JOHNSON, Ark. - Helias graduate Alex Gentry is tied for 34th place after Wednesday's first round of the 48th annual Southern Junior Championship at Blessings Golf Club.
Gentry opened with a 3-over 75, tied with nine other golfers. He recorded birdies on the par-4 sixth, seventh and 11th holes, as well as the par-5 15th.
Gentry also recorded eight pars, five bogeys and one double-bogey in his round, hitting 13-of-14 fairways and finishing with 29 putts.
Four of the 119 golfers in the field are from Missouri. Ozark's Dawson Meek is tied for 21st place with a 2-over 74, Columbia's Areen Aggarwal is tied for 87th with an 8-over 80 and Dardenne Prairie's Braden Hoisington is 103rd with a 10-over 82.
Thomas Morrison, a high school sophomore from Dallas, holds the first-round lead after shooting a 5-under 67.
Gentry is scheduled to tee off today's second round at 11:05 a.m.
The field will be cut to the low 66 golfers and ties after 36 holes.