The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour made a stop at Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, NC to host the College Prep Series at UNC. The weather conditions were ideal for both days of the tournament this week. The tournament saw a lot of close competition in all divisions. All the winners of each division will get an invite to the 2015 HJGT National Championship at Champions Gate.
The Boy’s 15-18 division saw some thrilling golf between all competitors with four players impressively breaking 150 on their two day totals. Kase Diehl from Charlotte, NC was able to claim the victory by five shots after posting scores of 72, even par on day one and an impressive three under par 69 on day two for a two day total of 141. Diehl’s tournament was highlighted by an eagle on day two on the challenging par 5 13th hole. Coming in second place this week was Dalton Mauldin of Sanford, NC with a two day total of 146 after posting scores of 74, +2 and even par 72. Mauldin recorded four birdies during his second round to hold off the competition to claim 2nd place this weekend. Coming in third place this week was Corrie Kuehn of Asheville, NC, with a two day total of 147 after shooting scores of 74, +2 and 73, +1. Kuehn opened his second round with an impressive under par front nine and was able to hold on to take third place this weekend. In the end Kase Diehl was able to hold off the competition and win the College Prep Series at UNC at Finley Golf Club.
The Boy’s 13-14 division was claimed by Will Hawley out of Raleigh, NC with the help of two consistent rounds for both rounds coming to a total of 150. Hawley was able to start off strong during the second round by starting off the back nine at -2 but then got into some trouble on the back nine. Hawley was able to minimize the trouble by finishing the back nine at +4. With a combination of birdies, pars, and bogeys Hawley gained more momentum as the rounds went on. Jack Marcotte from Apex was able to claim second by shooting the low round during the second round finishing the day at -1 to sneak into second with a two round total of 152. The biggest determining factors between the first two places was that Hawley was able to have a good first round while Marcotte struggled on the first day. Marcotte was able to convert on some tough holes to finish his second round with 13 pars, 3 birdies, and 2 bogeys. Paolo Wong from Baguio City fought hard but came up short finishing the tournament with a two day score of 153. Wong shot a consistent two rounds of 77 and 76. The slow greens seemed to be an issue for Wong in the second round which led to much more putting than I’m sure he would have liked. Although there was some more distance between the top three in this age division this was still some of the best golf being played throughout the day.
In the Girl's 15-18 division Nicole Adam from Pinehurst North Carolina, won the tournament in a two hole playoff over the eventual second place winner Rachel Belanger. Nicole had her best day on Saturday with a 71, -1 and a 79, +7 on Sunday with a total score of 150. Even though Nicole had a higher score on Sunday she was still able to hold on for a playoff at the end of day two, and after one tied playoff hole, Nicole was able to take the lead on the second playoff and win the tournament. Second place went to Rachel Belanger from Johns Creek Georgia. Rachel had her best score of a 68, -4 on Saturday and an 82, +10 on Sunday with a total score of 150. Rachel went into Sunday with the lead but struggled on Sunday and went into a play off with the eventual winner Nicole. The third place trophy went to Rachel Kuehn. Rachel came into Sunday at third place with a score of a 77, + 5, on Saturday, was able to keep her third place standing with a score of 75, +3 on Sunday. Although Rachel was able to improve her score from Saturday to Sunday it was not enough to contend for first place of the tournament. With the two hole playoff round to determine the winner of this tournament, this was a very exciting tournament with very good players and made for a very exciting weekend.
In the Girl's 11-14 division Becca DiNunzio from Norfolk Virginia took home the victory after a very consistent tournament with a 76, +4 on both Saturday and Sunday. Becca held on to the lead during Sunday as the eventual second place finisher Parker Perry finished with an 84, +12 and an 87, +15 on Sunday. Becca came into Sunday with a good lead and was able to keep it with very consistent play and ended up with the win with a 19 stoke lead. Weather: Day 1- Low of 85 high of 95, Partly Cloudy, winds 5-10 MPH Day 2- Low of 85 high of 95, Partly Cloudy, winds 5-10 MPH Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18-6,766 yards Boys 13-14-6,155 yards Girls 15-18-5,590 yards Girls 11-14-5,189 yards 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 four 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, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Connecticut. For more information regarding the 2014 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