Acworth, Georgia: September 7, 2014 – The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) visited Acworth, Georgia on September 6th - September 7th for the Canongate Series #7. Our spectacular host for the week was Bentwater Golf Club that lies in the heart of Acworth. Their staff, golf shop and greens crew, were absolutely fabulous and we could not have done it without them. The weather even cooperated for us having highs in the low 90’s each day with no weather delays. The course was also in great playing condition, which is always a treat. In regards to the tournament, winners in each division competed for a bid into the 2014 Tour Championship December 6th and 7th, Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings (JGS), AJGA Performance Stars, Canongate Points, and possible points that will earn each of them honors for state teams, all HGJT teams, and the Hurricane Cup.
Boys 15-18
The boy’s 15-18 victor was Kevin Burns of Canton, GA firing a first round 77 and a second round 70 for a two-day total of 147. After the first day Burns’ chances at winging seemed pretty slim, but he brought it all for the second round on Sunday to bring home the victory. Starting the front nine with two bogeys, a lonely birdie left him one over par through three. A respectable start but then rolled in bogey putts on the fifth and sixth hole leaving him with an opening nine of +3 (39). No good news was in the future as he carded his fifth bogey of the day on eleven. Showing a little sign of life and trying to close out his round he carded four consecutive pars but then stumbled upon one last bogey on the sixteenth. Burns capped his round off with two pars finishing with a +5 (77). Burns, feeling quite motivated to turn things around after a mediocre first day, did just that. Consistency was the name of the game for Burns during round two. He got off to a wonderful start, starting two under through five holes before stringing together thirteen straight pars for a dashing -2 (70). Congratulations to the young man out of Canton, GA on his incredible comeback win! A few other honorable mentions, coming in a tie for second were James Scott out of Atlanta, GA and Parker Langham of Fayetteville, GA with a two day total of 148. Scott and Parker gave it their best effort to catch Burns but at the end of the day, it just was not enough. The most improved score over the course of the tournament was Grey Drummonds out of Woodstock, GA shooting a 106 the first day to an 88 the second day, improving a whooping sixteen strokes, he received a brand new set of golf pride grips for his extraordinary improvement.
Girls 15-18
Taking the title for the girls 15-18 was the young firecracker Jenny Bae carding a first round 75 and a second round 77 with a two-day total of 152. Bae, graduating in 2019 and playing up a division absolutely smoked her playing competitors winning out right by ten shots. From the start, she showed promise by opening with a solid +3 (39) on the front nine. She ran into a few problems immediately on the back nine racking up two straight bogeys on the tenth and eleventh hole. Not overly excited on her back nine start, she fought back with two birdies and five pars posting a E (36), allowing her to coast to a smooth +3 (75). Bae’s second round was much of the same play but somewhat opposite. She played very steady and calm on her opening nine carding only two bogeys, two birdies, and five pars rounding her score to a (E) 36. But steady play can be very hard to maintain for an extended period of time. Bae unwillingly hopped on the bogey train carding five bogeys, no birdies and four pars. It did not seem to matter though because her play, no matter her struggles, was much too good for anyone to catch her. Lindsay Segraves and Tiffany Elam tied for second in the girls 15-18 division. A wonderful tournament by the both of them but the stellar performance put on by Jenny Bea was simply stunning. The most improved player in the girls 15-18 division was Alexis Brindly, who shot a 100 the first round and an 84 the second round, also improving by an impressive sixteen shots. Boys 11-14
For the boys 11-14 division, Nicholas Gibson took home the gold. Gibson, set to graduate in 2019, took the field by storm with a four shot victory over Jake Allstun. Right off the bat, Gibson shot himself in the foot with a catastrophic triple on the first hole of the tournament. A rough start is the one thing every player dreads and attempts to dislodge from their memory. Gibson engaged his short-term memory, moving through the rest of the front nine with only two bogeys and a birdie carding a front nine of 40. Trying to keep this forward momentum and positive energy at a high, he bounces back on his second nine shooting a -1 (35) posting a round one total of +3 (75). Gibson’s second round on Sunday was yet again very consistent as the young man out of Lawrenceville, GA started out with a lovely birdie on the first hole. Unfortunately, he followed up his nice starting birdie with three bogeys on fourth, sixth, and seventh hole. Gibson forges ahead and cards a ninth hole birdie to close out a very well balanced, opening nine of +1 (37). His second nine was very steady as well except for two holes. Gibson makes an unlucky bogey on the tenth but then riddles his scorecard with six straight pars. On the 17th hole, a dreadful double finds its way into Gibson’s round but then follows it up with a great finishing birdie for a +2 (38). Nicholas would end up firing a second 75 and a total of 150. Jake Allstun was the second place finisher, four shots behind Gibson. A very stable two days for Allstun not wavering the slightest. The only downfall for the fourteen year old was that he carded zero birdies in the two days of the tournament making it very hard climb to the top of the leader board. Also in tournament news for the 11-14 boys, there was a three-way tie for third place. All playing a spectacular two days of golf and posting a two-day total of 155 was Phil Jones from Alpharetta, GA, Erik Forberg from Cumming, GA, and Jhett Lewis from Cedartwon, GA. In addition, winning honors for most improved player was Daniel Nam, improving from an 86 to a 78.
Girls 11-14
Winning medalist honors for the girls 11-14 division was Savannah Satterfield out of Chatsworth, GA with a first round 84 and a second round 79 for a two-day total of 163. Satterfield mentioned that she was having trouble dialing in wedges around the green, making it very difficult to make birdies. This statement had some merit, as she only had one lonely birdie in her first round. Throwing in a handful of bogeys, two doubles and triple had her clinging to second place after the first day. During round two, she had everything working in sync, making a birdie on her opening hole and only four bogeys making the turn at +3 (39). Hitting a rough patch, Satterfeild got herself in trouble when she made a double on the tenth, bogey on the twelfth and another double on the thirteenth. Knowing that she was close to the lead, Satterfield turns up the heat going one under thru her last five holes. It turns out she had a little more breathing room then expected and took the title with a three shot victory over Ayanna Habeel of Decatur, GA. Liza Eubanks also had a solid tournament earning a third place finish with a two day total of 174. Savannah’s sister, Shelby Satterfeild won most improved player by improving her previous 106 first round total to a 96 second round total.
Weather: Saturday- Low 90’s and mostly cloudy Sunday- Low 90’s and mostly cloudy 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 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, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut. 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.