The Plymouth boys have 2 of three top spots at Randy Wise Open at Warwick Hills- California's Chen leads the girls

Three Michigan boys tied at top of Randy Wise Junior Open leaderboard
Chen leads Girls Division by one at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club

GRAND BLANC, Mich. — With 1-over-par 73s, Donnie Trosper of Canton, Mich., Austin Rivet of Howell, Mich., and Kyle Rodes of Plymouth, Mich., grabbed the first-round lead at the Randy Wise Junior Open. Monica Chen of Fremont, Calif., carded a 1-under-par 71 to lead the girls’ field by one at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Randy Wise Junior Open is a 54-hole stroke play competition played on the par-72 course at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club. The event features 75 boys and 21 girls, ages 12-18, from 17 states and Canada. The Boys Division is playing the course at 7,119 yards, while the Girls Division is playing the course at 6,026 yards.

The first round saw a tight race in the Boys Division with three players coming out on top. Kyle Rodes of Plymouth, Mich., caught momentum as he made the turn, closing his front nine with a birdie on the par-4 No.9. He added three more birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 16 to finish with a back-nine 2-under-par 34.

“Tomorrow I just want to post another respectable round,” Rodes said. “I perform better under pressure so I’d love to be in a situation with that kind of competition.”

Austin Rivet of Howell, Mich., used a steady round of 13 pars to position himself in a share of the lead, crediting the course setup for aiding his game.

“This course is setup for a fade so I worked that a lot today,” Rivet said. “I was expecting to be close to the competition with my 73. I’m going to use it as motivation to play better tomorrow.”

Donnie Trosper of Canton, Mich., turned in the third low round of 73. His day was highlighted by back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12.

Rounding out the Boys Division is Andrew Walker of Battle Creek, Mich., and Conor Rodrigues of Kingston, Ontario, one shot off the lead at 2-over-par 74.

With the lowest round of the day coming in the Girls Division, Monica Chen of Fremont, Calif., totaled five birdies due to strong iron play and short game to post a 1-under-par 71.

“Some of my driver shots cost me some bogeys,” Chen said. “The most important thing was hitting it straight and I was able to do that for the most part.”

Thailand’s Fai Khamborn of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Jillian Hollis of Rocky River, Ohio, share second at even-par 72.