Hurricane Junior Golf Tour

 

2010 Tour Championship Preview

Star studded field set to shine in Tampa

 

The 2009 Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) season has come to a close and the HJGT will open up the 2010 season with the Tour Championship at Saddlebrook Golf Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida.  This invitational will host the largest field in HJGT history with 114 players.  This star studded field will feature players from all over the globe representing 11 states and 16 countries.

 

This season’s Tour Championship will not only offer American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) exemptions, but it is also ranked by Golfweek/Titleist and the National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS). The action kicks off on Friday night, December 4, 2009, with practice rounds followed by player registration. Once registration is complete, the year-end awards will be presented to the All HJGT teams. The tournament rounds will begin on Saturday morning, December 5, 2009, at 7:20am. The event will conclude on Sunday evening, December 6, 2009, with the tournament awards ceremony.

 

Bryan Lloyd of Fernandina Beach, Florida headlines the Boys 16-19 division. Lloyd was the recipient of the 2008 HJGT Player of the Year and has played consistently strong during the 2009 season.  Lloyd, who just signed with Armstrong Atlantic University, finished second in the Points’ Race.  Lloyd has had a top-5 finish in all five of the events that he has played.  Two of those top-5 finishes include victories at the JWU Series at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and the Southeast Georgia Junior Open at Jekyll Island.  Lloyd’s scoring average for the 2009 season is a 71.8 and his low round for the season is a 67.

 

August Jonas of Jacksonville, Florida had a strong 2009 season, which included five top-five finishes and wins at the Northeast Florida Junior Open and Orange Park Junior Classic, where he finished with a total of five-under par.  Jonas recorded a scoring average of 74.42.

 

Reed Kerwin of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina claimed two victories this season, one at the Summer Kickoff at Wild Dunes GC and the other at the Hilton Head Junior Open at Golden Bear GC, out of four events played this season.  Kerwin finished in sixth place for points this season.  With an average of 2.25 birdies per round, Kerwin has a scoring average of 74.88 and a low round of 70. 

 

Coley Davis of Bluffton, South Carolina had victories at the Shamrock International Junior Classic and the HJGT Spring Championship.  Davis played in three events this season and finished fifth place in points.  Davis finished with a scoring average of 73.83.

 

Lushen Evans of Summerville, South Carolina won two events on tour this season at the JWU Series at Coosaw Creek CC and the Wilmington Island Junior Open.  Evans jumped up the points list with a top-3 finish at the Coastal Carolina Junior Shootout where he fired a final round of 67. Evans looks to defend his title at Saddlebrook after a playoff win last year against Gary Buffington.

 

Other notable players in the field include Charles Silverfield (Tampa, Florida), Joshua O’Neal (Simpsonville, South Carolina), Taylor Gove (Evans, Georgia), Jamie Veloz (Englewood, Florida), Blake Snellings (Atlanta, Georgia) and Gary Buffington (Tampa, Florida).

 

In the Boys  13-15 division Corey Carlson of Green Cove Springs, Florida leads the way. Carlson has played in 10 events during the 2009 season and has had a top-3 finish in eight of the events.  Three of those top-3 finishes include victories at the HJGT Spring Championship, Laurel Island Junior Shootout, and Coastal Carolina Junior Shootout.  Carlson not only took home the Boys 13-15 division title at the Laurel  Island Junior Shootout, but he also took home the Boys Overall title with a tournament total of six-under par, 138. Watch out for Carlson at the tour championship because he may be one of the hottest players coming into the event. Carlson, who took home player of the year honors in the Boys 13-15 division, accumulated a scoring average of 75.53 and a carded a low round of 68. 

 

Grant Waggoner of N. Charleston, South Carolina came on strong late in the season with three consecutive second place finishes to end the 2009 season. Waggoner comes into the tour championship in prime form playing his best golf.  Waggoner’s stroke average in the past four events is a 73.87 and he has a low round of 68.

 

John Jonas of Jacksonville, Florida will make a run for the tour championship after a long HJGT lay off. Jonas has won three out of the four tournaments he has played. His victories include the JWU Series at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Gainesville Junior Challenge, and the Northeast Florida Junior Open.  Jonas has an average of 2.5 birdies per round and recorded a scoring average of 72.88.

 

Ryan Mosley of St. Petersburg, Florida has had top-5 finishes in six of the seven events he has played, including a victory at the Hunters Green Junior Shootout. Mosley finished third in points and has a scoring average of 77.36 on tour this season.

 

Other notable players to watch in the Boys 13-15 division include Jordan Batchelor (St. Johns, Florida), Osborn Theam (Jacksonville, Florida), Wesley Long (Bluffton, South Carolina), and Rigel Fernandes (India).

 

 

In the Boys 10-12 division, Jack Comstock of Jacksonville, Florida captured Player of the Year honors by a landslide.  Comstock has seven victories out of the eleven tournaments that he has played.  Comstock has a scoring average of 74.00 and a low round of 68. 

 

Jake Ludwick of St. Augustine, Florida finished in the top-10 in all thirteen events that he has played, including two wins at The Back 9 USA Junior Shootout and the JWU Series at Coosaw Creek CC. Ludwick is part of the All HJGT Team and has a low round of 73 on tour in 2009.

 

Other notables to watch include Kyler Tate (Keystone Heights, Florida) and Roland Morris (Hickory, North Carolina).

 

In the Girls 15-19 division, Heather Wiquist of Bluffton, South Carolina had a great year on tour and had three victories out of the six events she has played.  Her victories include the HJGT Spring Championship, St. Johns Junior Open, and the Orange Park Junior Classic.  Wiquist has an average of 1.33 birdies per round and a scoring average of 81.33, which earned her player of the year honors. 

 

Ryan Ashburn of Seminole, Florida has two wins on tour this season. The first coming at the Mid-Season Championship at Mystic Dunes where she shot rounds of 72-74.Ashburn recorded her second victory at the Living Fuel Junior Open with rounds of 77-72. Ashburn, who just signed with Stetson University, will be gunning for her third victory this season at the Tour Championship.

 

Sammi Stevens of Hereford, Texas is coming off a win at the Tiger Point Junior Classic and will look to continue her success at the Tour Championship. Stevens finished with rounds of 72-77. Stevens recently signed a national letter of intent with New Mexico University.

 

Other notables to watch include Kristine Odaiyar (Ocala, Florida) Callie Kitchens (Tallahassee, Florida), and Laura Weaver (Jacksonville, Florida).

 

Be sure to check out all the action at Saddlebrook Golf Resort just north of Tampa, Florida December 4-6, 2009. If you can’t make it out to the event you can follow the action at www.hjgt.org.