JOHNSON -- Competitors in the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational golf tournament were forced to play through some challenging conditions Wednesday, which including pouring rain at times. But that didn't seem to bother Xin Kou.
The 14-year-old fired a second consecutive three-under par 69 and takes a three-shot lead into the final day of the 54-hole event at Blessings Golf Club.
At A Glance
KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational
at Blessings Golf Club (par 72)
^Tuesday’s Score-Wednesday’s Score
Boys Division
Garrett Engle^73-70
Kuangyu Chen^69-75
Narayan Mohan^70-76
Ray Xiong^80-68
Aidan Goldstein^76-75
Eric Doyle^79-72
Ngai (Kelvin) Si^76-76
Evan Chien^73-80
Evan Woosley-Reed^74-79
Kripa Dharan^78-76
Marshall Meisel^73-81
Girls Division
Xin (Cindy) Kou^69-69
Lynn Lim^70-71
Yoon Min Han^72-72
Jiarui (Joyce) Jin^69-76
Jana Ni^73-75
Taylor Kehoe^71-77
Yu Wen Lu^75-73
Kaleiya Romero^76-73
Makenzie Niblett^73-76
Melena Barrientos^76-73
Full leaderboards can be found at www.ajga.org
Kou said the rain started on her third hole of the day and continued throughout the round to varying degrees
"It bothered me a little bit at first, but I just got used to it," said Kou, who also led after Monday's first round. "I don't think it really affected me."
She said Wednesday's round was more consistent than her first, despite shooting identical scores.
"I'm satisfied with my score," Kou said. "I didn't make many birdies on the front nine, putts weren't going in. But it was better towards the back. I didn't have any misses today. I had a lot of birdies yesterday, but I also had a lot of bogeys. Yesterday was kinda like a roller-coaster; today it was more even."
Lynn Lim of Gallatin, Tenn., put together a solid round of one-under par and sits in second place with a two-day total of three-under par 141. She not only dealt with the weather conditions but was also forced to play the final four holes alone after her playing partner withdrew.
"It was tough out there, especially playing alone," said Lim, who played the last four holes in one-over par. "It kinda screwed with my mental part of it, the routine. I tried to stay steady through it and tried to focus."
The rain was a problem, too, but Lim said it forced her to focus more and that was a positive.
"It definitely affected me in a positive way," Lim said. "I know that's weird to say, but I feel like I've gained a lot of experience playing in that type of weather. It was absolute downpour at times."
Kou and Lim were the only females to shoot under par, after five of the 25 shot in the red on the opening day. First-round co-leader Jiarui Jin went from a 69 on Tuesday to a four-over 76 and sits in fourth place going into today's final round.
First-round leader Kuangyu Chen of Shenzhen, China, struggled on the back nine and trails Garrett Engle by a stroke thanks to a bogey on 18 in the boys' division.
Chen acknowledged he had problems with the wet conditions. He finished with a three-over 75 on Wednesday after opening with a three-under 69 on Tuesday.
"I struggled making putts, and on the back, the gloves were slippery, so the drives were only going 240 or 250 yards," Chen said. "It was going nowhere. That was the difference in my round today and yesterday."
Engle of Harrisburg, Pa., shot a two-under 70, after an opening round 73. He got off to a hot start, shooting two-under on the front nine and battled on the back despite a bogey and a double.
Ray Xiong of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., shot the low score of the day -- a four-under 68 --to jump into fourth place with a two-day total of four-over 148, which is five shots behind Engle.
Sports on 06/21/2018