Three Things for Friday at the Haas Family Invitational

By Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

Friday is the final round of the Haas Family Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club's Donald Ross Course in Greensboro, North Carolina. Here are Three Things to know.

Familiar Foes

Eugene Hong and Andrew Kozan are in the final pairing at 9:25 a.m., and to say they know each other's games would be an understatement. They have played in eight common AJGA tournaments since 2014, and they were recently paired together in the final round at the Thunderbird International Junior. In 2015, not only were they teammates on the East Wyndham Cup Team, they were partners in a foursomes match (they earned a halve against Jacob Solomon and Matthew Wolff).

Leading Tar Heel

North Carolina's Michael Sanders improved 14 spots on the leaderboard behind the strength of a third-round 65. Sanders' most recent AJGA win came at the 2015 IZOD AJGA Championship, held in nearby Kannapolis, and he said his success this week is even more significant because of the Haas family's support.

“Growing up I’ve always been a big fan of Bill and Jay Haas,” Sanders said. “The Carolinas are very impacted by them, so it feels really great to play well in a tournament that they sponsor and know that they’re watching.”

In the News (Part I)

The Greensboro media has covered the Haas Family Invitational with enthusiasm that matches its coverage of the Wyndham Championship. In addition to local television coverage, newspaper articles include:

• Greensboro News & Record: He's chasing golf's No. 1 – and he's only 14
• Greensboro News & Record: With new name, Haas Family Invitational remains Greensboro's AJGA major
• Winston-Salem Journal: Parker Gillam looking forward to playing at Wake Forest
• Winston-Salem Journal: Haas Family Invitational a bridge to the Wyndham Championship

In the News, (Part II)

Not to be outdone, the AJGA has also produced some great coverage of the tournament:

• Video | The Haas Family Business
• Video | Highlights and Interviews from Round One
• Video | Vilips' Hole-In-One Highlights Day Two
• Video | Senior Spotlight: Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-Americans
• Video | Hong leads by one after third round
• Feature | Haas family gives back to junior golf
• Feature | Carolina boys battle at Haas Family Invitational