The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to south to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to host the Low Country Junior Shootout. The tournament was held at the Dolphin Head Golf Club, which held amazing playing conditions and beautiful weather. It was an overall perfect environment for the players, spectators, and staff to partake in. The tournament had a huge turnout of players from the Greg Norman and AJGA academies. The tournament had Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings at stake, and winners in each division received an exemption into the 2015 Tour Championship December 5-6 with top 10 finishers receiving points towards year end honors including ALL HJGT teams, and the Hurricane Cup. This week also had Tarheel Youth Golf Association Points and South Carolina Junior Golf Association Heritage Points available.
The winner of the boys 15-18 division was Gonzalo Pan De Soraluce, from Madrid, Spain. Soraluce had a long task ahead of him after round one being four strokes off the lead Soraluce had a mission in mind and that was to take home the first place trophy. He did so by shooting an impressive 71 on Sunday’s round. He finished with a weekend total of 146, with a winning birdie on 18. Soraluce led the group in pars or better with 30 over the weekend. Christian Garruppo, from Pottersville, New Jersey, finished second, just one stroke behind Soraluce. Garruppo was the leader after round one with a score of 71. The success to his game was his ability to go 19 holes without a bogey, leading the group. With a two-day total of 148, Michael Lubrani, from Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, and Travis Mancill, from Hilton Head, South Carolina, tied for third place. Mancill shot just one-over par on Sunday, while Lubrani shot even par on Sunday’s round. Mancill led the group in birdies with 8.
Jonathan Griz, from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, took home the first place trophy in the boys 13-14 division. He had a substantial lead after round one with a score of one-under par. He ended the weekend with a two-day total of 147. Griz had 4 birdies and 26 pars over the weekend. An awesome performance like this was expected from Griz,, playing on his home course. Caden Edwards, also from Hilton Head Island, finished second. He tied Griz’s performance on Sunday’s round, but couldn’t match Griz’s first round score. Edwards shot the most birdies out of his group with five. Edwards’ strength was the front nine, where he captured all five birdies. Max Green, another Hilton Head Island native, tied Keegan Vaugh, from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for third place. They had a two-day total of 162. Vaugh was clutch in his ability to grab his only two birdies on holes 15 and 18 of the last round, to put him in contention for third. Green captured 21 pars over the weekend.
The girls 15-18 division had a close finish. Yuki Nakayama, from Kawasakishi, topped the leaderboard with a 75 on Sunday. This was thanks to her back-to-back birdies on the turn of 9 and 10. Nakayama was tied with Ankita Kedlaya, from Hilton Head, after Saturday’s round. Unfortunately for Kedlaya, she fell one stoke short of Nakayama. Six birdies over the weekend led the group from Nakayama, and Kedlaya with three. Wint Phoo Nadi Aung, also from Hilton Head, finished third with a weekend score of 154. Aung tied Kedlaya for most pars over the weekend with 24. Weather: Saturday: High 70s, Sunny, Wind 0-5 MPH Sunday: Low 70s, Cloudy, Wind 5-10 MPH Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18: 6,546 YDS Boys 13-14: 6,173 YDS Girls 15-18: 5,696 YDS 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 five age divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 13-14, Boys 11-12, 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, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For more information regarding the 2015 HJGT 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 Tyler Brecht Hurricane Junior Golf Tour 2015 Experience #TheHurricaneDifference