Rodriguez gets 2nd bite of Jr. Orange Bowl chance after 65; Liu tops tight girls' race
Media contact: Jeff Shain
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Jan. 5, 2025) — Lorenzo Rodriguez isn’t shy about acknowledging he’s been waiting 52 weeks in hopes of a second chance.
A year ago, the Miami teen teed off in the final group of the Junior Orange Bowl International golf championships but couldn’t find his rhythm, sliding down the board to wind up in a share of seventh place.
“I’ve really wanted this one for a year now,” Rodriguez said Sunday.
He’ll get his wish. Perhaps better yet, he’ll take a lead into the final round — mastering a second day of breezy conditions at historic Biltmore Golf Club to grab a two-shot advantage over Switzerland’s Joshua Hess.
“I feel good,” said Rodriguez, whose 6-under-par 65 matched the week’s lowest round in the boys’ division. “We both know what happened last year. I’m just hoping to stay in it, and it’s going to be a fun one tomorrow.”
Rodriguez’s total of 12-under 201 is the lowest since Sebastian Moss ran away with the 2021 title. Hess nearly kept pace with a 66 of his own, creating what figures to be a two-man sprint for the crown.
Things are a little more open in the girls’ division, where the chase has tightened up since Shauna Liu’s opening 64. The Canadian Girls’ Junior titleholder still had a two-shot cushion after Sunday’s 72, but five pursuers enter the final day within four shots of the top.
“Even though it’s not as much as it was before,” Liu said, “if at the beginning of the week I was told I’d go into the last day with a two-shot lead, that’s still pretty good.”
Hawaii’s Alexa Takai and Maryland’s Zoe Cusack moved to the front of the chase pack after 70s on Sunday. Defending champion Kayla Bryant was another shot back, vaulting up after a 68 that was the day’s best among the girls.
All seek to join a list of Junior Orange Bowl champions topped by Tiger Woods (1991) and LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park (2002). The roster also includes LPGA major winners Lexi Thompson (2009) and Brooke Henderson (2013), plus current Saudi International champion Joaquin Niemann (2014).
“I haven’t played too many tournaments as big as this in my career,” Takai said, “so this would definitely rank as the highest.”
In both divisions, whoever walks away with the trophy will have proven a virtuoso in South Florida’s breezes. With more blustery conditions expected Monday — blowing from a different direction — only the opening round will have been played in relative calm.
“To be honest, I was just expecting to hang in there,” said Rodriguez, who instead racked up five birdies and an eagle in winds that could gust up to 15 mph. “I wasn’t really trying to throw a low number; I just happened to go low.”
Two early birdies led to a front-nine 33 before Rodriguez heated up after the turn. He birdies Nos. 10 and 11, then carded his lone bogey at No. 14 before a chip-in eagle at the par-5 15th.
“I hit a 2-iron just off the green and was able to chip that in,” Rodriguez said. “That was definitely the highlight of the day.”
A year ago, Rodriguez began the final round one shot off the lead but fell off the pace with a set of early bogeys. He wound up closing with a 76 as Hong Kong’s Darren Zhou took control and raised the trophy.
“Last year my emotions got the best of me,” Rodriguez said. “Now I feel I’ve learned a lot. I’m just hoping to focus on every shot and commit to each shot.”
Hess also had an eagle on his card, coming at the par-5 opening hole when he striped a hybrid inside 10 feet and drained the putt. The Swiss golfer also closed with a flourish, with three birdies in his final four holes to keep Rodriguez in sight.
“I was just trying to keep doing my own thing,” he said. “But (Rodriguez) had an influence on me — him playing good motivated me as well.”
Liu endured an up-and-down day that that produced four birdies, but also included a double bogey at No. 17 to go with three bogeys. Though she never relinquished the lead, the margin shrank to one for a bit before she birdied her closing hole at No. 9.
“I feel like there were times today when I was trying to be a little bit too aggressive,” said Liu, seeking to become the fourth Canadian girl to win. “I just need to focus on hitting fairways, hit the greens and making putts.”
Cusack, who found herself nine shots off the pace after Day 1, has played the steadiest of anyone since the winds picked up. She’s made just two bogeys in the past two days, to go with five birdies and 29 pars.
“I don’t know if (the winds) are to my favor, but I’m not at a disadvantage,” said Cusack, who also got her round off to a strong start by making a 20-foot birdie at No. 10.
“I also had to make some five- and six-footers for par,” she added. “That was pretty challenging, but I was pretty steady overall.”
So was Takai, who matched Cusack’s steadiness with two birdies and one bogey Sunday. After being frustrated with six three-putts on Saturday, she kept that part of her card clean.
“I was much more calm and steady on the greens,” she said. “I just tried to reset, knowing (Saturday) was over and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Bryant’s 68 left her at even-par in her quest to become the first multiple winner since Grace Park in the 1990s. Sahana Chokshi (71) and Iceland’s Perla Sigurbrandsdottir (72) lurked at 1-over for the week.
This year’s field brings together entrants from such diverse locales as Bermuda, Switzerland, Ecuador, Czechia, Paraguay, Peru, Iceland, Bolivia and Turkey.
The tournament also welcomes new sponsor Babygrande Golf, a multimedia company that also underwrites two other junior events.
The Golf Championship is one of nine athletic, artistic and cultural events that make up the Junior Orange Bowl International Youth Festival, which marks its 76th anniversary in 2024-25. The festival draws more than 7,500 youth participants to South Florida’s community each year.
For more information on the Golf Championships or other Junior Orange Bowl activities, visit JuniorOrangeBowl.org.
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BOYS TOP 5
1. Lorenzo Rodriguez, Miami 67-69-65=201 (-12)
2. Joshua Hess, Switzerland 68-69-66=203 (-10)
3. Fernando Cobo, Spain 67-73-68=208 (-5)
4. Tomas Restrepo, Colombia 71-70-68=209 (-4)
5. Oliver Betschart, Bermuda 69-71-72=212 (-1)
GIRLS TOP 5
1. Shauna Liu, Canada 64-74-72=210 (-3)
t2. Alexa Takai, Honolulu 67-75-70=212 (-1)
t2. Zoe Cusack, Potomac, Md. 73-69-70=212 (-1)
4. Kayla Bryant, Boca Raton, Fla. 72-73-68=213 (E)
t5. Perla Sigursbrandsdottir, Iceland 72-70-72=214 (+1)
t5. Sahana Chokshi, Jacksonville, Fla. 71-72-71=214 (+1)