Locals eye trophy at LV Junior Open
The streak of locals winning the Las Vegas Junior Open golf tournament has a good chance to reach three after two of the area’s best were able to manage their game in gusty conditions Wednesday at Anthem Country Club.
Coronado's Tad Darland shot par 72 despite 45 mph winds, pulling within a shot of leader Zane Thomas of Arbor View.
Thomas carded a second-round 74 for a 142 total with 18 holes remaining.
Thomas and Darland will play in the final group Thursday along with J.J. Holen of Castaic, Calif., going off at 9:18 a.m. in the American Junior Golf Association tournament.
Holen shot 75 and was three shots behind Thomas.
Coronado's A.J. McInerney in 2009 and The Meadows' Max Marsico in 2008 won the previous two boys division titles.
“It would be nice to keep the trophy (in Las Vegas),” Darland said. “Zane’s a very good player, and it should be a good finish.”
Darland, who matched Ryan Tetrault of Orange, Calif., for Wednesday’s low round, offset a double bogey on the par-4 No. 2 with an eagle on the par-5 third and was steady the rest of the way.
“I finally stayed true to myself,” Darland said. “I just tried to get out of there with par on the back nine.”
Thomas, the first-round leader, struggled most of the day but finished with consecutive birdies, including a 30-foot putt on No. 18, to diminish the damage.
“I was trying to find something to turn it around,” Thomas said of his chip-in for birdie on No. 17. “It was an up-and-down day, and I just tried to grind it out.”
In the girls division, Davon Brown of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., shot 1-over 73 for a 147 total and a one-shot lead over first-round leader Shannon Aubert of Orlando, Fla.
“I made a lot of 9-foot-and-in putts, and I hit my irons well," said Brown, who will attend Northwestern this fall on a golf scholarship. “I got into a good rhythm early, so the wind didn’t really bother me that much.”
Aubert struggled to an 80.
Green Valley's Jenny Hahn shot 79 and was five shots behind Brown in fourth place.
Hahn’s teammate, Alexandra Kaui (77), was eight shots off the lead.
