Nimmer goes Wire-to-Wire
Uwadia fires 67 to complete comeback
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Kiawah Island, South Carolina on February 8-9 for the Kiawah Island Junior Challenge. Playing 36 holes over two days through rainy and cold conditions on Saturday, a champion was crowned in each of our four age divisions: Boys and Girls 15-18 and Boys and Girls 11-14. The winner of the Girls 15-18, Boys 15-18 and Girls 11-14 divisions each received AJGA performance stars. Winners in all four divisions received an invitation to the 2014 Mid-Season Championship and 2014 Tour Championship. The top ten finishers received points towards year end honors which include state teams, ALL HJGT teams, and the Hurricane Cup. Additionally, all divisions were ranked by the NJGS and given SCJGA Heritage points and TYGA points.
In the Boy’s 15-18 division, Bryson Nimmer from Bluffton, SC started the final round with a three stroke lead after scoring 67 on Saturday. With six birdies on the day and only one bogey Nimmer’s 67 was the lowest of the tournament, especially taking into account the rainy, cold conditions competitors faced during round one. Sunday, Nimmer did not have as many birdie opportunities but still played well and fired a 72. He finished the weekend leading his division in Par three, four and five scoring and totaled a 141, five under par. Finishing in second place was Jack Lang from Lexington, MA. Lang kept things very interesting all weekend, with a ton of bogies and birdies both days. Lang scored a 73 on Saturday with five bogies and four birdies. On Sunday, he had five bogies and two birdies for a 75. Lang led the boys 15-18 division in Back nine scoring at Cougar Point, finishing with an under par average. Wil Sheppard of Mount Pleasant, SC finished in third place with scores of 73 and 76 for a weekend total of 149. Sheppard continued the trend of the leaders in this division with a bunch of birdies on Saturday. He dropped in four birdies coupled with three bogies and a double bogey. Sheppard followed that round up by firing a 76 on Sunday with two more birdies in the round.
Anita Uwadia of Lagos, Nigeria took home her second champion’s trophy of the year in the Girls 15-18 division when she followed up her even par in Saturday’s round with a very impressive 67 on Sunday. Uwadia led the entire tournament with eleven birdies made over the weekend, five on Saturday in the tough conditions along with five bogies. Sunday she was able to get rid of the over par holes, and had six birdies with only one bogey. She played the Back nine extremely well both days averaging 34 after both rounds. Isidora Quevedo from Santiago, Chile took home second place and was under par for the weekend with scores of 68-74. Quevedo got off to a hot start on Saturday with five birdies and only one bogey to hold the first round overnight lead. It took Uwadia’s stellar round to knock her out of first. Quevedo was the Par three and four scoring leader for the division, as well as the leader for pars or better. She also went 14 holes without a bogey in her first round. In third place, was Sang Hang Lee of Korea with scores of 75-69. Lee also played much better on Sunday, dropping in three birdies and an eagle on the par five, ninth hole. Lee was four under on the par fives for the weekend, which led the field in the category.
Dong Wook Moon took home first place honors in the Boys 11-14 division at Cougar Point by firing a weekend score of 152. Moon was extremely consistent all weekend, with 24 pars. He was able to birdie two of the Par three’s over the weekend which gave him the lead in par three scoring in the field. They would be the only two birdies of the weekend for Moon, but he was able to stay away from the big numbers that Cougar Point can cause and hold on to the lead that he began the day with. Drew Weary of Bluffton, SC and Daniel Azallion of Hilton Head, SC finished tied for second place behind Moon by two strokes. Weary played the par three and four’s well but stumbled on the Par five’s particularly in the first round where he had both a double and triple bogey on the long holes. He was able to overcome this with birdies on some of the tougher holes on the course, including the par three 14th and par four 16th. Azallion did extremely well to keep his score around par the entire weekend, finishing with the most pars in the field. This kept him in the top three of par three, four and five scoring in his division. Azallion’s scores of 78-76 tied him with Weary at 154 for the weekend.
The Girls 11-14 division winner was decided in a one-hole sudden death playoff after 36 holes. Carson Mckie of Hoover, AL and Keagun Dunn of Buford, GA were knotted at 166. In the first playoff hole Mckie took dead aim at the flag, sticking her approach to about seven feet and sinking the clutch putt to claim first place. Mckie was the par five scoring leader in the field for the weekend, and much preferred the front nine of Cougar Point, scoring an average of four strokes better for the weekend. Dunn, preferred the opposite, averaging four strokes better on the backside. Dunn led the field in birdies and pars, as well as par three and four scoring. Dunn also seemed to prefer the colder, wetter weather of the Saturday, scoring ten strokes better than she did on Sunday. Finishing in third place was Emily Dunlap from Greenville, SC. Dunlap shot 88-94 for a weekend total of 182. Dunlap was a consistent player all weekend, finishing third in the division for number of pars. She, like Dunn, played better on the first day by six strokes.
Weather:
Day 1: Mid 40’s, steady rain most of the day
Day 2: Mid 50’s to low 60’s mostly sunny
Tournament Yardage:
Boys 15-18: 6,772 yards
Girls 15-18: 5,711 yards
Boys 11-14: 6,104 yards
Girls 11-14: 5,231 yards
About us:
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2008 with the intention of providing junior golfers between the ages of 11-18 an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment. Golfers who participate on the tour will compete in one of four age divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 11-14, Girls 11-14, and Girls 15-18. Based out of Jacksonville, FL the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut.
For more information regarding the HJGT, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org or call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org.
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