Jim in step with FootJoy at Sedgefield Country Club

Spieth shoots second consecutive 66 at sedgefield country club

McConnell alone in second at 5-under-par

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jordan Spieth of Dallas, shot his second 4-under-par 66 in as many days and leads the field at the FootJoy Invitational through two rounds of play.  While Ian McConnell of Riverdale, Fla., who played in Spieth’s group, shot a 1-under-par 69 to stand alone in second place. 

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the FootJoy Invitational is a 72-hole stroke play event being held at Sedgefield Country Club. The 99-player field features golfers from 25 states and 10 foreign countries.  The field includes 28 players who have already signed National Letters of Intent to play in college as well as 25 Rolex Junior All-Americans. Home of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, the par-70 course is being played at 7,118 yards. Past champions of this event include Brian Harman, Daniel Woltman, Andrew Yun, Peter Uihlein and Cameron Peck.

Once again, Spieth had no problem picking apart Sedgefield’s front nine, as he carded four birdies en route to a 4-under-par 31.  He now is 7-under-par for the tournament on the front nine.       

After finishing the front nine, his round quickly took a turn for the worse.  Spieth missed fairways and Sedgefield punished him for it.  Nos. 10, 11 and 13 resulted in bogeys and just like that, he was only 1-under-par for the day.    

“That was the problem, I put myself in bad positions,” Spieth said. “And I didn’t make any putts, which didn’t help.” 

After finding a par on No. 14, Spieth returned to his front-nine form.  On the par-5 15th, he was on the green in two and two-putted for birdie.  Then, on the par-3 16th, he made his eight-foot putt after his tee shot landed pin high.  On No. 18, he made a good read, and watched as his 12-foot putt rolled right to left from above the hole and then disappear for his third birdie in four holes.

His impressive back-nine comeback restored his belief and confidence in his swing.  Still, he knows there is a lot of golf to be played.

“I feel confident, but I also know that there are many great players right behind me, ready to attack the course and if they make the pin positions just a little easier tomorrow, then there’s going to be some guys going low,” Spieth said.  “I’m really excited to be in the lead, but at the same time, I need to stay focused and play my own game and reach my own goals.”

McConnell was tied with Spieth through 33 holes before closing out his second round with a bogey on No. 17.  He’ll begin the third round at 5-under-par 135.

Just one back of McConnell’s mark, at 4-under-par 136, are Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., Richard Werenski of South Hadley, Mass., and Tom Lovelady Birmingham, Ala.

                The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.

The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 350 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

Third-round tee times for the FootJoy Invitational will run from 7 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. off the No. 1 tee at Sedgefield Country Club. For more information, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (336) 299-0744.

 


 

Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas  66-66—132

Ian McConnell, Riverview, Fla.  66-69—135

Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y.  69-67—136

Richard Werenski, South Hadley, Mass.  68-68—136

Tom Lovelady, Birmingham, Ala.  67-69—136

Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas  68-69—137

Joey Garber, Petoskey, Mich.  72-66—138

Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky.  72-66—138

Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas  72-66—138

Jesse Droemer, Houston, Texas  69-69—138

Rak Cho, Brea, Calif.  66-72—138

Adam Carson, Bristol, United Kingdom  70-69—139

Andrew Yun, Chandler, Ariz.  69-70—139

Ernesto Marin, Miami, Fla.  68-71—139

M.J. Maguire, St.Petersburg, Fla.  65-74—139

Blake Biddle, St. Charles, Ill.  73-67—140

Matthew Ceravolo, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.  72-68—140

Logan Harrell, Huntersville, N.C.  71-69—140

Colton Staggs, Tulsa, Okla.  71-69—140

Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif.  70-70—140

Emiliano Grillo, Resistencia, Argentina  69-71—140

Jay Vandeventer, Bristol, Tenn.  67-73—140

Ramsey Sahyoun, Reseda, Calif.  72-69—141

Clark Palmer, Augusta, Ga.  72-69—141

James Back, Cerritos, Calif.  72-69—141

Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla.  71-70—141

Robert Hoadley, Southern Pines, N.C.  71-70—141

Santiago Gavino, San Luis Potosi, Mexico  69-72—141

Brenden Redfern, Austin, Texas  69-72—141

Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif.  67-74—141

Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif.  74-68—142

Ben Itterman, Carlsbad, Calif.  72-70—142

Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz.  72-70—142

Phillip Choi, Orlando, Fla.  72-70—142

Shawn Yim, Buford, Ga.  71-71—142

Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla.  71-71—142

Daniel Walker, Earlysville, Va.  70-72—142

Michael Kim, Del Mar, Calif.  70-72—142

Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.  70-72—142

Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala.  70-72—142

Brian Langley, Blacksburg, Va.  68-74—142

David Persons, El Paso, Texas  68-74—142

Zeyu He, Shen Zhen, China  67-75—142

Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif.  66-76—142

Michael Cromie, Cary, N.C.  76-67—143

Tyler McCumber, Ponte Vedra, Fla.  74-69—143

Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla.  72-71—143

Will Pearson, Memphis, Tenn.  71-72—143

Kramer Hickok, Plano, Texas  71-72—143

Billy Kennerly, Alpharetta, Ga.  75-69—144

Crawford Reeves, Greenville, S.C.  74-70—144

Gavin Hall, Pittsford, N.Y.  73-71—144

Austin Cook, Jonesboro, Ark.  73-71—144

Andrew Decker, Greenville, N.C.  70-74—144

Byeong-hun An, Bradenton, Fla.  74-71—145

Shane Lebow, Santa Barbara, Calif.  73-72—145

Franco Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.  73-72—145

Seth Reeves, Duluth, Ga.  72-73—145

Michael Yiu, Laguna Hills, Calif.  72-73—145

Joaquin Lolas , Lima, Peru  72-73—145

Curtis Reed, Castroville, Texas  71-74—145

Mike Genovese, Pensacola, Fla.  69-76—145

Marcel Puyat, Bradenton, Fla.  75-71—146

Johnathan Schnitzer, Houston, Texas  74-72—146

Bo Andrews, Raleigh, N.C.  72-74—146

Landon Lyons, Baton Rouge, La.  71-75—146

Robert Register, Burlington, N.C.  71-75—146

Zhong Yang Fu, Bradenton, Fla.  69-77—146

Davis Lee, Hilton Head Island, S.C.  76-71—147

Blake Morris, Waterbury, Conn.  75-72—147

Michael Decker, Pebble Beach, Calif.  74-73—147

Robert Galbreath Jr., Huntingdon Valley, Pa.  76-72—148

Jack Walsh, Lawrenceville, Ga.  74-74—148

Nelson Hargrove, Haverford, Pa.  72-76—148

Jacob Everts, Ooltewah, Tenn.  76-73—149

John Young Kim, Los Alamitos, Calif.  73-76—149

Smylie Kaufman, Birmingham, Ala.  73-76—149

Kyle Kmiecik, Avon, Ohio  75-75—150

Justin Clement, Lexington, N.C.  74-76—150

Cody Kent, Castle Rock, Colo.  74-76—150

Yao-Chun Yang, Troy, Mich.  74-76—150

Ryan Zech, Kearney, Mo.  79-72—151

Brent McKenzie, Cambridge, Ontario, 78-73—151

Eli Juren, Austin, Texas  76-75—151

Trey Kaahanui, Tempe, Ariz.  68-83—151

Jordan Shuey, Mechanicsburg, Pa.  78-74—152

Tye Beall, El Paso, Texas  75-77—152

Christian Hawley, Kernersville, N.C.  74-78—152

Lam Steven, Hong Kong,, Hong Kong  71-81—152

Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn.  76-77—153

Chris Worrell, Enid, Okla.  81-73—154

Brandon Rodgers, Knoxville, Tenn.  74-80—154

Lucas Bjerregaard, Frederikshavn, Denmark  75-80—155

Patrick Grimes, Palo Alto, Calif.  79-77—156

Zachary Balit, Bradenton, Fla.  80-77—157

Chase Marinell, Cape Coral, Fla.  75-82—157

Richard Dearinger, Chapel Hill, N.C.  81-77—158

Patrick Winther, Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.  82-76—158

Jay Burlison, Salinas, Calif.  80-82—162