Junior Orange Bowl International Tournament: Day 1

Kristina, Stiggy and Mathias
tame wind to head Florida field on opening day

PRESS RELEASE FROM CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA
By DAVID MACKINTOSH
The 45th edition of the Junior Orange Bowl International got off to a blustery start in a strong sea breeze that made par a challenge.
In the Girls' Section, played at 6,089 yards to par 70, New York State’s Kristina Wong edged one stroke ahead of Korea’s Yu-Ri Kim with 69, a solidly-crafted round of two birdies and one bogey.
Local favourite Alexis Thompson, the 13-year-old US Girls Junior champion, finished two shots off the pace after opening the round with back-to-back birdies. Thompson then lost her way in the wind, carding five bogeys before responding with a two fine birdies to close the day.
Argentina’s Victoria Tanco, 14, and Victoria Kiser, 16, tied for a share of fifth place with 72s. Tanco edged out Thompson for top-place in this year’s American Junior Golf Association rankings and Kiser passed two stages of the LPGA 2008 Qualifying School before being advised she could not compete in the final leg due to her age.
The international contingent led the Boys' Section, with England’s Stiggy Hodgson, pictured above, and Norway’s Mathias Schjoelberg in the lead with exceptional three-under par 67s. Italy’s Matteo Manassero was the only other player to break par over the 6,699yd layout.
The heavily –sloped greens on this classic Donald Ross lay-out proved challenging and three-putts became commonplace. Hodgson found his putting stroke early with six birdies while Schjoelberg had an unusual round - he was four-under par after three holes, opening with an eagle. But he took a double-bogey at the seventh then spend the rest of the round in survival mode.
Five players are tied on even-par 70, including 17-year old Pedro Figueiredo, Portugal’s national amateur champion.
LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
GIRLS
Par 70
1 Kristina Wong Vestal, New York 69.
2 Yu-Ri Kim Korea 70.
T3 Alexandra Stewart Peoria, Arizona 71.
T3 Alexis Thompson Coral Springs, Florida 71.
T5 Victoria Kiser Champions Gate, Florida 72.
T5 Victoria Tanco Argentina 72.
T7 Stephanie Kim Orlando, Florida 73.
T7 Rebecca Lee-Bentham Canada 73.
T9 Emilie Alonso France 74.
T9 Diana Fernandez Paraguay 74.
T9 Ginger Howard Bradenton, Florida 74.
T9 Marieke Nivard Netherlands 74.
T9 Jazmin Reina Argentina 74.
Selected scores:
T14 Valeria Tandrini (Italy) 75.
T17 Daniela Lendl (Bradenton, Florida) 77.
T17 Anais Maggetti (Switzerland) 77.
T17 Eygin Oskarsdottir (Iceland) 77.
T20 Giulia Molinaro (Italy) 78.
T20 Carolin Pinegger (Austria) 78.
T20 Krista Puisite (Latvia) 78.
T27 Laura Gonzalez Escallon (Belgium) 80.
T29 Ana Melo (Portugal) 81.
T29 Martyna Mierzwa (Poland) 81.
BOYS
Par 70
T1 Stiggy Hodgson, Sunningdale, England 67.
T1 Mathias Schjoelberg Norway 67.
3 Matteo Manassero Italy 69.
T4 Bo Andrews Raleigh, North Carolina 70.
T4 Pedro Figueiredo Portugal 70.
T4 Jake Shepherd England 70.
T4 Daniel Snoey Poland 70.
T4 Cyril Suk Czech Republic 70.
T4 Stephan Wolters Germany 70.
T10 Stefan Andersen Kenya 71.
T10 Rafael Becker Brazil 71.
T10 Jorge Fernandez Valdes Argentina 71.
T10 Stanislas Gautier France 71.
T10 Jose Maria Joia Portugal 71.
T10 Matthew Mabrey Little Rock, Arizona 71.
T10 Ernesto Marin Miami, Florida 71.
T10 David Persons El Paso, Texas 71.
T10 Sean Thornberry United Arab Emirates 71.
Selected European scores:
T19 Romain Wattel (France) 72.
T26 Tim Gornik (Slovenia).
T26 Robin Kokocinski (Sweden).
T26 Peter Sterner (Swede).
T38 Daniel Kovari (Hungary) 75.
T38 Kasper Sorensen (Denmark) 75.
T38 Christiano Terragni (Italy) 75.
T44 Joachim Hansen (Denmark) 76.
T47 Florian Tomko (Slovakia) 78.
T46 Edouard Amacher (Switzerland) 78.
T58 Thomas Pieters (Belgium) 80.
T47 Garth McGee (Ireland) 77.