Samantha Marie Dizon and Markus Lam Maintain Their Leads

It was a record-breaking day at the Junior Aspirations at The Bluffs. With today’s ideal conditions, Asia’s rising stars made historic low scores on Asia’s grandest stage, The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip.

Leading the charge in the Boy’s Division is Junior All-Asia Team Member Markus Lam (2023) of China, Hong Kong SAR. Lam followed up his opening 3-under-par 68 with a score of 2-under-par 69. Lam made 5 birdies today and holds a one-shot lead heading into the final round.

Following right behind him are both the 2018-2019 Junior Order of Merit Champion and Hong Kong Junior Classic at Clearwater Bay Champion Pongsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee (2023) of Rayong, Thailand and Aksel Moe (2023) of Richville, Minnesota, USA. Laopakdee looked strong on the back nine, making 2 birdies and a barely missing albatross for an easy tap-in eagle. Moe’s performance was certainly the Boys Division highlight of the day. With an unbelievable 4-birdie run late in his round, he shot 5-under to tie the all-time JGTA low-score record of 66.

In the Girl’s Division, first-time JGTA competitor Samantha Dizon (2022) of Marikina City, Philippines is making a big splash. Today, Dizon extended her lead after firing an all-time JGTA low-score Girl’s Division record, 4-under-par 67. Paired with a first round of 1-under-par 70, Dizon is 5-under-par for the tournament after her 7-birdie round today and holds a 7-shot lead heading into the final round.

Trailing from behind is 3-time AJGA Champion Yu Wen Lu (2021) of Shanghai, China. Lu posted a 1-under par 70. Chih Hsuan (Jenny) Chang (2021) of Chinese Taipei is just behind Lu after matching her 1-under-par 70.

Making noise on the course, Xinyi Wang (2022) of Tianjin, China kept the JGTA’s hole-in-one streak alive after draining her tee shot on the par-3 4th hole. This is the second hole-in-one from a competitor this JGTA season. Congratulations to Xinyi!

The final round of play begins tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for the action…

AJGA PBE