Vilips, Carlson, Yuen Lead AJGA Junior At Forest Lake

Vilips, Carlson share lead of the Boys Division after second round at AJGA Junior at Forest Lake presented by Tom Holzer Ford
Yuen breaks tie in the Girls Division

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Nick Carlson of Hamilton, Michigan, and Karl Vilips of Foxfire, North Carolina, are tied atop the Boys Division at 5-under-par 137 at the American Junior Golf Association Junior at Forest Lake presented by Tom Holzer Ford. Jessica Yuen of Bolingbrook, Illinois, leads the Girls Division at 5-over-par 147 at Forest Lake Country Club.

Carlson carded a 4-under-par 67 in the second round and looks to defend his 2014 title. The University of Michigan commit tallied seven birdies, including three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15 to jump three spots from the first round.

“I love this golf course, and I am just hitting it around and having a great time,” Carlson said. “It was just one of those days where everything clicked. I made some putts when I needed to make putts and hit some good shots. Tomorrow I am going to go out there and have some fun at my last junior tournament.”

Vilips carded a 2-under-par 69 in the second round to mark two tournament rounds in the 60s. The 13-year-old tallied back-to-back bogeys before bouncing back to fire three birdies and finish the round under par.

“I made a long putt for birdie on No. 7 from about 25 feet, and that is what jump-started my round and led to a few birdies after that,” Vilips said. “I am hoping to shoot another round in the 60s tomorrow and that will hopefully be good enough to win at my first AJGA open event.”

In a three-way tie for third at 4-under-par 138 are Brendan O’Reilly of Hinsdale, Illinois, Jordan Hahn of Spring Grove, Illinois, and Joseph Pagdin of Orlando, Florida.

In the Girls Division, Yuen carded one birdie to sit atop the leaderboard. The University of Missouri commit has two top-five finishes in her AJGA career, and the rising senior credits her low round to her putting.

“I worked a lot on my putting yesterday and I changed a little bit of my style to help the ball roll a little more, and I was satisfied with that,” Yuen said. “I realized the greens were rolling a little better and I concentrated on my putts. Tomorrow I will need to be relaxed and keep calm.”

Mikayla Fitzpatrick of Phoenix, Arizona, is in second at 6-over-par 148, and Felicia Chang of La Habra Heights, California, is in third at 7-over-par 149.

Final-round tee times will run from 7 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. off the No. 1 tee at Forest Lake Country Club. For more information, please contact tournament headquarters at (706) 362-7420. Follow the conversation online at #AJGAForestLake or visit ajga.org.

About the AJGA

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 AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 6,000 members from all 50 states and more than 45 foreign countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.

Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex, which is in its fourth 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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Stacy Lewis, Vicky Hurst, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel.

Boys Division (top-five players)
T1 Nick Carlson, Hamilton, Mich. (2015)       70-67–137
T1 Karl Vilips, (Australia) Foxfire, N.C. (2020)       68-69–137
T3 Brendan O’Reilly, Hinsdale, Ill. (2017)       70-68–138
T3 Jordan Hahn, Spring Grove, Ill. (2015)       70-68–138
T3 Joseph Pagdin, (United Kingdom) Orlando, Fla. (2020)       67-71–138

Girls Division (top-three players)
1 Jessica Yuen, Bolingbrook, Ill. (2016)       73-74–147
2 Mikayla Fitzpatrick, Phoenix, Ariz. (2016)       72-76–148
3 Felicia Chang, La Habra Heights, Calif. (2016)       74-75–149

via AJGA