Outstanding Play Highlights Day 1 Of Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship

Fred Biondi leads a crowded boys leaderboard while Alexandra Swayne and Alexa Pano distanced themselves from the girls field in the first round of the Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship Friday at TPC Myrtle Beach.

[FULL SCOREBOARD: BOYS, GIRLS]

Playing on a near perfect, 75-degree day, TPC Myrtle Beach, which has hosted a Senior PGA Tour Championship, challenged players to deliver their best golf.

Biondi saved his best for last, birdieing three of the final five holes, including the 18th, to card a 2-under par 70. The Port St. Lucie, Fla., resident will enter the second round a shot ahead of Jacob Bridgeman of Inman, S.C., and Yuki Moriyama of Las Vegas, each of whom shot 71.

Sampson Zheng (Ocoee, Fla.), Michael Brennan (Leesburg, Va.) and Levi Moody (Greenville, S.C.) shot even par, so five players will enter Saturday within two shots of the lead.

On the girls side, Clemson signee Alexandra Swayne from Maineville, Ohio, and Alexa Pano, an eighth grader from Lake Worth, Fla., separated themselves from the field, each firing 4-under par 68.

Both players teed off on No. 10, and Swayne birdied three of the first five holes en route to a front nine 33. She made her fifth and final birdie on TPC’s ninth hole, her last of the day, to head into the second round on a high.

Conversely, Pano made just one birdie on her first nine holes before catching fire, carding four birdies on her final nine holes, offset by just one bogey on the Tom Fazio/Lanny Wadkins design.

Swayne and Pano were the only girls to break par and are five strokes clear of third place Maisie Filler of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who shot a 73.

The Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship has attracted players from 19 states to compete in the 54-hole, college-style event.

With the support of Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, the tournament provides players a PGA Tour-like experience and the opportunity to test themselves against some of the best juniors from across the globe.

A significant part of the event’s appeal is TPC Myrtle Beach, one of the Grand Strand’s most decorated layouts. TPC Myrtle Beach has hosted the Senior PGA Tour Championship and been ranked among “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” by Golf Digest, making it an ideal venue to test golf’s rising young stars.

Johnson’s involvement with the tournament reflects his long-time commitment to junior golf, particularly in South Carolina, where he grew into one of the world’s best players. Through the Dustin Johnson Foundation, which is headquartered in Myrtle Beach, Johnson has donated more than $250,000 to junior golf, sponsoring numerous events throughout the state and helping cover entry costs for kids who need financial assistance.

The Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship is being sponsored by Founders Group International, the Dustin Johnson Golf School, and Golf Tourism Solutions.

In addition to winning one of the nation’s premier junior events, the boys and girls champions will receive an invitation to compete on Johnson’s team in the Nick Faldo’s Major Champions Invitational in 2019.