Ava Bunker
Ava Bunker has set herself in good position to potentially earn a victory.
The Edinburgh resident and homeschooled junior to-be fired a 1-under par 71 on Tuesday to tie for the lead in the opening round of the American Junior Golf Association Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek.
It was an up and down front nine for Bunker. She carded two bogeys and two birdies in her first five holes, then bogeyed No. 8 to finish with a 37 on the front nine. On the back, she bounced back with a bogey-free second nine with two birdies to post a 34.
“My back nine was definitely much better. I had a couple of issues on the front, but overall, it was a good round,” Bunker said.
Bunker also shared news recently that she made her verbal commitment to play her collegiate golf at Indiana University.
“Everyone on the team that I know of right now is so close, and they have a good dynamic. The school is also close to home, which is also a big plus. I’m really excited because they have a really good team, and I’m excited to be on it soon,” Bunker said. “The coach (Brian May) has been there for a lot of my tournaments, always supporting me. He’s always shown support, even on my bad days. So that also showed me a lot about how good the coach is going to be.
“I want to thank my golf coach (Jeff Smith) because he’s helped me get through so many life challenges, and my parents and all of my friends and everyone in the community, they really helped push me to where I am,” she added.
Erin Hopkins
Erin Hopkins, who will be a senior at Columbus North, didn’t have the round she would have liked on Tuesday. She carded a 90 and is tied for 27th place. Hopkins did finish her round strong with a birdie on No. 17 and a par on No. 18.
Hopkins received an exemption for the tournament. She’s glad to have the opportunity and the experience to face a much tougher field of competition.
“I think this a great experience for me and my game. It’s an amazing opportunity to learn more about high competition tournaments like this because this is kind of my first really big tournament,” Hopkins said. “I would say overall, just today, it has strengthened me mentally and physically. I’m going to try my best (today), and it was a good day.”
Bunker will tee off on No. 10 at 7:30 a.m. today to begin her second round, while Hopkins tees off an hour later at 8:30 a.m. on No. 10.
