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Golf: Lloyd takes third in AJGA event
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BRASELTON — Before this weekend, Jimmy Lloyd was a virtual unknown on the American Junior Golf Association circuit.

Not anymore. Not after his performance at Chateau Elan landed him within one stroke of first place and earned him an automatic berth in an AJGA regular season tournament this summer.

"That’s what I came here to do was finish in the top 10, so I’m happy with how it went," said Lloyd, a rising junior at North Hall High.

Playing in his first AJGA event, Lloyd fired five birdies during the final round of the Medicus Preseason Junior on Monday, and finished the two-day, 36-hole event with nine birdies en route to a three-way tie for third place (143).

There was a tie at 142 for first place in the boys division between Miller Caps, from Seneca, S.C., and Lucas Amrstrong from Church Hill, Tenn.

Lloyd’s finish was impressive given the level of competition on hand. The tournament featured 96 top junior competitors representing 14 different states.

"This is top-caliber competition," North Hall coach Robert Mills said. "It is invaluable for him to be able to play against this level of talent."

Lloyd, the Region 7-AAA individual champion, set the tone for his final round with his accuracy off the tee. He hit 11 fairways and needed only 31 putts to complete the final 18 holes.

With pinpoint accurracy off the tee and five-iron shots that cruised down the heart of the fairway, Lloyd finished Monday with three birdies on par 4s. He also birdied the par 5 15th hole thanks to a 3-iron shot from the fairway that landed 30 feet from the cup on his second shot. And he birdied the par 3 No. 12 with a 6-iron off the tee that landed seven feet from the cup.

"He (Lloyd) has been playing with so much confidence since winning the region title," said West Hall rising senior Will England, who finished the two-day event with a 153.

Lloyd, who plans to play in 12 Southeast Junior and AJGA tournaments this summer, had his only hiccup in the final round on a tee shot on No. 11 that went into the water. He finished the hole with a double bogey.

His second-day total was one shot off his first round pace of even par 71.

England connected on a birdie on No. 5 with a 116-yard wedge shot on the fairway that came to rest eight feet from the hole. He finished three shots better on the final day (75) than his first round total (78). England, the Hall County individual champion, said the five putts he made from more than five feet away accounted for his better second round score.

"I didn’t hit a lot of greens today so I was having to scramble," England said.

Kendall Wright of Suwanee won the girls division with the a 4-under par (138). She set the tone for her weekend with a 3-under par (33) on the front nine during Sunday’s first round. Bonnie Hu (Freemont, Calif.) finished second for the girls (148), and Katie Kirk (Davidson, N.C.) placed third (152).

The final Medicus Preseason event of the season is June 2-4 at the Mountain View Course at Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountain.

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