Stiggy goes clear of field in

Junior Orange Bowl

PRESS RELEASE FROM CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA

By DAVID MACKINTOSH

England’s Stiggy Hodgson raced to outright lead at the halfway stage of the 45th Junior Orange Bowl International, adding a sparkling four-under par 66 to his opening 67. That put him two strokes ahead of Norway’s Mathias Schjoelberg, who birdied three of his last five holes to vault back into contention after a slow start.
Third place is shared by Italy’s Matteo Manassero and Argentina’s Jorge Fernandez- Valdez at 137, five behind the leader.

Just nine players are under par after two days' play over the Donald Ross-designed Biltmore course in breezy conditions, including Pedro Figueiredo, the Portuguese Amateur champion. Korea’s Han Chang Won joined the top mix with a six-birdie 66.
Argentina’s Victoria Tanco, the American Junior Golf Association’s top-ranked girl this year, posted a best-of-the day 69 to join USA’s Kristina Wong atop the girls' leaderboard.

With the course set at full championship length, some 200+ yards longer than most events in the junior girls’ calendar, this is an extreme challenge for these young women.

Tanco’s five birdies were even the more impressive, given numerous extremely testing pin positions.

US Junior Girls Champion Alexis Thompson is third, one stroke back, closely followed by Korea’s Yu-Ri Kim.
Hodgson (pictured above by Tom Ward Photography) - whose rarely-used given name is Eamonn - has had a stellar year, winning the final of the Daily Telegraph Junior Golf Championships in Dubai plus three other top British junior events, including The Duke of York Young Champions' Trophy over the Dundonald Links in Ayrshire.

“I was striking the ball solid, particularly my irons and that’s always a good sign for me,” 18-year old Hodgson said. “I hit a lot of greens, set up a lot of birdie chances in the 15-18 foot range and holed some difficult putts.”
Closing with his only bogey of the round Hodgson admitted he was delighted to discover he held the lead and is unfazed by potential pressure: “This is the biggest junior event of its kind and it would be a great honour to win it,” he said, “but there’s still a long way to go. I’ve won tournaments from all sorts of positions, including leading all the way, so I’m not concerned. I just have to keep playing solid golf.”
For full results go to http://www.jrorangebowl.com/

GIRLS' SECOND-ROUND LEADERS

Par 140 (2 x 70) 6,089yd
141 Victoria Tanco (Argentina) 72 69, Kristina Wong (Vestal, New York) 69 72.

142 Alexis Thompson (Coral Springs, Florida) 71 71.

143 Yu-Ri Kim (South Korea) 70 73.

144 Emilie Alonso (France) 74 70, Stephanie Kim (Orlando, Florida) 73 71.

145 Jazmin Reina (Argentina) 74 71.

146 Diana Fernandez (Paraguay) 74 72, Victoria Kiser (Champions Gate, Florida) 72 74, Jessica Korda (US) 76 70, Alexandra Stewart (Peoria, Arizona) 71 75.

BOYS' LEADERBOARD

Par 140 (2 x 70). 6,699yd

133 Stiggy Hodgson (England) 67 66.

135 Mathias Schjoelberg (Norway) 67 68.

137 Jorge Fernandez Valdes (Argentina) 71 66, Matteo Manassero (Italy) 69 68.

138 Han Chang Won (South Korea) 72 66, Stephan Wolters (Germany) 70 68.

139 Pedro Figueiredo (Portugal) 70 69, Jake Shepherd (England) 70 69, Romain Wattel (France) 72 67.

140 Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) 72 68, Patrick Rodgers (Avon, Indiana) 72 68, Cyril Suk (Czech Republic) 70 70.

141 Jose Maria Joia (Portugal) 71 70, Robin Kokocinski (Sweden) 73 68, Carlos Ortiz (Mexico) 74 67, Richard Werenski (South Hadley, Maryland) 72 69.

Selected score:

156 Garth McGee (Ireland) 77 79.