74) shares the lead with Sophie Guo of China (74-74), while Thai national team member Tunrada Piddon is third, one stroke back, after going 78-71.
The top Coloradan in the girls 15-18 division is Caroline Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village, who’s seventh at 153 (76-77).
The winners in the top boys and girls divisions will earn spots in the Junior PGA Championship, set for Aug. 9-12 in Rumford, R.I.
Marie Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village, Caroline’s sister, maintained her lead in the girls 12-14 division, going 80-81–161. That’s two better than Amisha Singh of Greenwood Village (83-80) in the four-player field.
In boys 12-14, Aaron Kuznik of Orono, Minn., kept his lead, posting rounds of 76-81 for a 13-over-par 157 total. That’s two better than Carson Hackmann of Laurel, Mont. (80-79–159) and six better than third-place Trey Jones of Colorado Springs (79-84–159)
For scores: boys 15-18, girls 15-18, boys 12-14, girls 12-14
