Leaderboards 
Become a Member 
Shop 
Trade In Category - Amateur Programs
Three Things to Know After Day 2 at the 48th Junior PGA Championships
By Alan Cox & Ryan Adams, PGA
Published on
At the end of a day that featured heat, humidity and an hour-long rain delay, new faces found themselves atop the leaderboard following the second round of the 48th Junior PGA Championships at Congressional Country Club.
Here's the three things you need to know after Round 2.
China's Ni leads Girls' Division
Ni, who began the day tied for second, followed her opening-round 67 with a 3-under 69 on the Blue Course, moving her to 7-under-136 for the championship. The 16-year-old, who finished T-2 at the 2023 Girls Junior PGA Championship in Hot Springs, matched four birdies against one bogey.
“I think the Blue Course is way harder than the Gold Course, so I'm pretty happy I can shoot 3-under today,” said Ni. “It was a pretty solid round. I had pretty solid iron shots today and also made a couple of putts. I just put 100% effort into it and don't really think about the end result.”
The No. 13-ranked junior on the Rolex AJGA Rankings was bogey-free on the front nine, closing with back-to-back birdies on the par-4, 247-yard 8th and the par-5, 546-yard 9th.
Ni takes a one-stroke lead heading into the third round over Alice Zhao of Irvine, California, who matched the leader’s 69 to move to 6-under 137 overall.
Three tied at the top in Boys' Division
After seven players were tied atop the Boys Division entering the day, three new names are now tied for first at 5-under 138 after carding the lowest rounds of the day among all competitors with 6-under 65s on the Gold Course.
Sean Keeling, Xander Goboy and Asher Vargas each jumped 20 spots Wednesday after all three shot 73s in the opening round to co-lead after36 holes.
Keeling, who will play at Texas Tech in the fall, carded seven birdies against a lone bogey, with three straight birdies down the stretch serving as the highlight of the day for the 2023 European Junior Ryder Cup Team member.
Keeling, who will play at Texas Tech in the fall, carded seven birdies against a lone bogey, with three straight birdies down the stretch serving as the highlight of the day for the 2023 European Junior Ryder Cup Team member.
Sean Keeling.
“On the 4th, I think I spun a wedge off the green, three-putted and made bogey,” said the 17-year-old who's from Dublin, Ireland. “I wanted to bounce back after that and I hit a good iron shot into about 8 feet on the 5th. On the 6th, I got quite lucky with my tee shot, laid up, and hit a wedge to about a foot. Then on the par-5 7th, I went driver, 6-iron in the middle of the green and two-putted. That was nice to finish well.”
Goboy, who hails from Chesapeake, Virginia, carded six birdies and two bogeys on the day. However, it was a lucky bounce on the par-5, 533-yard 14th hole on the Gold Course that stood out.
“I was lucky enough to get cart path relief and give myself a better lie and stance,” said Goboy. “I ended up hitting a really good stinger 6-iron like 7 feet, giving me a pretty good putt for eagle.”
Goboy, who hails from Chesapeake, Virginia, carded six birdies and two bogeys on the day. However, it was a lucky bounce on the par-5, 533-yard 14th hole on the Gold Course that stood out.
“I was lucky enough to get cart path relief and give myself a better lie and stance,” said Goboy. “I ended up hitting a really good stinger 6-iron like 7 feet, giving me a pretty good putt for eagle.”
Vargas, of Spring, Texas, had seven birdies in a nearly bogey-free round before a late bogey on the par-4, 398-yard 17th, which the positive 16-year-old said was “bound to happen at some point.”
Asher Vargas.
“It was really a good day,” said Vargas. “On the range, I wasn't hitting it the best, so I kind of went into the round taking my time a little bit more. Really focusing on my process a little bit more, things I would have skipped over. I kind of had a wake up call so I was able to put a little bit of extra focus into it. I played confidently to the right spots in the greens.”
Odds and ends from a soggy Day 2
- There was an hour-and-seven-minute weather delay during the afternoon of Round 2, but co-leader Vargas thinks that might've helped, saying, "I just went in and I had time to rest my legs and clear my mind a little bit.”
- 126 players made the 36-hole cut, with 60 in the Girls Division finishing 6-over or better and 66 in the Boys Division finishing 4-over a better; a 54-hole cut will trim the fields to low-30 and ties on Thursday.
- Speaking of cuts, 11 of the 23 players from the host Middle Atlantic PGA Section made the cut, including Helen Yeung from nearby Clarksville, Maryland who's in 4th and Goboy who's tied first.
- Congressional has provided a stout test so far for both fields. The Blue Course, which hosted the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship and 1976 PGA Championship, is averaging right around 4-5 strokes over par. The Gold Course played relatively the same for the Girls (4.8 strokes over par) but the Boys Division fared better (2.1 strokes over par). One thing's for sure . . . the winners here at the Junior PGA Championships will have earned every bit of those Jack Nicklaus and Patty Berg trophies.
