Staff report
Logan Shuping jumped on the competition on the first day of the Rowan Junior Open.
Shuping, a rising junior at East Rowan, fired a 4-under 67 at The Club at Irish Creek on Monday morning to seize a three-shot lead over the field in the Boys 16-18 division.
Jimbo Stanley, from Raleigh, and Sam Wimbrow, from Concord, are tied for second after a pair of 1-under 70s on the 6,500-yard course.
Defending champion Davis Richards is not entered in this year’s tournament. Richards, a rising senior at South Rowan, made it to sectional qualifying for June’s U.S. Open.
The final round of the Rowan Junior Open is today at Warrior Golf Club in China Grove. Shuping, Stanley and Wimbrow — the final group — tees off on the first hole at 9:36 a.m.
They are the only players under par after the first day of competition. Jay Andrew of Albemarle and Max Busser of Huntersville shot 71 and 72, respectively, to round out the top five in the Boys 14-18 division.
Out-of-towners lead the Girls 14-18, Boys 11-13 and Boys 8-9 divisions.
Samantha Vodry, from Mooresville, is on top of the leaderboard in the the Girls 14-18 division. She shot a 6-over 77 on the 5,600-yard layout Monday.
Vodry is 10 shots ahead of second-place Alexandria Bare, a South Rowan student. There are five players in that division.
In the boys 11-13 division, Ryan Lux of Mooresville was the only player to shoot in the 70s. His 5-over 76 put him six shots ahead of Charlie Barr, from Salisbury.
There is a tie atop the leaderboard in the Boys 8-10 division, which plays nine holes. Ben Childress, from Salisbury, and Lathan Moss, from Inman, S.C., shot a pair of matching 6-over 41s. Abhay Gupta lurks one shot behind the leaders after a 7-over 42