Oh tallies eight day two birdies to come away with two shot victory
Liu dominates field by shooting two under par for the tournament
Oldsmar, FL (February 24, 2013)- The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Oldsmar, Florida this past weekend for the Major Championship at East Lake Woodlands. This was the first major championship of the year and therefore was the first tournament in which players were allowed to use caddies. The tournament was hosted by the East Lake Woodlands Golf Course and was played on their beautiful south course. The first day of the tournament came with some of the nicest weather that our golfers have seen this year. Temperatures rose into the eighties and there was nary a cloud in the sky all day. Sunday was a bit more precarious with rain on the horizon all day. The rain, however, was brief and light which led to some very playable conditions for the players. This tournament, as with all of our tournaments was ranked by the Junior Golf Scoreboard. Winners of the boy’s and girl’s 15-18 age divisions received four performance stars for the AJGA which will provide an exemption into one of their events. The winner of the boy’s 11-14 age division and the top five finishers in the boy’s 15-18 age division all received one performance star for the AJGA. Winners of both boy’s divisions and the girl’s 15-18 division received an exemption for a Florida Junior Tour event. Winners of all four divisions will receive an automatic bid into the 2013 HJGT Tour Championship. Finally, because this was a major championship top twenty finishers instead of the usual top ten in all divisions will receive points towards the 2013 Hurricane Cup and 2013 All-HJGT teams.
Minho Oh won the boy’s 15-18 age division after an extremely impressive day two 67. Oh shot a first day score of 76 for an overall one under par for the tournament. Oh led all competitors with nine birdies over the two day tournament including an incredible eight on day two. Oh did a lot of this damage on the par four holes where he bested the rest of the field with a 4.0 average. Eric Park finished in second place for the tournament after shooting an overall one over par. Park shot a 74 on day one before following that up with an impressive 71 on Sunday. Park’s score included one eagle and six birdies. Michael Mattiace and Andrew Alligood tied for third place finishing two over par. Mattiace shot a 72-74 and Alligood shot a 74-72. Alligood had the second most pars for the tournament and Mattiace had one of four eagles on the weekend.
Mika Liu won the girl’s 15-18 age division. Liu was one of only two competitors from all four divisions to post a weekend score that was under par. Liu led in almost every major category in her division. This included the most birdies with seven and best par three and par five performance with averages of 2.75 and 4.50 respectively. Qihao Zhao and Claire Hodges tied for second place with an overall score of four over par. Both were extremely consistent over the two days with Zhao scoring 73-75 and Hodges scoring 74-74. Hodges led the field with 27 pars. Zhao was most impressive on par fours where she led the field with a 4.10 average.
The boy’s 11-14 age division was perhaps the most exciting division of the weekend. Robby Eisch and Evan Sun finished in a tie for first place after 36 holes and had to go to a sudden death playoff. This playoff turned into four holes with Eisch winning on the fourth hole with his birdie besting Sun’s par. Both players shot a 77-74 leading to the aforementioned playoff. Eisch led in pars for the tournament with 22 and Sun was not far behind finishing with 20. Coming in third place for the tournament was Harry Brenner who shot a ten over par for the tournament including perhaps the most exciting hole of the weekend with an ace on the par three eighth hole.
Alyssa Lamoureux ran away from the competition in the girl’s 11-14 age division finishing twelve shots up on the rest of the field. Lamoureux was extremely consistent over the two days shooting a 73-74. Lamoureux finished with six more pars than any other girl in her division. Madison Heideman took home second place by shooting a solid 76 on day one before falling slightly back to an 83 on day two. Ashley Zagers and Sabrina Hoskins tied for third place for the tournament. The third place for Hoskins continues on her impressive string of top three finishes. Weather: Saturday: Sunny, high 70s to low 80s, winds around 5 mph Sunday: Partly Cloudy, Light Rain, high 60s to mid 70s, winds up to 10 mph Tournament Yardages: Boy’s 15-18 division: 6,712 Boys’ 11-14 division: 6,362 Girl’s 15-18 division: 5,812 Girl’s 11-14 division: 5,389 Tournament Awards:EFX Birdie Challenge:
Boy’s 15-18 division: Minho Oh Boy’s 11-14 division: Jake Bayer, Matt Zloto Girl’s 15-18 division: Mika Liu Girl’s 11-14 division: Paige Lee Garris, Sabrina Hoskins, Madison Heideman, Alyssa Lamoureux 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.