AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational: Wang and Fitzgerald tied atop leaderboard
There isn't much breathing room for any of the leaders in the various divisions of AmateurGolf.com's Winter Classic being held at Corica Park's South Course in Alameda, Calif.
The frontrunners of the championship, senior, mid-am and women's divisions will all sleep on slim leads following Saturday's opening round which was played under sunny but crisp conditions in the Bay Area.
Joshua Wang, a sophomore at Palo Alto (Calif.) High School and Cal State Monterey sophomore A.J. Fitzgerald each carded rounds of 5-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead over University of the Pacific sophomore Griffin Long into Sunday's final round.
The chase pack includes Baron Szeto, a Cal Poly sophomore who won the 2021 Alameda Commuters championship on the same course, Luke Dugger and Vijay Srinivasan, who are three back following 2-under rounds of 70.
Wang was 1-under through 12 holes and then birdied four of his next five holes to sign for his 67. Fitzgerald opened red-hot with five birdies on his outward nine en route to his 67.
Selena Tang, a Yale-bound senior at Mission High School in Fremont, Calif., shot a 4-under 68, which was good for a one-stroke lead over Cal sophomore Kaylyn Noh, who was playing under the watchful eye of her head coach Nancy McDaniel.
Elizabeth Scholtes, a fifth-year senior at Cal Poly who attended nearby Alameda High School, is five off the pace after an opening round of 73.
Michael Staskus, the reigning NCGA Super Senior champion, leads the senior division by a stroke over Jeff Weiss, while Nate Jetter and Ryan Knapp will take a one-stroke lead over veterans Marc Engellenner and Daniel Connelly into Sunday's final round.
ABOUT THE
AGC Winter Invitational
The Winter Invitational is open to all
players who satisfy the handicap
requirements. Join us at the completely renovated San Juan Oaks Golf
Club. We are proud to bring this gorgeous and
challenging course designed by Fred Couples back into
the AmateurGolf.com Tour rota! We'll play threesomes
in split tees, so everyone will get a morning tee time
and play at a great pace. San Juan Oaks has set a time
par of 4.5 hours or better for their public play (in
foursomes) and we'll plan on doing that in December. If
you're not sure you can keep up, please don't register.
This is primarily a gross competition with Championship
and Senior divisions; a limited field Net division of 16
players will be offered as well to give everyone a
chance to play this amazing venue.
DIVISIONS
CHAMPIONSHIP
For players aged 15 and over who have a USGA or
equivalent index of less than 4.5
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
For players age 50 and over (as of the tournament
date) with a handicap index of less than 8.0. Note:
Must be 55 and over for NCGA Senior Points.
MID-AM (subdivision of Championship)
For players age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in the
Championship Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six Mid-Ams,
a separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORS (subdivision of Senior)
For players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger senior players
in
the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six players 65
or
over, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for low
super senior.
WOMEN (subdivision of Championship)
Will play in the
Championship
Division but
from a shorter tee. If there are at least six women in
the field, a separate prize and trophy will be
awarded.
NET (open to men and women)
Play with 90% of your low index, and enjoy the
"max net double bogey" rule to avoid the big number
on your card and make the day mostly stress-free.
View Complete Tournament Information