BETHESDA, Md. -- Possibly inspired by the Olympics, Sean Keeling, Clark Xander Goboy and Asher Vargas played synchronized golf during the first two rounds of the U.S. Junior PGA Championships. Or at least, their scores were synchronized.
All three of them shot 1-over-par 73s Tuesday on the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club, but they all came back Wednesday with 6-under-par 65's on Congressional's Gold Course. As a result, they are tied for first place with scores of 138 after 36 holes in the Boys Division of the tournament. (Both the Blue Course and the Gold are being used this week for the boys and girls divisions. The Blue is the more difficult, and it's the one that five major championships have been played on.)
Keeling and Goboy both graduated from high school this year. Keeling, who is from Dubliin, Ireland, will be heading for Lubbock, Texas in a few weeks to start his freshman year at Texas Tech. Goboy will be a freshman at North Carolina State. Vargas, on the other hand, won't graduate from high school until 2026.
Earlier this summer, Vargas, who lives in Springer, Texas, won the AJGA Wyndham Invitational, his most impressive victory so far. But last year, he made his way up to Minnesota and won the Austin Junior Championship, Presented by Hormel Foods.
There is also a four-way tie for fourth, at 139, and Jake Birdwell, the 2023 Minnesota state high school champion from Spring Lake Park, is part of that. He shot 71 Tuesday on the Blue Course, but followed it with a 68 Wednesday on Gold. The long-hitting University of Illinois recruit birdied the par-5 sixth hole (553 yards), the par-5 10th (511) and the 14th (540). He might have been leading the tournament going into Thursday's third round had it not been for a double bogey at the 204-yard, par-3 18th.
The top 60 players in both the boys and girls divisions made the 36-hole cut, which came at 147 for the boys. There will be another cut -- top 30 and ties -- after 54 holes.
In the Girls Division, Kinsley Ni is leading. Ni is from Wuhan, China, but she spends a sizable chunk of her summer playing tournaments in the United States. She was the medalist in the U.S. Girls Junior two weeks ago (she lost in the Round of 16), and she leads the field again this week with a 36--hole total of 136, after following her first-round 67 on Gold with a 69 on Blue. In those two rounds, she has made only two bogeys.
Californian Alice Zhau is at 137, after a 69 on Wednesday, and Madison Messimer is third at 138.
The cut for the girls fell at 149, and two-time Minnesota state high school champion Reese McCauley missed by three shots, with an aggregate of 152. On Wednesday, the Gopher recruit made two doubles early on the front nine of the Blue Course, at the first and third holes, and two bogeys late in the back nine (16 and 18), all of which more than offset the two birdies she made, and she ended up with a 77. On Tuesday, she made two birdies, plus an eagle at the par-5 14th hole in her opening round of 75. But she also had a costly stretch of two bogeys and a double (10, 11 and 12) to start the back nine.
U.S. Junior PGA Championships
At Congressional Country Club
Bethesda, Md.
Boys Division
Blue Course -- par 72, 7,227 yards
Gold Course -- par 71, 6,826 yards
Second-round results (the boys played the first round on the Blue Course, and the second on the Gold)
The top 60 players and ties made the cut
T1. Sean Keeling, Ireland 73-65--138
T1. Clark Goboy, Chesapeake, Va. 73-65--138
T1. Asher Vargas, Spring, Texas 73-65--138
T4. Jake Birdwell, Spriing Lake Park 71-68--139
T4. Giovanni Binaghi, Italy 71-68--139
T4. Chase Kyes, Birmingham, Ala. 70-69--139
T4. Ronin Banerjee, Irvine, Calif. 70-69--139
T8. Colin Salema, Matthews, N.C. 70-71--141
T8. Talon Dingledine, No. Chesterfield, Va. 70-71--141
What it took to make the cut -- 147 (11-way tie for 56th)
Failed to make the cut
Sam Udovich, Inver Grove Heights 77-72--149
Joe Honsa, Mendota Heights 80-76--156
Girls Division
Blue Course -- par 72, 6,259 yards
Gold Course -- par 71, 6,110 yards
Second-round results (the girls played the first round on the Gold Course, and the second on the Blue)
Second-round results
The top 60 players made the cut
1. Kinsley Ni, China 67-69--136
2. Alice Zhao, Irvine, Calif. 68-69--137
3. Madison Messimer, Myrtle Beachm, S.C. 67--71--138
4. Helen Yeung, Clarksville, Md. 71-68--139
T5. Lisa Herman,m Jenks, Okla. 73-68--141
T5. Ryleigh Knaub, Debary, Fla. 68-73--141
T5. Asterisk Talley, Chowchilla, Calif. 70-71--141
What it took to make the cut -- 149 (4-way tie for 57th)
Failed to make the cut
Reese McCauley, Inver Grove Heights 75-77-152
Amelia Mlorton, Maple Grove 72-81--153
Jordana Windhorst-Knudsen, Lake City 74-81--155
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