Canada's Liu just misses record day in Jr. Orange Bowl debut; Gonzalez tops boys after 18
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2025) — To put together a really low round, Shauna Liu points out, you can’t have any phase of your game be much out of kilter.
“If one isn’t the best, it can’t really work well in combination with the rest,” the Canadian teen said.
It’s fair to say Liu had all the pieces in sync Friday as she made her debut at the Junior Orange Bowl International golf championships.
A 7-under-par 64 left Liu one stroke shy of the girls’ scoring record but firmly in command after the opening 18 at historic Biltmore Golf Club. The Ontario native not only finished the day with a three-shot lead over Hawaii’s Alexa Takei, but six clear of anyone else in the field.
“I was (not only) able to hit the greens, but also hit them where it would make my putts easier,” Liu said. “And my putts were just dropping today.”
On the boys’ side, Colombia’s Samuel Gonzalez used a fast start to stay ahead of a much more jumbled pack. The South American Junior champion fired a 5-under 66 to lead by one over a trio of pursuers, with 10 players within three shots of the top.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Gonzalez, who birdied four of his first eight holes. “On the first hole I didn’t make the (birdie) putt, but I stayed patient all day and things started to go in.”
With players greeted by sunshine, temperatures that reached the mid-70s and only a light breeze, Friday was a day to take aim at red numbers. Eighteen of 48 golfers in the boys’ field managed to shoot par or better, along with seven of the 38 girls.
“I really just attacked the pins when I had the chance,” said Takei. “Out here some of the pins can get tricky and the greens are pretty fast, so I took the chances when I had a wedge in my hand or a short iron.”
Perhaps surprisingly, neither of this week’s defending champions were part of that group. Girls’ titleholder Kayla Bryant opened with a 72, hurt by a triple bogey at No. 17, while Darren Zhou carded a 73.
Things figure to get more challenging today, with slightly cooler temperatures and breezes expected to pick up to somewhere between 10 and 20 mph.
“I think if the course gets a little windy, it might be tough,” said Gonzalez. “But I like that it lets you hit bad shots and still have a chance to do something good.”
There was plenty of good in Liu’s 64, the only round all day without a bogey on the card. Though she came up one stroke short of Maria Jose Marin’s record set three years ago, Liu still posted the best opening round by a girl, breaking the 2002 mark by future LPGA pro Paula Creamer.
“I wasn’t too sure what my score was going to be, but I did feel like I was hitting the ball quite well and making my putts,” said Liu, the reigning Canadian Girls’ Junior champion.
Starting her day at No. 10, Liu opened with a par before consecutive birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 created some momentum. But she really didn’t heat up until just before the turn, making birdie at the par-5 18th before reeling off four more to start her second nine.
“I was just playing consistent on the front,” she said, “then I got more of a feel for it on the back.”
Takai got off to a faster start, carding four birdies in her first six holes as she looked for spots to be strategically aggressive. But she cooled off after that, with just two birdies countered by two bogeys.
“That was a little bit of a confidence boost to get off to a fast start,” said the Hawaiian, who stuck a wedge to kick-in distance at No. 11 for her first birdie. “The next few holes were pretty attackable pins, so that kind of got it going for me.”
Italy’s Guia Acutis was a fast finisher, with three birdies in her last seven holes to share third with Canada’s Eileen Park at 1-under 71. Three more golfers were another shot back.
Gonzalez nearly went bogey-free in his round, thwarted only by a bogey at the par-3 12th. He bounced back with a birdie at No. 14 and finished with another at the par-5 18th.
“With three practice rounds, I got a good knowledge of the course,” he said. “I think the greens were a little quicker than they were (Thursday). I just needed to get a little more used to the pace.”
Hometown golfer Lorenzo Rodriguez, who tied for seventh last year, fired a 67 to share second with Spain’s Fernando Cobo and Zimbabwe big hitter Keegan Shutt.
“It feels good, just knowing I’m home,” said Rodriguez, who didn’t make a birdie until No. 9, then reeled off six in an eight-hole span. “I get to sleep at my house tonight. I really feel comfortable and that helps.”
Shutt, like Rodriguez, has mostly good memories from last year. He went into the final day just outside the top five before a closing 77 dropped him well down the leaderboard.
He also closed Friday with a second-half rally, with five birdies in his final 10 holes to take the clubhouse lead until Gonzalez came through.
“On the back nine I started hitting my irons really well,” said Shutt, who also drained a 40-foot birdie at the tough 17th as part of a birdie/birdie finish.
The Junior Orange Bowl International’s history features such champions as Tiger Woods (1991), LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park (2002), LPGA major winners Lexi Thompson (2009) and Brooke Henderson (2013) and recent Saudi International winner Joaquin Niemann (2014).
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 2023-24. 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. Samuel Gonzalez, Colombia 31-35=66 (-5)
t2. Keegan Shutt, Zimbabwe
t2. Lorenzo Rodriguez, Miami 35-32=67 (-4)
t2. Fernando Cobo, Spain 33-34=67 (-4)
t5. Joshua Hess, Switzerland
t5. Lucas Rizo-Patron, Rye, N.Y. 35-33=68 (-3)
t5. David Albuja, Ecuador
GIRLS TOP 5
1. Shauna Liu, Canada 31-33=64 (-7)
2. Alexa Takai, Honolulu 35-32=67 (-4)
t3. Guia Acutis, Italy 33-37=70 (-1)
t3. Eileen Park, Canada 34-36=70 (-1)
t5. Alice Negroni, Italy
t5. Annika Kohoutek, Czechia 38-33=71 (E)
t5. Sahana Chokshi, Jacksonville, Fla. 35-36=71 (E)