Carolyn Liu, Kailer Stone Lead Following First Round of the 50th Junior PGA Championships at PGA Frisco

Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco provided a formidable test to the world’s top junior golfers during the first round of the 50th Junior PGA Championships. Triple-digit heat and major-championship conditions were no match for Texas native Carolyn Liu and California’s Kailer Stone, who lead the Girls and Boys Divisions, respectively, heading into Wednesday’s cut day. 

Liu fired off a remarkable 8-under 64 as the girls played Fields Ranch West. The 16-year-old, who hails from Katy just outside Houston, started strong Tuesday with a birdie on her first hole, the par-5 9th, and never looked back.

“I made like a 6 footer for birdie [on the 9th] and that just kind of energized me and made me more confident in my putting,” said Liu. “I think my approach shots [were good]. I was able to get a lot of my birdies within like three feet of the hole and just tap in.”

Her best run came as she made the turn, racking up three-straight birdies on holes 18-2. Liu’s lone bogey came on the par-4 4th, but she rebounded quickly with back-to-back birdies on the par-3 5th and par-5 6th holes. Entering her last hole tied for the lead, she knocked in her ninth birdie of the day and takes a one-shot lead into the second round.

“Since this is the last time I'll be playing the West Course during this tournament, it's given me a big advantage,” said Liu. “I just took the most I could get out of it, and I think that's going to help me.”

Hailey Kim and Kanchana Duangsam Rudd are close behind Liu in a tie for second place. Both shot 7-under 65 in the morning wave and shared the lead for the majority of the first day. 

Kim’s bogey-free round got her to 7-under 65, with the Simi Valley, California, native carding two birdies on the front nine before turning on the gas with five more after the turn. 

“I feel very confident now, I think my game's been going well these days,” said the 15-year-old Kim. “My iron shots were really dialed in because I was hitting it pretty much inside 12 feet every time, so that gave me a lot of good opportunities.” 

After starting her day on hole 9, Rudd fired off six birdies over her first 13 holes to sit just one stroke behind Kim. A lone bogey at the par-4 4th moved her two back before the Orlando, Florida, native finished with consecutive birdies on the par-4 7th and 8th holes to match Kim’s 65.

“I was trying not to overthink out there,” said Rudd, who will be playing golf at the University of North Carolina Wilmington this fall. “The two par-fives on the back nine, 17 and 18, were really big confidence boosters for me. I was able to get on both greens in two, putting for eagle, but ended up making two birdies.”

Ava Zhang (Lake Mary, Florida) sits in fourth place at 5-under 67. Ten players are tied for fifth at 4-under 68, highlighted by 2025 Junior PGA runner-up and No. 5-ranked junior golfer Zoe Cusack (Potomac, Maryland).

Stone, set to play his freshman season at Pepperdine this fall, was among just 16 boys Tuesday to finish below par on Fields Ranch East, carding a 4-under 68. 

“It was just a solid round. I stuck to my game plan,” said the Alameda, California, native. “I focused on each shot individually, and just put a pretty good round together.”

Stone began his round on hole 10 with five straight pars before matching a birdie on the par-4 15th with a bogey on the par-4 16th. The 18-year-old then fired off three straight birdies on the 17th, 18th and 1st holes and added another on the par-4 7th to move to 4-under, leaving him with a one-shot advantage heading into Wednesday’s second round.  

“I hit a couple of good shots on 18 here,” Stone said about his consecutive birdies. “I just laid up to a good number, put it to a couple feet and made a putt. I did the same thing on one and laid up. Wasn’t trying to get too aggressive because you can make some big numbers out here if you put it in the wrong spot. So I was trusting my wedge game.”

A trio of players sit one-shot behind Stone in a tie for second at 3-under 69, including Maxwell Milton (Polson, Montana), Theodore Snyder (Gig Harbor, Washington) and Rory Asselta (Ramsey, New Jersey). Lincoln Rubis (Farmers Branch, Texas), Thomas Goodelle (New Hartford, New York), Jack Lowery (Birmingham, Alabama) and Nakul Shrivastava (San Ramon, California) are tied for fifth at 2-under 70.

Asselta, who won the 2025 PGA Boys High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst, came the closest to matching Stone, with a birdie chance on 18 coming up just short. The 16-year-old was 1-under through 11 holes, with three birdies against two bogeys, but jumped up the leaderboard with back-to-back clutch birdies on 14 and 15. 

“Just trying to stay steady the whole time,” said Asselta, the 13th-ranked junior golfer on the AJGA rankings. “I hit a few good long iron shots, put me inside 10 feet and rolled a few of those in. I made a good birdie on 10 to go to 2-under, then a bad bogey on 11, but I steadied it out there and then you can get after 14 and 15.” 

Asselta was playing alongside Charlie Woods, the son of 15-time-major-winner and 1990 Junior PGA runner-up Tiger Woods, who shot an opening-round 3-over 75.

The 50th Junior PGA Championships continue Wednesday at PGA Frisco. Second-round action gets underway at 7:10 a.m. CT, with the girls set to play Fields Ranch East while the boys move to Fields Ranch West.

The cut after 36 holes will be to the low-60 girls and low-60 boys, plus ties, and after 54 holes to the low-30 girls and low-30 boys, plus ties.

New for 2026, the final two rounds of the Junior PGA Championships will be streamed live on the PGA of America YouTube channel. The broadcast of the third round on Thursday, July 30, will start at 3 p.m. CDT while the final round stream on Friday, July 31, will begin at 11 a.m. CDT. The stream will run through the conclusion of play both days and the trophy presentation on Friday.

The broadcast, originating from the PGA of America Studios at the Home of the PGA of America, will be led by host Bryan Fenley, analyst Ewan Porter and analyst and on-course reporter Lauren Withrow.

“Last year was awesome. That was definitely the best golf I've played in those last two years was that tournament. Going out there and playing some really good golf, I don't think I made a bogey for 45 holes, so kind of just the same thing [this week], go after it the times that you can and just stay steady out there.” - Rory Asselta on winning the 2025 PGA High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst

“The course was really challenging. It’s a really nice course, honestly, kind of like a dream course to play. They're having a PGA Championship here next year, so I’m just honored to play here and play well.” - Thomas Goodelle on playing Fields Ranch East

“I mean this is the best junior golf experience I've ever had. This is my second time playing, and I mean I love coming back. Especially this course with the PGA Championship being here next year, it's awesome.” - Jack Lowery on playing in the Junior PGA Championships.

Twenty-seven junior golfers from the host Northern Texas PGA Section are competing at the Junior PGA Championships this week.

Elizabeth Bellendir (Coppell, Texas) leads the girls from the Section at 2-under 70, tied for 24th overall.

Lincoln Rubis from nearby Farmers Branch is tied for fifth overall in the Boys Division at 2-under 70 and headlines the 14 boys from the Northern Texas PGA Section. 

For more information about the Junior PGA Championships, visit JuniorPGAChampionship.com and follow on X and Instagram.