GOLF: Elite amateurs compete in Preseason Junior at Chateau Elan

BRASELTON - Cameron Yeary of Knoxville, Tennessee, scored a 4-under-par 67 to lead the Boys Division in the first round of the Preseason Junior at Château Élan. Tyler Dawson of Woodstock, Georgia, Jacqueline Twitty of Chapin, South Carolina, and Chandler Rosholt of Cedar Park, Texas, finished at even-par 71 in a three-way tie for the Girls Division lead.

The Preseason Junior at Château Élan is one of 13 events held as part of the IMG Academy Preseason Series. The IMG Academy Preseason Series is designed specifically for AJGA members who have had limited acceptances into multi-day AJGA events. This series offers these members the opportunity to start building Performance Based Entry status before application deadlines arrive for summer Open and Junior All-Star series events.

Playing in his first AJGA event, Yeary made three birdies in his final five holes to pace on top of the leaderboard. The 16-year-old hit 14 greens, and recorded his lowest tournament round score.

"I read the greens well and was able to see all the breaks and let it go," Yeary said. "It feels great to be able to know that I can come out and shoot that in a tournament like this."

Ryan Joiner of Roswell, Georgia, and Matt Lorenz of Gulf Shores, Alabama finished the round tied for second at 3-under-par 68. Andrew Lafferty of Milton, Georgia, finished fourth at 2-under-par 69, while Lake Johnson of Chattanooga, Tennessee, finished at 1-under-par 70 for fifth.

In the first groups of the day, 17-year-olds Dawson and Twitty shot identical front-nine scores of 1-over-par 37 and back-nine scores of 1-under-par 34. In her second AJGA event, Dawson shot even-par after recording a birdie on No. 10.

"I wasn't too nervous this time," Dawson said. "This was my lowest score ever. I'm really happy with how I played."

Twitty began and ended the back nine with birdies to carry momentum into the final round.

"I'm just not going to get too nervous," Twitty said. "I'm going to have fun, but really concentrate on every shot."

Rosholt began the day with a birdie on hole No. 1 and recorded a total of three birdies in the round.

"I always try and stay positive whether I'm doing good or bad," Rosholt said. "My mindset was just to me in position so I could win for tomorrow."

The final round shotgun will begin at 8 a.m. at the Château Course.

NOTES: Competitors Kelson Dunn and Keagan Dunn, each from Buford are in the field. Kelson, competing in the boys division carded a first round score of 89, tied for 67th, while Keagan, competing in the girls division posted a day one score of 79, tied for 11th.

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