Harmony, FL (November 11th) With the 2012 tournament season nearing its end, the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour once again traveled to Harmony, Florida for the 3rd annual Central Florida Junior Classic. This year, the tournament was held at the beautiful Harmony Golf Preserve where over 90 junior golfers from Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Georgia, Hawaii, Colombia, Canada, China, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Vietnam, and India took to the course. Although rain was in the forecast throughout the weekend, the weather remained pleasant with temperatures in the mid 70s all though out the event. In the Boys 15-18 Division, Max Rispler of Alto, Michigan was declared the champion. Rispler, who was playing in his second HJGT event of the year, started the second round trailing by three strokes to both Alex Shattuck of Lake Mary, Florida and Manuel Torres of Orlando, Florida. Rispler, responded nicely to this deficit, however by beginning the second round with 7 consecutive pars followed by a birdie on a long par 5 fifth hole. By the end of the second round, Rispler finished with a total score of 141(-3), in addition to winning the Par 5 Performance Challenge with an average of 4.38. Coming in second behind Rispler was Cam Lippodolt of Midland, Michigan. Lippodolt, whose two day total was 144(E), was perhaps one of the most consistent players throughout the two day event. In fact at one point during the first round, Lippodolt sunk 8 consecutive par shots and finished tied for first for the most par shots or better by shooting par or better on 32 of his 36 holes played. Rounding out the top 3 for the Boys 15-18 Division was Alex Shattuck. Shattuck, who had a spectacular first round, struggled on his second day of play, perhaps due to the strong winds on the course during the second round. At the end of the tournament, Shattuck finished five strokes behind the leader with a total of 146(+2), however, to his credit Shattuck played one of the best rounds throughout the entire tournament shooting at 4 under par on the first day of play. Winning the Girls 15-18 Division was Cynthia Navis of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Navis, who led her division after the first round, shot a total score of 145(+1). Although she led after the first round, Navis felt the pressure throughout the second round as she was paired with second place finisher Macy McRaney of Winter Garden, Florida. McRaney began her second round of play with a birdie on the ninth hole while Navis bogeyed evening up the score after only one hole. McRaney then took the lead on the 13th hole as she birdied while Navis shot at par. On the next hole, Navis shot a bogey which increased McRaney's lead to two strokes. While it looked like McRaney was beginning to pull away from Navis, McRaney began to struggle as she bogeyed 4 times on her back nine. In the end, Navis narrowly escaped with the victory as she birdied the sixth hole while McRaney bogeyed it. Although she came in second, it should be noted that McRaney sank the most par shots (9), and also won the Par 5 Performance Challenge, while Navis won both the Par 3 and Par 4 Performance Challenges. Finishing in third in the Girls 15-18 Division was Haley Austin of McDonough, Georgia whose two day total was 152(+8). In his fifth victory of the year, Josh Lewis of Lake Mary, Florida claimed the Boys 11-14 title. Lewis, entered the second day of play in a three way tie with S.M Lee of Buford, Georgia and Ray Navis of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. All three players shot a 74(+2) in the first round, however, it was Lewis's impressive 72(E) on the second day that earned him the victory. Beginning on the fifth hole in the second round, Lee jumped out to an early lead as both Lewis and Navis bogeyed the hole. Lewis then fell to a two stroke deficit on the 7th hole as he bogeyed and Navis birdied bringing him back into a tie for the lead with Lee. Although down by two strokes early on, Lewis maintained his composure, as he bogeyed only one other time in addition to sinking three birdies. While Lewis was able to stay atop the leaderboard, Navis and Lee struggled throughout the rest of the second round falling to 4th and 6th respectively. Finishing in 2nd and 3rd for the Boys 11-14 Division were Kyle Flexsenhar of Lake Mary, Florida, and Robby Eisch of Tampa, Florida. Flexsenhar finished in second with a total score of 150(+6) in addition to winning the Par 4 Performance Challenge, while Eisch finished third with a total score of 151(+7). Although Lee didn't make the top three, it should be noted that he sank an eagle on the very long par 5 16th hole. Winning the Girls 11-14 Division was Lucy Hou of Jianshu, China. In her first day of play, Hou shot an impressive 71(-1), which was good enough to give her the lead after the first round, however, by only one stroke. Nipping at her heals though throughout the entire tournament was Annie Kim of South Korea. Throughout the front nine on the second day, Kim was trailing by only one stroke until she bogeyed the seventh hole putting her two strokes behind. Although she remained close throughout the second day, Kim was not able to overcome her two stroke deficit as Hou was able to win her division with a two day total of 145(+1) in addition to winning the Par 3 and Par 4 Performance Challenges. Although she came up just short of winning her division, it should be noted that Kim sunk the most pars (23), in addition to winning the Par 5 Performance Challenge. Rounding out the top three for the Girls 11-14 Division was Sabrina Hoskins of Orlando, Florida. Hoskins two day total was 153(+9), which included two birdies during the second round. Weather: Saturday: Temperature in the mid to high 70’s, sunny skies Sunday: Temperature in the mid 70's, sunny skies, moderate wind Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18 Division: 6809 Boys 11-14 Division: 6256 Girls 15-18 Division: 5842 Girls 11-14 Division: 5338 Tournament Awards:Boys 15-18 Division:
EFX Birdie Challenge: Cam Lippoldt Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Brett Beazant Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Cam Lippoldt Girls 15-18 Division: EFX Birdie Challenge: Cynthia Navis Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Cynthia Navis Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Macy McRaney Boys 11-14 Division: EFX Birdie Challenge: Kyle Flexsenhar Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Josh Lewis Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Tiger Dao Girls 11-14 Division: EFX Birdie Challenge: Lucy Hou Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Lucy Hou Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Annie Kim 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 tour will compete in one of four age divisions: Boys 15-18 Division, Boys 11-14 and Girls 15-18 Division and 11-14 Division. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the southeast, with stops in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.