Athens, Georgia: (November 2, 2014) The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Athens, Georgia on November 1-2 for the College Prep Series at UGA. Players battled extremely cold and windy weather during both rounds. Winners in all divisions received an invitation to the 2014 Tour Championship. The Boys and Girls 15-18 Divisions were ranked by Golfweek. Both Boys divisions and the Girls 15-18 Division battled for Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings and AJGA PBE Stars as well. Additionally, the top ten finishers in each division received points towards year end honors which include state teams, ALL HJGT teams and the Hurricane Cup.
Saturday’s opening round brought extremely difficult scoring conditions with cold temperatures and 15-25 mph winds throughout the day. SM Lee would lead wire to wire to take the title in the Boys 15-18 Division on the University of Georgia Golf Course. Lee would post a round of 76 on Saturday, leaving him 2nd in his division going into Sunday with a one shot deficit. Lee would not rest easy knowing 2 players sat within 1 shot of him leading as he headed into Sunday. Sunday brought sunny skies and much better weather conditions, as wind speed was only 4-8 mph on the UGA course. Posting an outstanding 5 birdies and 12 pars in Sunday’s round, Lee would finish the day 4 under par (68) and post a total score of 144, winning him the trophy. Lee would credit his win to his risk taking in the final round and not holding back on any hole. Chandler Eaton would challenge Lee on both days, but fall short of him on Sunday after posting a one stroke improved score (74) from Saturday (75). Lee and Eaton would battle back and forth, but two bogeys on Eaton’s final nine holes would be too much to overcome, as Lee signed for a 68 and a 6 shot victory. Lee would finish with a two day total of 144 on the University of Georgia Golf Course. Jake Bayer would come away with the third place finish after a two day total of 151. Lee would lead in most birdies and pars with 7 and 23 respectively for the weekend.
Luka Karaulic of Lawrenceville, GA would claim a 3 shot victory this weekend after impressive rounds of 77-78 (155) on the University of Georgia Golf Course. Karaulic is no stranger to the winner’s circle with this being his 8th win of the season. Karaulic would contribute his win to his confidence coming into the tournament at the Univeristy of Georgia. Karaulic would take a 1 shot lead into Sunday, but 2nd place finisher Nicholas Stuedli would battle for the lead throughout the final round, only to fall 3 strokes short of the victory. Stuedli would close his tournament with rounds of 78-80 leaving him with a total score of 158 for the tournament. James Walton would finish in 3rd place with a two day total of 159. While Karaulic would lead his division in most birdies posted (6), Walton lead in categories of most eagles (1) and most pars (19). Karaulic and Stuedi would both tie for second with most pars made (17) in the Boys 11-14 Division.
The Girls 15-18 Division was won by Alissa Yang of Norcross, GA with a two day total of 155. Yang would lead wire to wire for a five shot victory on the University of Georgia Golf Course. Yang would open her event with a 79 in extremely difficult scoring conditions. With better weather conditions in the final round, Yang managed to improve her score by 3 strokes, shooting a 76. Yang explained that her ball striking and good putting allowed her to post such a good score on Sunday. Yang’s 79 on Saturday gave her a 2 shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. Afterwards, Yang stated that she kept the same mindset on Sunday to hit fairways and greens and give herself good chances to make par or birdie. Jordyn Sims finished 2nd with a two day total of 160. Sims bounced back on Sunday improving by 2 shots with a 79 to take home the silver. Yang would lead the Girls 15-18 Division with most birdies (5) and most pars (18) made. Third place finisher Jenny Bae tried to make a late comeback, but fell short of the victory shooting rounds of 83-78, leaving her with a two day total of 161.
Tess Davenport became the victor of the Girls 11-14 Division. Davenport played through tough weather conditions in Saturday’s round posting a score of 88. Better weather on Sunday proved to be helpful for all players in the Girls 11-14 Division. Leading her division going into the final round, Davenport improved her first round score by 8 strokes, sealing the victory in the Girls 11-14 Division. Second place finisher Liza Eubanks battled for the win but fell short after posting scores of 89-84, leaving her with a total of 173. Davenport finished with a total of 168 for both rounds. Davenport led the tournament in birdies and pars with total of 4 birdies and 14 pars for the tournament. This is Davenport’s first win with HJGT. Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18 Division: 6, 779 Girls 15-18 Division: 5, 744 Boys 11-14 Division: 6,232 Girls 11-14 Division: 5,187 Weather: Saturday: Low 35. High 51. Mostly sunny. Winds 15-25 mph. Sunday: Low 33. High 58. Sunny skies. Winds 4-8 mph. 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 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, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, 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 infor@hjgt.org. Experience #TheHurricaneDifference