Rispler secures first place in playoff victory
Kutz defends home course in impressive victory
Lake Mary, FL (March 10, 2013) – The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour made a short trip to the Timacuan Golf and Country Club in Lake Mary, FL for the March 9-10 event. With a total field size of 114 players, the JWU Series at Timacuan displayed the largest field of the 2013 season. Contrary to the previous weekends’ tournaments the weather hovered pleasantly in the mid to high 70’s Saturday and Sunday. The event was prestigiously ranked by GolfWeek and the National Junior Golf Scoreboard. The winners from the boy’s and girl’s 15-18 age division were awarded 4 performance stars, equivalent to one exemption into an AJGA event. Each winner of the boys and girls 15-18 age division as well as the boy’s 11-14 age division were awarded exemptions into a Florida Junior Tour event. The winner in each division received an automatic invitation to the 2013 Tour Championship. Across each age division points were distributed to the top ten finishers and will amass towards year end honors which include state teams, ALL HJGT teams, and the Hurricane Cup.
The boy’s 15-18 age division was indubitably the most exhilarating of the weekend. With the lead group struggling on Sunday and the top spot up for grabs each player in contention battled it out to a tight finish. At the end of the second round Max Rispler of Alto, MI and Austin Hitt of Longwood, FL ended tied with a total of 145. Max Rispler shot consistent rounds Saturday and Sunday (73-72). With 21 pars and 7 birdies Rispler managed par or better on 77.8% of the 36 holes throughout the weekend. To secure first Rispler shot a par on hole 1 of the two man playoff to best Hitt’s bogey. Austin Hitt was a shade under Rispler with par or better on 75% of the holes. Hitt shot the most impressive round of the weekend with a 67 Sunday to score 5 under par. Hitt shot 1 eagle, 9 birdies (EFX Birdie Winner), and 17 pars. 6 of the 9 birdies came on Sunday when Hitt caught fire. Gary Daoust (148) of Apopka, FL placed in third after shooting par on Saturday. Daoust barely slid out of contention Sunday after a round of 76.
From the girl’s 15-18 age division, Alessandra Kutz of Sanford, FL won by a total of 7 strokes. Kutz confidently dominated her opponents stating “I didn’t expect to lose on my old home course of 2 years”. Kutz finished with rounds of 74-73. With 23 pars and 5 birdies, Kutz maintained a par or better percentage with 77.8%. Kutz shot best on par 5’s with an average of 4.75. Finishing in second was Michelle Yan of Bradenton, FL. Yan finished 10 over par with rounds of 73 and 81. Yan lead after round one due to an astonishing 2 eagles on the back 9. Third place was a tie between Maho Hayakawa of Mexico and Ekaterina Protasova of Moscow, Russia. Hayakawa shot 79 both rounds with an admirable par on the entire back 9 Saturday. After shooting 2 over Protasova faltered Sunday and finished the round 12 over par. Both girls finished 14 over par.
The boy’s 11-14 age division yielded the lowest two day total from all divisions. Finishing in first place was local player Anton Serafini of Lake Mary, FL who managed to shoot 71 both days. Serafini’s best scores came on the front both days with rounds of 35 and 34 which were propelled by an eagle day one and 3 birdies day two. Serafini shot par or better on 86.1% of all holes with his best efforts coming on par 5’s where he shot a 4.50 average. In second place was Christophe Stutts of Maitland, FL who shot 4 over par (72-76). Stutts led the field with 7 birdies accompanied by 19 pars. Like Serafini, Stutts performed best on par 5’s with a 4.62 average. Rounding out the top three from the 11-14 division was Albert Martinez of Weston, FL. Martinez finished 9 over after finishing Sunday with a 75. Martinez finished with 21 pars, enough for the 4th most.
The girl’s 11-14 division concluded in the second playoff finish of the weekend. Unlike the first this stretched two holes. Amy Zhang of Lake Mary, Fl and Mimi Chen of Longwood, FL were tied at 154 by the end of Sunday. Zhang defeated Chen on the second hole of the playoff to take home the highly touted first place trophy. Zhang, who resides nearby the Timacuan Golf and Country Club, was relevant in all major statistical categories. Performing best on the par 4’s Zhang managed a leading 4.20 average and a par or better percentage of 66.7%. Zhang cited she was nervous for the playoff however managed to pull off the victory in illustrious fashion. Chen, our day one leader, shot rounds of 73-81. After posting a 42 on the back 9 day two Chen looked flustered at the turn but managed a 39 on the front to defend her lead, including a highly impressive chip in birdie on hole 9 to solidify the playoff. Anne Yu, also of Lake Mary, FL pulled out third with 15 pars and 4 birdies, shooting a par or better percentage of 52.8%. Weather: Saturday – Sunny, low of 45 and high of 73, 16 mph winds with gusts reaching up to 25 mph Sunday- Sunny, low of 53 and high of 77, 22 mph winds with gusts reaching up to 29 mph Tournament Yardages: Boy’s 15-18 division: 6,859 Boys’ 11-14 division: 6,189 Girl’s 15-18 division: 5,880 Girl’s 11-14 division: 5,268 Tournament Awards: EFX Birdie Challenge:
Boy’s 15-18 division: Austin Hitt Boy’s 11-14 division: Christophe Stutts Girl’s 15-18 division: Michelle Yan Girl’s 11-14 division: Mimi Chen 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 tour will compete in one of four age divisions: Boys 15-18 Division, Boys 11-14 and Girls 15-18 Division and 11-14 Division. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the southeast as well as Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.