Canongate Series No. 1 Feb. 27-28, 2016
Brisk Temperatures Lead to Hot Competition
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour sent one of its five travel teams to the Old Canongate Golf Course in Newnan, Ga., for another successful two-day tournament. The morning temperatures were near freezing and frost was almost an issue, but the course was in playable condition. The cold temperatures made for slow starts, but the players and staff powered through. Storms came through the area on Wednesday making a hard course tougher with wet conditions. The grounds crew did a fantastic job getting the course in playing condition, as well as taking care of the greens that were true. We would like to thank not only the grounds crew, but also the entire Canongate staff for assistance in running a great event. The American Junior Golf Association awarded four performance stars to the Boys 14-18 division champion and one performance star to the top five. The 14-18 Girls division champion was awarded four performance stars, while the top three each tallied one star. For the Junior Golf Scoreboard, points were awarded to the Boys 11-13, 14-15 and 16-18, as well as Girls 14-18. Additionally, winners in each age division received an invitation to the 2016 Tour Championship on Dec. 3-4. Top three finishers in each division were awarded exemptions into the 2016 Mid Season Invitational at Chateau Elan on June 11-13.
Boys 16-18 Division
[caption id="attachment_19895" align="alignleft" width="185"]
Alex Ross[/caption] Coming into Round two, Alex Ross from Atlanta, Ga., sat three strokes behind the leader. Ross shot a great front nine of even par before the floodgates opened on the back nine to surge to victory in the Boys 16-18 division. His four birdies, three coming on the back nine, along with an eagle on the par-5 No. 11 was enough to pass first-round leader Jordan Long. Long, a Stockbridge, Ga., native took second out of 41 golfers with a 150, three shots off Ross’ pace. Long used three birdies in round one to shoot an even-par 72, but a tough second-round back nine proved to be the dagger. Rounding out the top three was Wesley Henson, who missed second place by one stroke. Henson traveled in from Macon, Ga., for the two day tournament. After a 73 in round one, Henson followed it up with a 78. All three tallied four total birdies.
Boys 14-15 Division
[caption id="attachment_19896" align="alignleft" width="185"]
Jackson Perry[/caption] Jackson Perry from Dunwoody, Ga., came out on fire at Canongate Series #1, posting a scorching 71. After shooting one-under-par in round one, Perry shot an 83 during round two, which included a 10 on the par-4 No. 4. Perry’s six-shot lead quickly evaporated and at round’s end, Perry was tied with Duluth, Ga., native, Nicholas Gibson (78+76) at 154. In the playoff, Perry showed resiliency in defeating Gibson in the first playoff hole. Gibson played consistent golf to give himself a chance to get the win. His three birdies, two coming on the back nine, nearly landed him the victory. Coming in three strokes off the lead, was Andy Mao from Johns Creek, Ga. Mao used four birdies and a front nine of even par to keep himself in the hunt. His round one score of 77 and total of 156 earned him third place out of 21 golfers by one stroke.
Boys 11-13 Division
[caption id="attachment_19898" align="alignleft" width="185"]
Frederick Bruce[/caption] The 15-person division saw local golfer Frederick Bruce, of Atlanta, Ga., take home the gold at Canongate Series No. 1. Coming into round two trailing by one stroke, Bruce used three birdies to take the lead and keep it. His 79 put him in a tie for third after one round, and a three-shot improvement in round two raced him up the leaderboard. Luke Coyle of Campbellsville, Ky., played consistent golf in round two with 14 pars on his card, which helped him take second place at 155 (79+76), two behind Bruce. He also racked up three birdies during round one. After a first-round 77, which was good for a one-shot lead, Locust Grove, Ga., native Deven Patel shot an 80 in round two to slide to third place.
Girls 14-18 Division
[caption id="attachment_19894" align="alignleft" width="185"]
Jenny Bae[/caption] Jenny Bae shot out of the gates like a cannon in round two, shooting a two-over-par 74 in round two to secure the victory at Canongate Series #1. Her eight-stroke improvement from day one was tied for second best in the most improved category. Bae used six birdies on the weekend to pave the way to a two-stroke victory. When asked how many birdies in one round she had, Bae’s record was 10 in one round. After an 82 during round one, her 74 was the best of the girls for the weekend, as well. Coming in tied for second place out of 15 golfers was Skylar Thompson of Buford, Ga. Her scores of 80 and 78 gave her a 158 for the weekend. Her counterpart was Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City, Ga., who shot a 79 in both rounds. Shepherd tallied four birdies for the weekend, while Thompson had three. Thompson recorded all three birdies on the back nine in round two.
Girls 13U Division
[caption id="attachment_19899" align="alignleft" width="185"]
Iris Cao[/caption] The two-player field of Iris Cao and Sierra Fink was competitive for several stretches through the weekend. Entering round two, Fink held a four-stroke lead, but Cao was determined to get the victory and used a second-round 83 to surge ahead for first place and improve by 13 strokes. Fink shot an 87 and 96 for the weekend for an overall score of 183, nine strokes behind Cao. Cao of Duluth, Ga., tallied two birdies in round two. Peachtree City, Ga., native Fink also had two birdies; one birdie from each round and both of her birdies came on par-5’s.
Weather for Feb. 27-28
Round 1: Low 31, High 60, Afternoon Sun, Winds 5-10 mph, Bitter Cold Morning
Round 2: Low 35, High 67, Afternoon Sun, Winds 0-5 mph, Cold Morning
Tournament Yardages
16-18 Boys Division: 6,599 yards
14-15 Boys Division: 6,599 yards
11-13 Boys Division: 5,623 yards
14-18 Girls Division: 5,623 yards
13U Girls Division: 5,084 yards