Sports Editor

Jessica Lovell shot a 74 on Tuesday, maintaining a one stroke lead over Laura Goodwin in the Girls Junior Golf Championship held at the Troy Country Club.

The Women’s Alabama Golf Association sponsors the girls junior tournament, with 31 girls competing this year among three divisions.

This is the first time ever that the Troy Country Club has played host to the event and WAGA Junior Golf Director Alice Mullen said the tournament has run smoothly.

"Other then running out of snacks, everything’s gone fine," she said.

Lovell, sponsored by Greystone Country Club, and Birmingham’s Goodwin equalled each other in Monday’s opening round, both scoring a 69. Lovell edged Goodwin on Tuesday, shooting a low score of 74 to Goodwin’s 75 in the Championship Flight.

Lovell sat atop the leader’s board with a 143 followed by Goodwin’s 144.

Four players battled it out for third place with Jamie Hampton finishing seven strokes better then her Monday performance of 82 to equal Goodwin’s 75.

But Hampton (157) held a shaky third on Tuesday as Jordan Hardy, Troy’s Alyson Mitchell and Ashleigh Hicks all were within four strokes of third place. Hardy was in fourth with a 159 and Mitchell finished with a two-day total of 160.

Hicks showed significant improvement from Monday’s first round, shooting a 77 to land herself in sixth place with a 161.

Erin Wise (163) and Cami Snell (167) occupied the final two slots.

In Flight One, Point Mallard’s Suzanne Staley tied first place leader Caroylyn Conchran. Staley shot an 82 on Monday, bettering her Lake Forest competitor by two strokes as both players totalled a 168. Kristin Musgrove was in third place with a 171.

Ashley Cox (172) and Kelly Burgess (173) finished the day in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Flight Two saw Azalea City golfer Callie Clolinger able to maintain a one stroke lead over Blair Thomas. Clolinger shot an 89 on Tuesday and finished with a 177. Thomas sits in second with a 178 and Beckee Scott is in third with a 180.

Catherine Howell holds a firm grasp on first place in Flight Three, concluding Tuesday’s round with a 213, 20 strokes better then Kimberly Hughes, who is in second.

In the 11-12 year-old’s nine-hole tournament, Vivian Dudley holds the lead with a 97 while Christine Schlude and Hannah Collier are knotted at first in the 9-10 year-old division. Both finished with an 83 on Tuesday.

The tournament will conclude today, with tee times scheduled as early as 7:30 a.m. A ceremony is set to start around 1 p.m. where the WAGA will announce this year’s overall winner and the players will receive their trophies.