Crews wins it all
Casasus comes from behind to win
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (October 21) – For the second week in a row the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to South Carolina to host the Loudmouth Golf Junior Open at Patriots Point. This weekend the tournament was held at Patriots Point Links in Mount Pleasant, otherwise known as the home of the College of Charleston. With over 60 junior golfers from Georgia, New York, South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and internationally from Malaysia, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Chile, and Nigeria, the competition level remained high all throughout the two day event. Although there were threats of inclement weather in the days leading up to the tournament, the sun remained a constant throughout the two days with weather staying in the mid to high 70′s. The Boys 15-18 Division champion was Josh Crews of Albany, Georgia. Crews, who shot a two day total of 144 (E), narrowly escaped with the victory winning by only one stroke. Crews seemed a lock to win his division midway through the second round, however, a spell of three bogeys on the 15th, 16th, and 17th holes gave his competitors a shot to overcome his 4 stroke lead late in the second day. On the 17th hole, which was an island green, Crews first shot landed short in the hazard, however, Crews was able to recover with a chip shot out of the hazard to control the damage and only allow a bogey. Because of Crews three consecutive bogeys, Arthur Griffin of Lake Placid, New York was tied with Crews going into the last hole. Griffin, who had started the day earlier than Crews, sunk a par shot on the 18th hole and only needed Crews to par the 18th hole to force a playoff. Knowing he could win the tournament with a birdie though, Crews snapped his spell of 3 bogey’s by hitting a birdie on the 18th hole to become the outright champion. Griffin, who attends the Junior Players Golf Academy, finished tied for second with Ryan Carpenter of Aiken, SC, who also shot a total of 145 (+1). It wasn’t until the 18th hole that Carpenter earned a tie for second by sinking a birdie, otherwise he would have been the third place finisher. In addition to earning the top three spots in their division, Carpenter, Griffin, and Crews won the Par 3, Par 4, and Par 5 Performance Challenges respectively with averages of 2.88, 4.00, and 4.25. In the Boys 11-14 Division, Zak Butt of Summerville, SC came out on top. Butt, who won his fourth tournament of the year, shot a total score of 141 and was 3 under par. Butt began his second day of play with a bogey due most likely to the strong winds earlier on in the day. After struggling through the first hole, however, Butt regained his form and fired four birdies and only one bogey. Butt’s consistent play kept him atop the leaderboard throughout the tournament, however, not far behind him was his second day playing partner Jamie Wilson of Mount Pleasant, SC. Wilson birdied a long par 5 4th hole on the second day, which brought him within one stroke of Butt through the fourth hole. Butt responded nicely to the increased pressure, however, as he regained his two stroke lead after sinking a challenging par 5 sixth hole with a green surrounded by sand traps. Although Wilson kept it close throughout the front nine, Butt pulled away after sinking a birdie on eleven and getting lucky when both he and Wilson fired bogeys on the 14th hole. Butt truly sealed the deal on the island green 17th hole by sinking a birdie, which only two other competitors in his division were able to do on the second day. In addition to his first place finish, Butt was also able to win the Par 3 and Par 4 performance challenges with averages of 3.00 and 3.85 respectively while Kyle Spencer of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina won the Par 5 Performance Challenge with an average of 4.62. Coming in third for this division was Kohler Karavan of Myrtle Beach, SC, who had a two day total of 150 (+6). Winning the Girls 15-18 Division was Tere Casasus of Spain. Casasus, who also attends the Junior Players Golf Academy, overcame her one stroke deficit after the first day to finish with a total of 156 (+12). Casasus struggled early on in her second round of play firing three bogeys in her first five holes. In response to her early struggles, however, Casasus, settled down nicely by sinking three par shots on holes 6-8 and one birdie on the challenging 9th hole. Through the first nine holes in fact, Casasus was four strokes behind her second day playing partner Katie Plummer of Buford, Georgia. Plummer, who recently returned to action following a knee injury, shot at one under par through the first 9 holes, and had a commanding four stroke lead heading into the back nine. Plummer, however, was unable to hold her lead as she struggled with the wind and the numerous hazards lining the back nine holes. Casasus fired 6 par shots in her back nine, while Plummer hit a slump of 4 consecutive bogeys and was only able to sink 3 par shots after she birdied the long ninth hole. In the end Casasus won by one stroke, while Plummer finished with a total score of 157 (+13). For this division, Casasus also sunk the most pars of all the competitors and won the Par 3 Performance Challenge (3.00 Average), while Plummer won the Par 4 Performance Challenge (4.30 Average). Rounding out the top 3 for this division was Isidora Quevedo of Chile, who was also paired with Casasus and Plummer on the second day of play. In her two days of play, Quevedo shot a total of 159 (+17), which earned her her 3rd top 3 finish in her last 3 tournaments played. Weather: Saturday: Temperature in the mid to high 70’s, sunny skies Sunday: Temperature in the mid to high 70’s, sunny skies, 20 mph winds in the morning Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18 Division: 6880 Boys 11-14 Division: 6223 Girls 15-18 Division: 5854 Tournament Awards:Boys 15-18 Division
EFX Birdie Challenge: Ryan Carpenter Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Arthur Griffin Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Josh Crews Girls 15-18 Division EFX Birdie Challenge: Tere Casasus Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Katie Plummer Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Anita Uwadia Boys 11-14 Division EFX Birdie Challenge: Zak Butt Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Zak Butt Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Kyle Spencer 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, with stops in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.