This week, the HJGT held the Florida Fall Challenge at Grande Pines Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. It was an absolutely fantastic two days for golf, with both Saturday and Sunday in the high 70’s and low 80’s with a cool breeze. The players began play both days with 7:30 am tee times until the final pairings went off at 9:36. Both the first and second round were successful, leading to many great reviews by parents and players. They enjoyed that we had players’ birdie holes with pink flags which results in an HJGT donation to Susan G Komen. The pink flags were put in place so that for every birdie made on those holes, the HJGT will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen as a part of our Breast Cancer Awareness initiative. This is something we are really excited and passionate about and we are helping raise awareness throughout the month of October. In regards to the tournament, the players had a lot at stake, these included Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings (JGS), American Junior Golf Association Performance Stars, and possible points that will earn each of them honors for the Hurricane Cup. Jacksonville, FL: The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) is excited to announce it’s new campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, “Drive out Breast Cancer.” The HJGT is a junior golf tour that gives junior golfers from the ages of 11-18 an opportunity to play competitive golf throughout the country. We operate in 15 states currently and had over 8,000 juniors participate in our events last year. HJGT is the first junior golf tour to get involved with Breast Cancer Awareness. The HJGT is working with Susan G. Komen and Rally for the Cure to focus on raising Breast Cancer Awareness. For the entire month of October, the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s interns and staff will volunteer their hours to hand make breast cancer awareness ribbons. The HJGT is one of the largest intern based organizations in the country. On average we have 40 students from around the country intern with us three times a year.
For the Boys 15-18 Division, Patrico Guerra out of Apopka, Florida took the field by storm with a 5 shot victory over Bryce Burke and Luke Schniederjans. Guerra, had some work to do heading into his final round after a 76 on Saturday. However, that round vanished after a bogey free -4 (68) to finish the tournament at even par. Burke, was not far behind finishing at +2 sitting two back of the lead. On the other hand, with a second round 71 (-1) Schniederjans made a good run at Burke before finishing one back of Burke at +3 overall, good for solo third. This division of boys also features this weeks most improved player. The honor goes to Brent Bradford, of Orange Park, Florida and the Saddlebrook Golf Academy. After an unsuccessful first day shooting 82 (+10), Bradford showed some serious perseverance and came back in the final round with a smooth even par 72 to finish in a tie for 13th place, talk about a comeback. Congratulations to all our winners this week.
For the Boys 11 – 14 division, Ryder Sutcliffe of Jupiter, Florida was crowned the champion with a two-day total of 138 (-6). Sutcliffe came out firing on day one with a 66 (-6) and the field would never catch up to him as he won by four strokes over Skyler Eubanks. Eubanks, was the only player that had a shot at catching Sutcliffe on Sunday after he posted even par. Sunday however, Eubanks struggled a bit and finished the second round with 76 (+4). Lorenz Poerings also placed as he took home third with an overall score of 154 (+10). It wasn’t the weekend that Poerings had in mind, but he took home some hardware and showcased that he has the game to contend for titles moving forward. Congratulations to all our winners this week.
For the Girls 15 – 18 division, Jaravee Boonchant put on a clinic with a solid performance, winning out right by 7 shots over Kanyant Saithip. Boonchant came out on Friday on fire and shot a day one 71 and that had her feeling very confident. It is that same confidence that propelled her to her victory on Sunday. Kanyant Saithip in second place and Jennifer Zhou in third strived to keep pace with Boonchant. Declan and Totland had a nice showdown for second place, but Saithip was able roll in a few more putts and clench the second place trophy with a two-day total of 153, two better than Zhou’s total of 155. Congratulations to all our winners this week.
For the Girls 11 – 14 division, Victoria Hwang out of Orlando, Florida outdueled her sister Caroline Hwang for the title and won by 3 strokes. Victoria shot a two-day total of 162 (+18) while Caroline had a 165 (+21) . This was a classic display of two siblings both not wanting to lose to one another. Caroline started the day four back of Victoria but she want going to let her sister run away with it and got as close to one of her sister before Victoria closed her out. Despite being disappointed at losing to her sister, Caroline walked away with a new set of golf pride grips to go with her second place trophy. She shares the improvement honors with Sarah Scott as they both improved their scores from day one to day two by three strokes. Congratulations to all our winners this week. Weather: Saturday – High 70’s and low 80’s, Light breeze Sunday – High 70’s and low 80’s, Light breeze 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 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, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut. For more information regarding the HJGT 2014 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.
