GRANITEVILLE – Players faced a whirlwind of weather challenges Thursday during the second round of the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. After fighting the rain and wind as a cold front passed through the area, Pimpisa Rubrong still leads in the girls’ division, while Luke Colton shares the boys’ division lead with Joshua Bai.
Rubrong, of Thailand, shot a 3-under 69 to extend her lead to three strokes at 5 under. Aphrodite Deng, of Canada, shot an even-par 72 to settle into second place at 2 under, followed by American Scarlett Schremmer (1 under), Yujie Liu, of China, (even) and two players at 1 over.
While several golfers struggled with the weather and course conditions, Rubrong stayed steady and made a string of birdies on the back nine.
“With the rain in the morning and it being so windy, the conditions were tougher today, but the good thing was the tees were more forward so it made it a bit easier to make birdie on a par 5,” Rubrong said. “I’ve only made two bogeys so far, so I need to just keep making pars.”
In the boys’ division, Colton, of the U.S., made three birdies and an eagle on the back nine to shoot 69 and charge up to the top of the leaderboard, joining first-round leader Bai, of New Zealand, at 6 under. American Miles Russell (5 under) sits one stroke back in third with three players tied for fourth.
“I was a bit up and down – I started a little rough on the front nine – but I was able to play better and have a nice stretch on the back nine, so I was glad I was able to get it back,” Colton said. “Sage Valley is a great course and it’s very challenging, so you really have to pick your spots and try to make birdies when you can.”
Like Colton, Bai struggled to get going on the front nine, going out in 1-over 37, before rallying on the back half of the round. He birdied the 18th hole to card a 1-under 71 and keep a share of the lead. Still, the weather elements and elevation of Sage Valley were felt.
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