Joshua Bai takes solo lead with Miles Russell lurking at Junior Invitational
3/21/2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
see also: View results for Junior Invitational, Sage Valley Golf Club
In the girls division, Aphrodite Deng carded the low round of the tournament to take a four shot lead into the final round
Joshua Bai shot a third-round 5-under 67 to take a two-shot lead into the final round in the boy's division of the 2025 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, S.C.
Bai has carded rounds of 67-71-67 to get to 11-under and was the 18-hole leader and 36-hole co-leader. The Florida golf commit finished runner-up to Bryan Kim in the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur and is currently ranked No. 230 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
He has recorded 17 birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in the invitational. In the third round, Bai was 7-under through 16 holes and bogey-free, but a double bogey on No. 17 saw him fall back to 11-under overall.
Jackson Byrd is in solo second place at 9-under, and top-ranked junior Miles Russell is in solo third place at 7-under. Hugo Le Goff is in solo fourth place at 6-under, and Mason Howell and Luke Colton are T5 at 4-under to round out the top five.
In the girl's division, Aphrodite Deng carded the low round of the tournament to take a four-shot lead into the final round. Deng shot a third-round 6-under 66 with seven birdies and one bogey. She birdied holes No. 14, 15, and 18 to finish strong. She has carded rounds of 70-72-66 to get to 8-under.
18-hole and 36-hole leader Pimpisa Rubrong is T2 with Scarlett Schremmer at 4-under, four shots back of Deng.
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Sage Valley Golf Club is a private national membership golf club located just outside Augusta, Georgia. The course and clubhouse are surrounded by several thousand acres of preserved southern pine forest providing a setting of serenity and tranquility found in visions of life in the south.
The course plays 7,437 yards from its championship tees and challenges every club in a golfer’s bag, from precise carries with long irons to deft touch around the green with one’s wedges and putter.
Past participants of the Junior Invitational have included some of the top names in golf: Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Anna Davis, Megha Ganne, and more.
Scheffler, the 2014 Junior Invitational champion, followed up an appearance at the 2022 Junior Invitational by capturing his first major at The Masters.
About the Junior Invitational
The Junior Invitational's mission is to operate the most prestigious junior golf championship in the world—an invitation-only 72-hole annual event (increased from 54 holes prior to 2025) for the top 36 boys and 24 girls from around the globe, hosted ...
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