Jang and Risner Take Early Lead at Hope Valley Jr.
DURHAM, N.C. (August 4, 2020) -- First round results of the 3rd Hope Valley Junior Invitational at Hope Valley Country Club in Durham, N.C. on August 4, 2020. The Boys’ division competed at approximately 6,720 yards, par 70. The Girls’ division competed at approximately 5,834 yards, par 70.
The CGA will be conducting this championship under the new COVID-19 Tournament Protocols. Learn more here.
Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field | Starting Times | Scoring | History | Photos
Boys’ Division
Garrett Risner of Holly Springs, N.C. took an early lead today with a 3-under-par, 67 start to the invitational. He climbed to the top of the leaderboard after sinking five birdies including the last two holes to finish out strong.
“I struggled a little bit to start today, I wasn’t hitting it the way that I wanted to,” said Risner. “I kept myself in it though with a couple of long putts early on.”
Those long putts came in clutch to make the turn at 2-under giving him the momentum to sink three more birdies in the back.
If Risner sounds familiar to you lately, chances are that you recognize him from his victory by five strokes at the Dogwood Junior Boys’ Championship, by claiming the lowest round at the North Carolina Match Play Championship or maybe by tying for third at the Carolinian. He has had an outstanding summer so far and attributes it all to his improved mental game.
“This summer my mentality has gotten significantly better,” said Risner. “That has helped me to stay in rounds that I typically wouldn’t be able to stay in. I have been working really hard on that as well as my wedges and putting this summer and it is all finally starting to click.”
There is a three-way tie for second, just one shot behind the lead at 2-under-par, 68. Luke Walmet of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Harris Barth of Atlanta, Ga. and Caden Baker of Mebane, N.C. all turned in matching scores although their cards looked quite different.
Walmet and Barth both rode a rollercoaster today with birdie, bogey runs that totaled six birdies and four bogeys for Walmet and three bogeys and a double for Barth to shake down to 2-under. Baker played a slightly more consistent round with two birdies to match two bogeys, but an eagle on No. 15 to seal his 2-under finish.
Girls’ Division
Hyo Joon Jang of Bluffton, S.C. took the lead with a 3-over-par, 73 today. This means that Jang has been the leader in every single round of every CGA championship that she has played in so far, which totals to four rounds.
Jang felt the pressure this morning as she was playing Hope Valley Country Club for the first time. “Today I was not really prepared,” said Jang. “The hurricane threw me off and I didn’t play a practice round so I didn’t know about the course before today.”
Jang made the turn at 3-over, but with patience on her side she was able to sink two 30-footers for birdies to push her through to the end.
“The big putts on No. 10 and No. 17 helped me to finish well on the back nine. Those two shots gave me a lot of motivation and helped me feel good about my round.”
Similar to the boys' division, just one stroke behind Jang lies a four-way tie at 4-over-par, 74. Adrian Anderson of Murrells Inlet, S.C., Grace Ridenour of Raleigh, N.C., Morgan Ketchum of Winston-Salem, N.C. and Nicole Adam of Pinehurst, N.C. are all in second heading into Round Two.
The 3rd Hope Valley Junior Invitational will resume tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. for Round Two with a double tee start that runs until 10:30 a.m. All players will play all three rounds, no cut is made this week.
3rd Hope Valley Junior Invitational
Hope Valley Country Club | Durham, N.C.
Boys’ Division First Round Results
Pos. | Player | City, State, Graduation | To Par | Total |
1 | Garrett Risner | Holly Springs, NC, 2020 | -3 | 67 |
T2 | Luke Walmet | Mt. Pleasant, SC, 2023 | -2 | 68 |
T2 | Harris Barth | Atlanta, GA, 2022 | -2 | 68 |
T2 | Caden Baker | Mebane, NC, 2021 | -2 | 68 |
5 | Nicholas Gross | Downingtown, PA, 2024 | -1 | 69 |
T6 | Ashton Harper | Roanoke, VA, 2023 | E | 70 |
T6 | Alan Van Asch | Raleigh, NC, 2022 | E | 70 |
T6 | Ben Jordan | Greensboro, NC, 2022 | E | 70 |
T9 | Quinlan Polin | Cary, NC, 2023 | +1 | 71 |
T9 | Ryan Jahr | Ocean Isle Beach, NC, 2022 | +1 | 71 |
T9 | Hampton Roberts | Cary, NC, 2023 | +1 | 71 |
T9 | Colin Salema | Matthews, NC, 2024 | +1 | 71 |
T9 | Jennings Glenn | Raleigh, NC, 2021 | +1 | 71 |
T14 | Turner Edwards | Charlotte, NC, 2022 | +2 | 72 |
T14 | Carter Loflin | Duluth, GA, 2022 | +2 | 72 |
T14 | Tyler Dechellis | Clayton, NC, 2021 | +2 | 72 |
T14 | Bryan Fang | Raleigh, NC, 2023 | +2 | 72 |
T14 | Jack Boyer | Greensboro, NC, 2022 | +2 | 72 |
T14 | Andrew Gregory | Inman, SC, 2023 | +2 | 72 |
T14 | Charlie Barr | Salisbury, NC, 2021 | +2 | 72 |
T21 | John Logan | Wilmington, NC, 2023 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Eli Schmidly | Charlotte, NC, 2023 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Oliver Rotermund | Daniel Island, SC, 2021 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Thomas Henderson | Cincinnati, OH, 2021 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Thomas Stafford | Beaconsfield, CN, 2021 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Branden Boyce | Spring Lake, NC, 2022 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Griffin Tarver | Tega Cay, SC, 2021 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Josh Buxbaum | Wake Forest, NC, 2021 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Ford Reynolds | Columbia, SC, 2020 | +3 | 73 |
T21 | Zach Roberts | Holly Springs, NC, 2020 | +3 | 73 |
T31 | Davis Adams | Raleigh, NC, 2022 | +4 | 74 |
T31 | Adam Hunt | Columbia, SC, 2023 | +4 | 74 |
T31 | William Grasty | Charlotte, NC, 2022 | +4 | 74 |
T31 | Rowan Sullivan | Charleston, SC, 2023 | +4 | 74 |
T31 | Andrew Plate | Greensboro, NC, 2021 | +4 | 74 |
T31 | Austin Scott | Charleston, SC, 2021 | +4 | 74 |
T37 | Bo Maradik | Nashville, TN, 2022 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Luke Sullivan | Columbia, SC, 2022 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Nick Norman | Gastonia, NC, 2022 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Daniel Boone | Fuquay-Varina, NC, 2023 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Ike Joy | Denver, NC, 2021 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Josh Lendach | Raleigh, NC, 2021 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Ian Glanton | Metter, GA, 2021 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Clayson Good | Durham, NC, 2020 | +5 | 75 |
T37 | Sam Davidson | Asheboro, NC, 2020 | +5 | 75 |
T46 | Mack Edwards | Charlotte, NC, 2025 | +6 | 76 |
T46 | Fisher Kennedy | Winston-Salem, NC, 2023 | +6 | 76 |
T46 | Matt Moloney | Vienna, VA, 2024 | +6 | 76 |
T46 | Ayush Bodhale | Charlotte, NC, 2021 | +6 | 76 |
T46 | Walker Isley | Oak island, NC, 2020 | +6 | 76 |
T51 | Spencer Turtz | Charlotte, NC, 2022 | +7 | 77 |
T51 | Daniel Adkins | Holly Springs, NC, 2021 | +7 | 77 |
T53 | Davis Spradling | Clayton, NC, 2021 | +8 | 78 |
T53 | Kyle Kushnir | Raleigh, NC, 2021 | +8 | 78 |
T53 | Ryan Macri | Wake Forest, NC, 2021 | +8 | 78 |
T53 | Nick Rubino | Charlotte, NC, 2021 | +8 | 78 |
T53 | Pake June | Florence, SC, 2022 | +8 | 78 |
T53 | Bradley Davis, Jr. | Pilot Mountain, NC, 2022 | +8 | 78 |
T53 | Andrew Swanson | Bluffton, SC, 2021 | +8 | 78 |
T60 | Vijay Powell | Midlothian, VA, 2023 | +9 | 79 |
T60 | Charles O’Donnell | Pacific Palisades, CA, 2022 | +9 | 79 |
T60 | Zach Watterson | Beattyville, KY, 2023 | +9 | 79 |
T60 | Timmy Gannon | Charlotte, NC, 2021 | +9 | 79 |
T60 | Jonathan Honeywell | Whispering Pines, NC, 2022 | +9 | 79 |
T60 | Collin Adams | Charlotte, NC, 2021 | +9 | 79 |
T66 | Preston Howe | Winston Salem, NC, 2025 | +10 | 80 |
T66 | Tyler Partee | Thomasville, NC, 2021 | +10 | 80 |
T66 | Owen Kose | Holly Springs, NC, 2022 | +10 | 80 |
T66 | Maddox Whittington | Lenoir, NC, 2022 | +10 | 80 |
70 | Josh Newman | Charlotte, NC, 2021 | +12 | 82 |
T71 | Kyle Haas | Winston-Salem, NC, 2023 | +13 | 83 |
T71 | Nick Goellner | Apex, NC, 2023 | +13 | 83 |
73 | Aidan Browning | Charlotte, NC, 2022 | +15 | 85 |
74 | Cayden Bryner | Winston-Salem, NC, 2022 | +18 | 88 |
WD | Narayan Mohan | Charlotte, NC, 2021 | - | WD |
WD | Tyler Jones | Jacksonville, NC, 2023 | - | WD |
3rd Hope Valley Junior Invitational
Hope Valley Country Club | Durham, N.C.
Girls’ Division First Round Results
Pos. | Player | City, State, Graduation | To Par | Total |
1 | Hyo Joon Jang | Bluffton, SC, 2022 | +3 | 73 |
T2 | Grace Ridenour | Raleigh, NC, 2025 | +4 | 74 |
T2 | Nicole Adam | Pinehurst, NC, 2020 | +4 | 74 |
T2 | Morgan Ketchum | Winston-Salem, NC, 2022 | +4 | 74 |
T2 | Adrian Anderson | Murrells Inlet, SC, 2022 | +4 | 74 |
T6 | Kiera Bartholomew | Wake Forest, NC, 2023 | +5 | 75 |
T6 | Melanie Walker | Burke, VA, 2022 | +5 | 75 |
T8 | Hannah Altman | Lake City, SC, 2022 | +6 | 76 |
T8 | Rachel Carlson | Bradenton, FL, 2022 | +6 | 76 |
10 | Kayleigh Reinke | Rock Hill, SC, SC, 2021 | +7 | 77 |
T11 | Emerson B. Dever | Durham, NC, 2025 | +8 | 78 |
T11 | Mia Gray | Conway, SC, 2023 | +8 | 78 |
T11 | Ella Perna | Durham, NC, 2022 | +8 | 78 |
T14 | Gracie Song | Waxhaw, NC, 2026 | +9 | 79 |
T14 | Anna Howerton | Winston-Salem, NC, 2023 | +9 | 79 |
T14 | Jaclyn Kenzel | Southern Pines, NC, 2020 | +9 | 79 |
T14 | Regina Plascencia | Bluffton, SC, 2022 | +9 | 79 |
18 | Hannah Lydic | Ocean View, DE, 2022 | +11 | 81 |
19 | Kennedy Noe | Knoxville, TN, 2021 | +14 | 84 |
20 | Parker Perry | Durham, NC, 2020 | +18 | 88 |
About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)
The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.
The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events as well as qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed nearly $2,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.
For more information about the CGA, visit our website.
##30##