(October 12, 2015) The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour stopped in Celebration, Florida this weekend to host the 2nd Annual Academy Cup. Academies from all over the east coast traveled to the Celebrations Golf Club to compete and determine what academy would remain on top after 36 holes of stroke play. Each academy was asked to provide the names of ten golfers, girl or boy, whose scores would counts towards their team total each day. Eight of the ten best scores from each round would count towards the total. Each player competed against one another in their own age division for division points and honors. Over 100 golfers were registered for the event. The competition was fierce among the academies and individual players, and aside from a short weather delay during the afternoon tee times on the first day, it was a beautiful weekend for golf.
The Boys 15-18 Division was highly competitive amongst not only the academies, but the individual players as well. After completing 36 holes of stroke play, Sachin Kumar from the Club Med Golf Academy (Club Med), finished in first shooting 4-under par (70+70=140). Liam Bryden from the Mike Bender Elite Golf Academy (Mike Bender) finished second by a slim one stroke, shooting 3-under par after two days (73+68=141). Finishing tied for third shooting 1-under par, from the International Junior Golf Academy (IJGA), were Daisuke Nakano and Lino Galdin.
The Girls 15-18 Division displayed even more competitive golf among the academies and individual players. Each individual finisher in the top three finished under par, proving that the boys were not the only golfers to provide some great scores for their teams. Alice Jo from the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy (Gary Gilchrist) finished in first place shooting a strong 10-under par (69+65=134). Mimi Chen from Longwood, Florida competed as an individual and captured the sole second place finish after shooting 5-under par (70+69=139). Finishing third from the IJGA was Linda Trockel shooting 2-under par (72+70=142).
Solid rounds came out of the Boys 13-14 Division after 36 holes of stroke play. Artemiy Yalovenko from the Core Golf Academy (Core) placed first after shooting 3-over par (72+75=147). Taylor John McGerity from Mike Bender finished in sole second place after shooting 8-over par (76+76=152). There was a three-way tie for third at 9-over par between John Mosher from the Saddlebrook Golf Academy (Saddlebrook), and Jeffery Liss and Christopher Poppy Lee from Club Med. Each top three finisher received points for their finished, and they each received a trophy for their wonderful work on the golf course.
The Girls 11-14 Division was smaller than normal, with only three competitors, but the division still displayed some tough competition. Yoko Tai from Core finished on top shooting 21-over par (83+82=165). Tai finished the tournament strongly by shooting 39, 3-over par, on the back nine of the second round. Jessica Jiang from Eagles Dream Golf Academy (Eagles Dream) shot 32-over par for a total of 176. Jiang improved by six strokes to shoot an 85 during the second round of the tournament. Nicole Cee from Club Med placed solo third after improving by three strokes during the second round to shoot a two day total of 183. Overall, this was a great tournament for the girls. Each player was able to improve their score during the second round, which showed improvement for the overall division.
The Boys 11-12 Division was also a three-man division during the tournament. Aaron Zhang, from Eagles Dream displayed some amazing golf after shooting a total (77+76) 153, 9-over par. Competing as an individual, Yuzhe Zhang from Windermere, Florida, placed second after shooting a pair of 84s for a total of 168 for both rounds. Yazheng Liao who also competed as an individual placed third after shooting 33-over par (90+87=177). Liao was able to finish the tournament strong by improving his scoring by three strokes during the second round. The Academies competed against one another for the 2nd Annual Academy Cup. They entered some of their best players to compete for the Academy Cup. Eight academies in total competed against one another for the Academy Cup title: IJGA, Club Med, Gary Gilchrist, Core, Eagles Dream, Mike Bender, Saddlebrook, and the Darlington School Golf Academy. After the first round the IJGA finished in first place, Club Med finished in second place, and Gary Gilchrist finished in third. After the second round of stroke play, IJGA was able to hold on to their first place spot with a team total of 594 (RD1) + 590 (RD2) = 1184. Gary Gilchrist clenched the second place title from Club Med after the second round with a team total of 598 (RD1) + 596 (RD2) = 1194. Club Med finished in third with a team total of 597 (RD1) + 602 (RD2) = 1199. This year’s Academy Cup was an excellent turnout, and displayed fierce competition from each academy, player, and division. Next year’s Academy Cup hopes to be even better than this year’s! Weather: Day 1: Low of 74, High of 81. Partly Cloudy, Scattered Showers during the Afternoon, Winds NE/E 5 to 11 mph. Day 2: Low of 71, High of 84. Partly Cloudy. Winds SE 5 to 8 mph. Yardages: Boys 15-18: 6,668 yards Boys 13-14: 6,125 yards Boys 11-12: 5,627 yards Girls 15-18: 5,627 yards Girls 11-14: 5,264 yards About us: The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2008 with the intent 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 13-14, Boys 11-12, Girls 15-18, and Girls 11-14. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Connecticut. For more information regarding the 2014 HJGT 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