On June 13th and 14th, 2015, the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to stunning State College, Pennsylvania to host the College Prep Series at Penn State University. The course was in perfect shape, playing conditions were great, and it was also a great challenge for the long weekend of golf. On Saturday, the first day of the tournament, there was a little batch of rain that blew in for about an hour, but it was nothing to the tournament, as the golfers battled the weather to play incredible golf. On Sunday, we were lucky to have some marvelous sunshine, which was a great cap to the weekend. Winners in all four-age divisions received an automatic bid to the Tour Championship on December 5th and 6th, 2015. The top three finishers in each age division also received an automatic bid to the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational at Chateau Elan June 20-22. The weekend was unbeatable all around, and the top ten finishers received points towards end year honors, which include state teams, all HJGT teams, and the Hurricane Cup.
In the Boy’s 15-18 division, the Venieta, Pennsylvania resident, Tanner Johnson took home the first place trophy as he really expressed his talent on the putting green. Out putting his competition on almost every hole all weekend, Johnson ended the tournament one stroke under par. Saturday was defiantly Johnson’s better day of golf as he ended the round in first place, and with a very impressive score of a 70, two strokes under par. Johnson featured five birdies on the first round, which helped him take the lead. On Sunday, Johnson made it interesting as he finished the second round shooting a 73. Still playing great golf, he didn’t have any birdies, and had only one bogie, really turning some heads as his puts ended almost every hole on a very strong note. The second place finisher on the weekend was Jake Fitts, from Warrington Pennsylvania. Fitts played great golf all throughout the weekend, finishing just one stroke over par. Fitts finished the first round with a great score of a 74, just two strokes over par and ended the second round shooting a 71, a very impressive under par score. Displaying six birdied holes this weekend, Fitts fell out of the first place spot by just two strokes. Also going home with hardware, and finishing in third place was Dylan Ford, from Homewood Alabama. Ford really opened some eyes this weekend, as he was very impressive in all three major aspects of the game. Ford shot his best score on the weekend, a 71 on Saturday, and then preceded to finish Sunday’s round with another great score of 75. As the top three spots were decided by just four strokes, Ford fell out of the second spot by just one stroke, finishing the weekend just two strokes over par. As all three of the top finishers have a golf game that is extremely polished, it is easy to tell that they all have a great future of golf ahead of them. Overall, the Boy’s 15-18 year old division was very competitive this weekend, and all of the top finishers played very impressive and quality golf.
In the Boy’s 13-14 division, Sky Fox finished the tournament in the top spot. The Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania resident played very competitive golf this weekend as he shot a great final score of a 77 on both rounds of the tournament. Fox featured a very strong short game this weekend, as he was unmatched close to the hole, and the putting green on almost every hole. Fox was the leader all weekend as he didn't let the pressure of a lead in a big tournament get to him. To add to his impressive finish, Fox featured five birdies this weekend, three more than any one of his competitors in the age division. Finishing right behind Fox, and in second place was Tommy Amendola, from Naples, Florida. Amendola brought much confidence with him all the way from Florida, as he has been a very strong, and competitive golfer in our Hurricane events down in Florida for the past three years. Amendola finished round one with a very impressive score of an 85, and then took his talents, and his confidence into the second day as he finished Sunday with an even better score of an 81. Going home with the third place trophy was Philip Wong, from West Bloomfield, Michigan. Wong, a new face on the Hurricane Tour, displayed great golf all weekend long as he finished the first day with an 81, and tied for second place. Wong came to the course with confidence again on Sunday as he shot another talented score of an 85. Wong featured four birdies this weekend to make his scores just a little more attractive. The Boy’s 13-14 division had a very exciting weekend, and every competitor in the field displayed two high quality rounds of golf.
Arguably one of the most impressive golfers this whole weekend was Olivia Zambruno, from Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Zambruno is another new face on our tour, and we’ll be excited to see her back as she brings some great talent to our tournament play. Zambruno finished the tournament in first place in the Girl’s 15-18 division, and also had the most impressive score of the entire tournament, even including the older boys division. Her Sunday score, a 69, was the lowest score of the entire weekend, including every competitor. Zambruno shot an 81 on Saturday, and was five strokes back from the leader after the first round, but her 69 on Sunday put her ahead of all and finished her fifteen strokes above the second place finisher, a blowout win. Zambruno had a tournament leading nine birdies on the weekend, and also featured the only eagle of the weekend, which was the only eagle the HJGT has seen in a couple of weeks. Finishing behind Zambruno, and leaving the course with the second place trophy was Marissa Kirkwood, from New Castle, Pennsylvania. Kirkwood played great golf this weekend as she competed in both rounds, shooting a 75 on Saturday, and a 77 on Sunday. Kirkwood really has a future in golf ahead of her as she showed great talent all throughout her game this weekend. Kirkwood’s highlight of the weekend was her second round for the weekend, which included six birdied holes. Kirkwood also birdied three holes in the first round, two of which coming on two of the toughest holes on the course. Leaving the course tying Kirkwood for second place was Mia Kness from Venetia, Pennsylvania. Kness finished the weekend just eight strokes over par, displaying a 77 on the first round, and an even better 75 on the second round. Kness, another new face on the Hurricane Tour, was very impressive off the tee box all weekend, as her drives were polished, and really turned some heads. Kness really took a very competitive attitude, and game of golf with her to the course this weekend and she didn’t fail to impress. Kness had five birdied holes this weekend to help her take home some hardware. The girls were arguably the most impressive competitors this weekend as their scores almost matched the boys.
In the Boy’s 11-12 year old division, Christobal E. Sepulveda will be traveling all the way back to Santiago, Chile holding the first place trophy. Sepulveda played great golf this weekend as he outmatched his only competitor. Sepulveda brought much confidence with him all the way from Chile, as he has been the number one ranked 11-year-old golfer in Chile for the last three consecutive years. Sepulveda shot an 80 on the first day of the tournament, just eight strokes over par. On the second day, he added to his first place lead, as he shot another great score of an 82. Sepulveda featured two birdies on the weekend, and took the first place trophy with strength. Finishing in second place, and Sepulveda’s only competitor was Carter Hassenplug, from North East, Pennsylvania. Hassenplug played great golf as well this weekend as he shot a 94 on Saturday, and an 89 on Sunday. Hassenplug, a familiar face on our tour, never fails to bring great rounds of golf to our tournaments, and he will be making a bit shorter of a trip back home with hardware. Both Sepulveda, and Hassenplug played quality golf this weekend, as they should both be proud on their trips back from the tournament. Weather: Saturday: Low 70’s, Light Rain, Wind 10-15 MPH Sunday: Mid 70’s, Clear, Wind 5-10 MPH Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18- 6,778 YDS Girls 15-18/Boys 11-12- 5,712 YDS Boys 13-14- 6,214 YDS 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 five 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, Louisiana, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For more information regarding the 2015 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 Experience #TheHurricaneDifference