Four Girls Tied for Top Spot, Jaden Soong Leads Boys Heading into Final Round of the 50th Junior PGA Championships

New leaders surged to the top of both divisions Thursday as moving day reshuffled a crowded leaderboard at the 2026 Junior PGA Championships at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco.

Heading into Friday’s final round, Gia Ahlowalia, Alexandra Phung, Ava Zhang and Alexa Takai are tied atop the Girls Division at 5-under 211 while Jaden Soong leads the Boys at 8-under 208. The final round of the Junior PGA Championships will be streamed live on the PGA of America YouTube channel starting at 11 a.m. CT.

The newest face at the top of the leaderboard was Ahlowalia from nearby Southlake, Texas. The 17-year-old, who is verbally committed to play at TCU, teed off early in the morning after shooting even-par through two rounds. With slightly cooler temperatures and less wind, she fired off a 5-under-67 propelled by seven birdies, giving her the lowest round of the day to leap 26 spots up the leaderboard.

“I do agree with that,” Ahlowalia said about the advantage of her early start. “It is pretty hot out here and I feel like the wind stayed down low a little bit as well, but I think on this course you can still shoot low. My putting was really good. “I made almost every putt and I hit it pretty close out there.”

Hours later, Alexandra Phung (Forest Hills, New York) and Ava Zhang (Lake Mary, Florida) both shot 1-over 73 to tie for the lead. The pair, who were roommates and teammates at the Wyndham Cup earlier this month, entered the day tied for third and played in the same group.

Phung’s round was up-and-down, going even through her first six holes with a birdie-bogey on holes 3 and 4 before an untimely double-bogey on the par-4 7th dropped her to 2-over par. But the 15-year old was able to brush it off, going bogey-free the rest of the way with a birdie on the par-4 15th. A birdie chance on 18 would have given her the solo lead, but a par places her in the final group on Friday.

“I know when you try to do something, especially in golf, it never really happens,” said Phung. “So I just said, ‘OK, if it drops, it drops. If it doesn't, you know what, that's just how it is.’ You got to live with it. I'm just going to try and give whoever's the leader a hard time. I'm gonna linger.”

Zhang’s round was more steady, recording her lone birdie on the par-3 4th against just two bogeys. The 16-year-old also had a birdie chance on 18, but Fields Ranch East’s closing hole is a challenge.

“A lot of good slopes on that last hole so you can bend it over and let it drop down to the pin,” said Zhang. “A lot of tough pin positions, so you kind of just have to take your medicine on shots and play safe and then just stay patient.”

The 36-hole leader heading into the day, Takai battled her way to a 4-over 76 that included six bogeys and a double-bogey early on the par-5 3rd hole. Despite dropping four strokes, the Honolulu, Hawaii, native finds herself right in the mix and maintained her positive attitude after the round.

“Today it was a little bit slower,” said the 17-year-old Takai, who had fired an impressive 6-under 66 yesterday. “I didn't hit too many shots close to the pins. I kind of missed a lot of greens, just self-inflicted errors. You can't really change what happened in the past, but all you can do is dictate your attitude and how you execute moving forward. I also told myself, even though I shot 4-over today, I would have taken this spot at the beginning of the week.”

One shot behind the leaders in a tie for fifth at 4-under 212 are Alexandra Snyder of Orlando, Florida (1-under 71); Alli Wiertel of Oswego, Illinois (1-over 73); and first-round leader Carolyn Liu of Katy, Texas (1-over 73). 

Soong, currently the No. 6-ranked junior on the AJGA Rankings, had steadily climbed the Boys Division leaderboard over the first two days following rounds of 72-67 and entered the day four shots off the lead in a tie for eighth. The Burbank, California, native jumped up seven more spots into solo first place following a steady 3-under 69 third round. 

“I putted really well today and I hit some really good iron shots, so those two really connected,” said the 16-year-old Soong. “I knew it was gonna be a tough round, and the conditions aren't easy. It's also super hot, so I didn't really know what to expect, but it was definitely a good round for sure.”

Soong started slow with a bogey on the par-4 2nd after a three-putt, but was able to recover quickly with two birdies in a row at the par-3 4th and par-4 5th. Another birdie at the 7th gave him momentum into the back-nine, where he again added back-to-back birdies on the par-5 14th and par-4 15th holes. A missed drive led to another bogey on 16, but Soong finds himself with a two-shot lead heading into Friday’s final round.

“It’s about just staying patient,” said Soong, who was the youngest player ever to make the second round of qualifying for the U.S. Open a few years ago at the age of 13. “That's been my mindset throughout the week and it's definitely paid off. It's not a course that you want to try and overpower. It's one that you just want to take it where you can get it. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow.”

Two shots behind Soong in a tie for second place at 6-under 210 are Kailer Stone (Alameda, California), the leader after each the first two rounds who entered the day at 9-under, and Ainslie Stanford (Edmond, Oklahoma), who entered the day in third place. 

As he did in the second round, Stone had a rollercoaster Thursday at Fields Ranch East and his round almost ended before it began. The 18-year-old opened with a triple-bogey on the par-5 1st and a bogey at the par-4 2nd. 

He recovered with consecutive birdies at the 3rd and 4th along with two more birdies on the front-nine against one additional bogey to take the turn at just 1-over par. Three bogeys on the back-nine temporarily stalled the momentum, but a birdie on the par-3 17th and a near birdie at the 18th kept him in tomorrow’s final group. 

“Rough start, you know, starting with a triple and then a bogey, but I kept it steady,” said Stone, who will be playing college golf at Pepperdine this fall. “Got a couple coming in, kind of gave some back, but we're still in it, two back. I had a chance on 18 but just missed the putt. But good momentum going into tomorrow, right where we want to be.”

Coming off a championship-low 9-under 63 Wednesday on Fields Ranch West, Stanford looked to carry that momentum into the third round. A slow start with three bogeys through six holes preceded a birdie at the 7th and two more on the 14th and 15th. The 16-year-old was one-shot behind Soong at the 18th, but missed a birdie chance and the ensuing par putt to finish two back heading into Friday.

Three shots off the lead in a tie for fourth are Aadi Parmar of Selma, Texas (1-under 71); Jacob Newsom of Tulsa, Oklahoma (1-over 73); and Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, whose 4-under 68 was the low round in the Boys Division Thursday. 

Charlie Woods shot 5-over 77 Thursday, moving to 6-over 222 and missing the second cut.

The second cutline came in at 3-over for the Girls after play ended, sending 33 competitors into the final round.

In the Boys Division, the cutline was even-par, with 30 advancing to play on Friday.

The 50th Junior PGA Championships conclude Friday at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco starting at 7:30 a.m. CT.

The final round of the Junior PGA Championships will be streamed live on the PGA of America YouTube channel starting at 11 a.m. CT. The stream will run through the conclusion of play and the trophy presentation on Friday.

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

“I really like it. I think it's a really good course. I think it's a fair golf course. I think the West Course was obviously one that you just take advantage of and you just try and post a low round. That's what I was seeing all day, and I had a late tee time on that day, so it was nice to kind of post one and get a good momentum going into today at the East Course.” - Boys leader Jaden Soong on playing Fields Ranch East

“I think it's easy to kind of look at the scoreboard. The scoreboard was right in my line actually when I was putting [on 18]. So, it's easy to look at that and kind of get mental about that and think a little too much. But at the end of the day, when I get over the golf ball, all I'm thinking about is executing that shot. Nothing else really matters in the moment and that's something that I've worked really hard to be able to do.” - Girls co-leader Alexa Takai on staying focused in big moments

Five junior golfers from the host Northern Texas PGA Section made the 54-hole cut and will play in tomorrow’s final round.

Southlake native Ahlowalia, who is tied for lead in the Girls Division overall at 5-under 211, is the sole player from the section remaining in the Girls Division. 

Ryan Lee of Plano sits at 4-under 212, tied for seventh overall, to lead the boys from the Northern Texas PGA Section. Lincoln Rubis of Farmers Branch is tied for 14th overall at 2-under 214, while Brayden Verret (Farmers Branch) and Andrew Scott (Wylie) are tied for 18th at 1-under 215.

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