Ridgewood's Justin Schlau makes the cut by one stroke at the AJGA Junior Championships.
By GREG AUMAN
Published July 31, 2003
Port Richey's Justin Schlau shot 75 in the second round Wednesday to make the cut at the American Junior Golf Association's Junior Championships at the Westin Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor.
Schlau, a rising senior at Ridgewood, needed a strong day to advance to the final two rounds after entering the day tied for 79th after shooting 79 on Tuesday.
He came through, playing the first 13 holes in 1 over par and surviving to play today, making the cut by a stroke. The top 72 players and ties advanced to the final two rounds on the club's Copperhead course, and Schlau is one of 17 tied for 62nd.
It's the second time this week Schlau has done just enough to continue. On Saturday, he shot 80 in a qualifier on the club's Island course, good enough to make him one of 25 qualifiers out of 60 entrants. Had he shot one stroke higher, he would have needed to win a playoff hole to make the championship field.
He got it done on the back nine Wednesday, excelling where he had struggled a day earlier. In his opening round, he was over par on six of the final nine holes, with two double bogeys and a triple bogey. He had two bogeys and a birdie on the same stretch Wednesday. For the second day in a row, he started strong, with birdies on the second hole of both rounds and staying under par through eight holes. In the first two rounds, Schlau was 1-under on the front nine.
Having made the cut, Schlau has 36 holes to make up ground. The second-round leader is Lance Lopez of Fresno, Texas, who shot 69 in the opening round and followed with 71 for a one-stroke lead over Derek Sipe of Yorba Linda, Calif.
Schlau's score ranks him 19th among Floridians in the field, with Orlando's Giwon Suh leading the state contingent.
The Boys Junior Championship is one of the more prestigious annual junior tournaments, and professional major champions Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk are among its past champions.
As a junior at Ridgewood, Schlau advanced to the state tournament after earning medalist honors at the region tournament. He finished 13th of 85 in the state field with a two-round total of 147. He was selected to the Times' all-Pasco County first team and was honored as the Sunshine Athletic Conference's golfer of the year. He finished third at the conference tournament, helping Ridgewood finish third.
