Lee, Corpuz share AJGA tourney lead after first round

Alison Lee does not need a Rolex to know her time in the junior ranks is running out.

But that hasn't stopped Lee, ranked No. 1 in the Polo golf rankings, from taking a breather before her final push to the wire in her sixth and final season of AJGA play.

Lee, a recent Valencia (Calif.) High School graduate, needed a break from golf and made her AJGA season debut Tuesday. She wasted no time in displaying her No. 1 form in the first round of the Rolex Girls Championship.

Lee closed her round of 3-under-par 69 with her fourth birdie of the day to top the leaderboard along with 15-year-old Allisen Corpuz, who also negotiated the 6,472-yard layout with four birdies and a bogey.

"I had two tournaments in April and I withdrew from both of them because I was kind of struggling with my game," said Lee, who said the time away was a mental break. "With today's round it just makes me feel a lot better about my game. I'm more confident."

Lee, who committed to UCLA as a sophomore and is one of 40 golfers in the field committed to Division I colleges, inherited the mantle of No. 1 after the departure of the Jutanugarn sisters, who dominated the AJGA premier events in recent years before turning professional this past winter.

Arayi Jutanugarn made a shambles of this particular event last year, finishing 18 strokes ahead of her runner-up sister, Moriya, in Bradenton, Fla. Lee was among the players left in Arayi's wake, finishing fourth but 22 strokes off the lead.

"After they left it's kind of quieted down a little bit," Lee said. "Obviously they would win everything, but it would be great to have them because they're such great people and such great competition and such great golfers."

But Lee said there is a more optimistic feel in the air after the Jutanugarn era.

"Them not being here this year is kind of weird, but I guess the whole field is kind of relieved almost because they would win everything," she said.

And Lee, who has won two major AJGA events last year by finishing first at the ANNIKA Invitational and Ping Invitational, includes herself in those numbers. The Jutanugarns were not in the field for her two wins.

"Now I can play for first or second," Lee said with a smile.

She said her struggles were in the mental aspect of the game, which she encounters from time to time.

"It's always good to take a break because golf, it's not like your game is going to disappear. It's always going to be there."

"I've gone through phases before where I can't hit the ball," Lee said. "So during that time I just needed a break from golf a little bit, regrouped and started practicing again and started hitting a lot better. Today I was hitting the ball really well. I only missed a couple shots."

Samantha Wagner reacts to sinking a putt on the 10th green Tuesday at Dalhousie Golf Club. Wagner’s 1-under 71 has her tied for sixth heading into today’s second round. (Fred Lynch)

Lee is not the only one who is hoping to fill the AJGA power vacuum left by the Jutanugarns. She and Corpuz were just one stroke ahead of the trio of Marijosse Navarro (San Antonio, Texas), Maddie Szeryk (Allen, Texas) and Abbey Carlson (Lake Mary, Fla.).

Seven players were two strokes off the lead at 1-under, including Karen Chung (Livingston, N.J.), who finished fifth in last year's event, 24 strokes behind Arayi Jutanugarn.

"Since they're gone it's giving an opportunity for everyone to win this tournament now," Chung said. "It's definitely a different feel. Everyone here is a good player, so we have to fight it out. I think it's possible. I'm a lot more hopeful than before."

Chung, who will golf at USC in the fall, and Yueer Cindy Feng are the only two players in the field who played in the last AJGA event -- the Rolex Tournament of Champions -- hosted by Dalhousie in 2009.

"I really enjoyed it that time, too," said Chung, the highest ranked player in this year's field after Lee at No. 3. "I was really happy to come back. My mom and I were really excited because four years ago when I came I actually finished really well."

Chung finished second in that 2009 tournament, nine shots behind Victoria Tanco.

She's now stalking Lee, who she will face in the future in Pac-10 Conference play.

"She's always been consistent and she's always put herself up there on the leaderboard," Chung said. "She's definitely going to be there the whole week."

Five players, including 14-year-old Andrea Lee (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) shot even par, putting a total of 15 players within three shots of the lead and 17 players in the field of 72 at par or under.

Corpuz, 15, is preparing for her sophomore year at Punahou School in Honolulu. She won an AJGA Open event three years ago and finished second in her first tournament of the year last week in Arizona.

"I won one like three years ago, but it's been a while," said Corpuz, who is on about a two-month trip to the mainland.

Corpuz, who started her round on the back nine, closed strong with birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 before finishing her round of 69 with a sand-save par, sinking about an 8-foot putt.

Lauren Stephenson cleans her driver at the 15th tee box. Stephenson stands at 1-over 73 heading into today’s second round of the AJGA Rolex Girls Junior Championship.

"I wasn't expecting that," said Corpuz, who shot 3-under 33 on the front. "It's definitely a tough course. My ball striking was really solid, and then my short game covered for me pretty much the whole round."

A total of 49 players broke 80 on a relatively calm day with accessible pin placements.

"It's a really nice course," Alison Lee said. "The greens are really pure and really smooth and true. The whole course is just in really good condition. The only down side is the heat."

Temperatures for today's second round are expected to again reach into the 90s. Players will not have to deal with the brunt of the heat with tee times that begin at 7 a.m., but the wind is expected to pick up.

The four-round tournament will conclude Friday.