Kumar wins in playoff
Reece wins first tournament
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour made the trip to Tamarac, Florida when they hosted the Ft. Lauderdale Jr. Open on October 12-13. The tournament was played at the beautiful Woodmont Country Club, where the winners in the Boys 15-18, Boys 11-14, and Girls division received an exemption into a Florida Junior Tour event as well as invitation to the HJGT’s 2013 Tour Championship. In addition, winners also received a $50 gift card courtesy of Kikkor Golf. The golfers that finish inside the top ten in their respective divisions will receive points towards All-HJGT teams, state teams, and the inaugural team event, The Hurricane Cup, held at Sea Island Golf Club.
In the boys 15-18 division the first round was dominated by Sachin Kumar from Port St. Lucie, FL with five birdie, four on his first nine to shoot a 32. Hiroyoshi Minikawa from Port St. Lucie, FL was solid all day with three birdies on the front to finish with an even par 72. Eero Peltoniemi, who was on vacation in Miami all the way from Finland, played well the first day with three birdies on each of the par fives to keep him in contention going into the final day. Kumar held a three shot lead going into Sunday. He started out hot, just one under on the front nine, but fell apart on the back with a triple bogey on the final hole to shoot a final round score of 75. Minikawa was once again solid all day shooting even par 72 which turned out to be the right combination to tie it after 36 holes. Kumar and Minikawa went to a playoff that started on the par five first hole. Minikawa hit a poor approach shot into the bunker, while Kumar stuck it to 10 feet. Kumar then two putted for the win. Peltomieni shot another 73 on the final day to take home the third place trophy. The EFX Birdie Challenge winners were Patrick Bolton II and Eero Peltoniemi with 8 birdies a piece. James McHugh was the Golf Pride Grips Comeback Player of the week when he improved his first round score by 11 strokes.
It was Mo Reece from Gainesville, Georgia who dominated the entire weekend for the girls division. She held a four shot lead after the first day and added another stroke on Sunday. This was Reece’s first HJGT Tournament win after missing a putt at a previous tournament. Reece had two birdies and a field best scoring average on par five holes with 5.2. Jordan Brown from Port St. Lucie, Florida tried to make a run at Reece on Sunday by shooting a 78, but came up 5 strokes short. Brown would win the EFX Birdie Challenge with four birdies for the weekend. She would also post a field best performance on par four holes with a 4.1 scoring average. The third place finisher was Julia Matzat from Parkland, Florida with rounds of 80 and 83. Matzat had three birdies and 18 pars for the weekend. The Golf Pride Grips Comeback player of the week was Jordan Brown when she improved her first rounds score of 81 by three strokes.
It was a very tight race in the boys 11-14 division. Alberto Martinez from Weston, Florida was coming off a win last week at the Florida Fall Challenge. He held a one shot lead going into Sunday after playing very well on Saturday. His par on 18 was the difference maker when second place finisher Jordan Rodriguez fished out his round with a bogey. Alberto had 5 birdies and a field best 27 pars for the weekend. He also had the field best performance on par five holes with a scoring average of 4.8. Rodriguez from Buford, Georgia was the EFX Birdie Challenge winner with 7 birdies this weekend. There was a tie for third place between Liam Bryden from Trinidad and Luka Kuraulic from Lawrenceville, Georgia with final scores of 148. Both Bryden and Kuraulic had 6 birdies for the weekend. Bryden was also the winner of the Golf Pride Grips Comeback Player of the Week when he improved his first round score by 6 strokes. Weather: Day 1: Sunny, high of 85 Day 2: Mostly cloudy, high of 85 Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18- 6859 yards Girls 15-18- 5652 yards Boys 11-14- 6222 yards EFX Birdie Challenge: Boys 15-18- Patrick Bolton II, Eero Peltoniemi Girls 15-18- Jordan Brown Boys 11-14- Jordan Rodriguez Golf Pride Grips Comeback Player of the Week: Boys 15-18- James McHugh Girls 15-18- Jordan Brown Boys 11-14- Liam Bryden 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 11-14 and Girls 15-18. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Ohio. For more information regarding Ft. Lauderdale Jr. Open, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org.