Lo and Leiner win despite rain delay
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Tamarac, Florida for the first stop of the 2014 season. Two countries and three states were represented at this tournament. The event was played at the Woodmont Country Club right outside Ft. Lauderdale. The weather on day 2 of the tournament suspended play for one hour but the field was able to overcome this delay to post low scores. There was plenty at stake for the first tournament of the year. The winner of the girl’s 15-18 division walked away with four AJGA performance stars and all others divisions were ranked by the NJGS. Winners in all four of the divisions received an invitation to the 2014 HJGT Tour Championship and the top ten finishers in each division received valuable points towards end of the year honors, state team recognition and the Hurricane Cup. In addition to all of these rewards, players also received Florida Junior Tour Exemptions.
Despite the dreary conditions, Linus Lo of Heathrow, Florida, played spectacular throughout the tournament, to lead the boys 15-18 field. Lo carded an impressive first day with a front nine of 34, -2, and a back nine of 35, -1 to finish with a score of 69, -3. On day two, Lo fired a 75, +3, with fourteen pars. Lo also recorded four birdies in the tournament. Finishing one stroke behind Lo was Hunter Fry of Dacula, Georgia. Even with the tough conditions he posted an impressive 73, +1, on day one and a 72, on day two with sixteen pars. Tying for third was Alec Herzfeld of Coral Springs, Florida and Josh August of Boynton Beach, Florida. Herzfeld handled the conditions well and finished +8 with a 74 and 78 respectfully. Herzfeld also ended the tournament with the highest number of birdies on the course, at nine. August finished the weekend with 26 pars by firing a 78 on day one and a 74 on day two.
It was a competitive tournament this past weekend in the Girls 15-18 division. Finishing with a 153, +9, for the weekend was Hannah Leiner of Pompano Beach, Florida. Leiner played well on the weekend with three birdies, and 25 pars. On Saturday, Leiner carded a 77 and improved upon this on Sunday scoring a 76. Finishing second in the field was Julia Durkin of Miramar, Florida. Durkin posted duel rounds of 78 to finish +12 on the weekend. Tying for third was Georgette Garcia of Davie, Florida and Maria Andrea Donado Paez. Garcia and Paez each finished the tournament with a two day total of 157.
In the boys 11-14 division, Ryder Sutcliffe of Jupiter, Florida played two fantastic rounds. Sutcliffe finished 15 strokes ahead of his competitors at +4, firing a 73 with thirteen pars on day one. Ryder played an excellent back nine on day one as well finishing +1. The day one success carried over day two as Sutcliffe carded a 75 with thirteen pars. With a two day total of 163 was Matt Lashinger of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and Evan Hoppenstein of Boca Raton, Florida. Lashinger finished with three birdies while carding an 82 on day one and an 81 on day two. Hoppenstein posted an 80 on day one and an 83 on day two to finish +19.
Leading the field for the girls 11-14 division was Alexa Rivas of Miami, Florida. Rivas had an impressive day one score of 73 with twelve pars, three birdies to finish +1. Rivas ended the weekend with an 81, one birdie and ten pars to secure a first place finish. Cindy Kou of Windemere, Florida ended the weekend +15 carding a 77 on day one and an 82 on day two to finish second. Braving the adverse weather conditions as well was Chari York of Johns Creek, Georgia. York earned herself a third place finish with a two day total of 184.
Weather:
Day 1 – High 75, humid with rain at times
Day 2 – High 80, partly cloudy, gusty winds and heavy rain at times
Tournament Yardage:
Boys 15-18: 6859 yards
Girls 15-18: 5877 yards
Boys 11-14: 6212 yards
Girls 11-14: 5243 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, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
For more information regarding the HJGT 2014 Tour, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org.
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