Late birdie gives Chen early lead

NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Kuangyu Chen approaches the 18th green Tuesday, June 19, 2018, during first round play of the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational at the Blessings Golf Club in Johnson.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Kuangyu Chen approaches the 18th green Tuesday, June 19, 2018, during first round play of the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational at the Blessings Golf Club in Johnson.

JOHNSON -- Kuangyu Chen slightly pumped his fist in jubilation on the 18th green after he sank a 6-foot birdie putt to close out his opening round at the KMPG Stacy Lewis All-Star Invitational.

That putt was pivotal because it allowed the native of Shenzhen, China, to enjoy an opening-round lead Tuesday afternoon at Blessings Golf Club. Chen finished his round with a 3-under par 69 after a strong showing over the last nine holes.

"The round was pretty smooth," Chen said. "I missed putts for birdies on two holes, and the course is set up pretty tough this week. It was good enough for me. I had a lot of mistakes going on, but it was a pretty good round."

Chen had two birdies and two bogeys over the front nine before his strong finish over the final nine holes. He shot back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 before closing out the round with his fifth birdie of the day.

Chen said he enjoyed the benefits of Tuesday's early tee time because it allowed him to set the tone for the other golfers. He was also able to avoid the stronger breeze that blew over the course after he finished his round.

"I learned on this course that it's better to hit the ball safe on the fairways," Chen said. "I was trying to hit the ball and knew I just needed to try for pars instead of birdies. On the greens, the ball would roll pretty fast once it got going downhill.

At A Glance

KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational

at Blessings Golf Club (par 72)

Thursday’s Scores

Kuangyu Chin^36-33 — 69

Narayan Mohan^36-34 — 70

Evan Chien^38-35 — 73

Garrett Engle^37-36 — 73

Marshall Meisel^39-34 — 73

Nicklas Staub^37-36 — 73

Evan Woosley-Reed^38-36 — 74

Aiden Goldstein^40-36 — 76

Ngai (Kelvin) Si^38-38 — 76

Drue Nicholas^38-40 — 78

Kripa Dharan^37-41 — 78

Girls

Jiarui (Joyce) Jin^34-35 — 69

Xin (Cindy) Kou^34-35 — 69

Lynn Lim^34-36 — 70

Ashely Shim^37-34 — 71

Taylor Kehoe^35-36 — 71

Bohyun Park^36-36 — 72

Yoon Min Han^36-36 — 72

Jana Ni^38-35 — 73

Makenzie Niblett^39-34 — 73

Yu Wen Leu — 39-36 — 75

Full leaderboards can be found at www.ajga.org

"The weather for the early tee times were great. There was no wind like it was blowing right now."

Narayan Mohan of Charlotte, N.C., was the only other boys golfer to shoot par or better, finishing with a 2-under 70 after he also shot a strong back nine. There is a logjam for third place as four other golfers finished with a 1-over 73.

There is a tie for the lead in the girls division as both Jiarui (Joyce) Jin of Encinitas, Calif., and Zin (Cindy) Kou of Windermere, Fla., each shot a 69. Lynn Lim of Gallatin, Tenn., is just one stroke back at 70, while Ashely Shim of San Mateo, Calif., and Taylor Kehoe of Strathroy, Ontario, also shot below par and are tied for fourth.

"I played great," said Jin, who joined Kou for a round at the driving range shortly after their rounds were completed. "My driving was good and my putts, I made them. That round was good for me.

"I learned that putting on this course is important. Drives have to be straight on some of these holes, and some holes are hard. I did well on those two."

The two co-leaders had their chances to claim sole possession of the lead, but bogeys on the back nine ended those opportunities. Jin's bad hole on the back nine came on No. 14, but Kou had hers on the final hole.

"On that hole, I made a careless mistake," Jin said. "I used my 3-wood and really didn't hit the ball straight. That put me in the rough and cost me a chance at par."

The tournament continues with 18 holes today and Thursday at Blessings Golf Club.

Sports on 06/20/2018

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