Rabren dominates by ten strokes Williams maintains lead for the win
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Glencoe, Alabama on March 8-9 for the Central Alabama Jr. Open. Great weather highlighted the first HJGT event in Alabama for the 2014 season. Winners in all divisions received an invitation to the 2014 Tour Championship and Mid-Season Invitational. The top ten finishers received points towards end of the year honors which include state teams, ALL HJGT teams and the Hurricane Cup. Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings were awarded to the field as well.
At the end of the first round, Brooks Rabren of Dozier, Alabama held a two stroke lead over the rest of the field. Rabren made four birdies on the first day to post a score of 79. In the final round, Rabren was confident as he fired three birdies and 11 pars to score a one over, 73. Being the only player in the Boys 15-18 division to post rounds in the 70’s earned Rabren the first place trophy. The key to Rabren’s success was his improvement over the two days. During round one he posted multiple bogies and double bogies. Rabren was able to eliminate these during round two to score low. Finishing ten strokes behind Rabren was Brant Bishop of Tuscumbia, Alabama. He was extremely consistent after firing rounds of 81 on both days. Bishop secured second place by recording two birdies on Saturday and one on Sunday. Rounding out the top three was Jordan Botwinick of Germantown, Tennessee. His success came from being able to birdie the par three, fourth hole on both days. Botwinick improved his score by seven strokes from day one to day two, posting rounds of 86 and 79. He finished at 165 for the weekend.
In the Girls 15-18 division, Micheala Williams of Athens, Alabama held a one stroke lead at the conclusion of round one play. She came out firing on Sunday to better her round one total by two strokes. Over the course of the tournament, Williams made two birdies posting a combined 166. Melanie Talbott of Woodstock, Georgia finished in second place after posting a weekend total of 172. She totaled two birdies and 15 pars on the weekend. Kayla Smith of Middleburg, Florida posted rounds of 91-87 to secure third place. She ended the weekend with 12 pars.
The Boys 11-14 division ended in a close finish with only three strokes separating first from third. At the end of round one, Tyler Lipscomb of Carrollton, Georgia and Felix Ronderos of Mobile, Alabama were tied for the lead after posting 82’s. Lipscomb came out firing on Sunday, scoring a 79 to secure the first place trophy. The difference came in Lipscomb’s three birdies on Sunday to Ronderos’ zero. Lipscomb ended the weekend with a total score of 161. Ronderos ended the up just two strokes behind Lipscomb to finish in second place with twenty pars and a weekend total of 163. Rounding out the division was Chris Hughes of Vestavia, Alabama. He finished in third place by firing rounds of 83 and 81. Hughes played some very impressive holes throughout the event, including an eagle on the par five tenth hole on Saturday. On Sunday, he posted four birdies allowing him to finish the weekend at 164. Weather: Day 1- High of 70, low of 48. Sunny with slight breeze. Day 2- High of 67, low of 41. Sunny. Tournament Yardage: Boys 15-18: 6,764 yards Boys 11-14: 6,127 yards Girls 11-18: 5,727 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, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey and Indiana. For more information regarding the Central Alabama Jr. Open, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org.