Major Championship at Red Tail – March 28-29, 2015
Mozingo wins in style
Kournikova cruises to victory
Bai holds off Bilings
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) traveled to Sorrento, Florida from March 28-29 for the Major Championship at Red Tail. Players battled windy conditions all weekend but were lucky to have sunny blue skies for both rounds of the tournament. Top three winners in each division received an invitation to the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational and the first place winner in each age division received an invitation to the HJGT National Championship. The Girls 15-18 Division winner received four AJGA Performance Stars and the top three received one AJGA Performance Star. The winner of the Girls 11-14 division also received one AJGA performance star. Golfweek rankings were awarded to the Boys 15-18 and Girls 15-18 divisions and all divisions were ranked by the Junior Golf Scoreboard. Additionally, the top ten finishers in each division received points towards year end honors which include state teams, ALL HJGT teams and the Hurricane Cup.
At the end of round one our Boys 15-18 Division eventual winner Corey Mozingo of Jacksonville, FL held the lead by two strokes posting a four under score with a day one total of 68(-4). Not far behind were Tom Broxup of Howie in the Hills, FL and Ryder Sutcliffe of Jupiter, FL posting day one totals of 70(-2). Sitting at even par was Linus Samuelsson of Heathrow, FL who looked to have a strong final round to climb the leader board. An eagle on the second hole of the day would give Mozingo the momentum heading into the rest of the round. After posting two more birdies on the front and going one under through the back nine, Mozingo had his eyes set on the victory. Building momentum of his own was Broxup posting two birdies on the front nine and going one under on the back nine as well. While the two created their own momentums, Sutcliffe, a member of the All HJGT team in 2014,sat behind battling the winds himself; going even through the front nine Sutcliffe would find his groove and post three birdies on the back nine to post a nine hole total of 34(-2). Day two would bring the most excitement as many of our players posted scores under par. A late push from CD Trepanier of Canada would not be enough to earn him a trophy but he did post five birdies on the day for a two day total of 144 (E). With the top two finishers paired together the round would come down to the final nine holes. Through the front nine both Mozingo and Broxup posted matching four under 32 to keep their respective positions. With the scores tight, it was time for Mozingo to shine recording three birdies on the back nine to finish the weekend with a two day total of 134 (-10). Coming in a close second despite a late push was Broxup with a two day total of 137(-7). Rounding out the podium was Samuelsson posting a two day total of 143(-1). Congratulations to all our Boys 15-18 players on a successful weekend!
The Girls 15-18 division brought some good excitement as well with our winner who was the Girls 11-14 Player of the Year in 2014, Cindy Kou of Windermere, FL posting a two day total of 142(-2). Consistency paid off for Kou as she recorded a one under score on both Saturday and Sunday. A heated battle for second place would ensue as day one co-leader Claire Hodges of Sorrento, FL Amanda Gartrell of Lakeland, FL and Erika Smith of Orlando, FL would all end the weekend tied for second place. After posting a 74(+2) on day one Gartrell came into the final day with a different mindset. Shooting even par of 72 with three birdies on the second day would not quite be enough to dethrone Kou. Consistency was the key for Smith on day two as she posted a one under score of 35 through the front nine and post one more birdie on the day to end the day at even par. Despite posting two over on the last two holes, Kou was able to hold off the late pushers from her other competitors. Congratulations to the other three ladies on an exciting battle for second place. We want to thank all of our Girls 15-18 division for a wonderful weekend of golf.
The Boys 13-14 division would be just as exciting as the rest of the divisions with three players finishing the final round under par. With just two strokes separating the three trophy winners, day two would bring a lot of excitement. Our day one leader Johnny Bai of Lake Mary, FL would hold off strong pushes from Peyton Billings of Fleming Island, FL and Tristan Galant of Howie in the Hills, FL. With two birdies on the front nine of day one, Billings would jump out to a one stroke lead over Bai. Not far behind was Galant who sat two strokes behind the front nine leader. A strong push by Bai on the back nine would ultimately land him in the top spot after day one. Round two was filled with excitement as the top two finishers both recorded eagles on the par five second hole. Despite posting four birdies a piece Bai would record just one more par than Billings to hold him off for the win. Galant would lead the day with five birdies on the round. All three finishers improved their day one score by six strokes which made for such an exciting finish. With the leaders within four strokes of each other the last few holes would be a nail biter. Birdies by Galant and Billings on the seventeenth hole would put the pressure on Bai after dropping a stroke to his other two competitors. Despite the pressure, Bai would par the eighteenth hole to finish the tournament with a two day total of 142(-2) and the first place trophy. Billings finished with a two day total of 144 (E) and the second place trophy. Rounding out the podium was Tristan Galant with a two day total of 146(+2). Thank you to all of our Boys 13-14 junior golfers for an interesting weekend of golf despite the wind conditions.
In the Girls 11-14 division, Jenny Kim of Heathrow, FL was able to hold onto her lead after day one and finish the tournament with a two day total of 154(+10) to earn herself another AJGA star on the year. Our second place finisher on the weekend was Katie You of Windermere, FL who was able to hold off our third place finisher Emily Staples of Orlando, FL by posting a two day total of 158 (+14). Staples would end the tournament with a two day total of 160 (+16). Congratulations to Susan Chen and Emily Staples for leading their division with three birdies a piece. Thank you to all our Girls 11-14 Division golfers for a great weekend of golf!
The Boys 11-12 division was a lock for Allan Kournikova of Palm Beach, FL who posted a two day total of 145 (+1) to win his second HJGT tournament of the year. Recording six birdies for the tournament was Kournikova. Placing second was Aaron Zhang of Lake Mary, FL with a two day total of 153(+9). Rounding out the division was Jake Daniel of Lithia, FL posting a two day total of 170 (+26) and shaving ten strokes off his day one score. Congratulations on all our players on a wonderful championship weekend! Day 1- Low of 60 to high of 70, Sunny, winds 15-20 MPH Day 2- Low of 55 to high of 70, Sunny, winds 10-15 MPH Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18- 6,803 yards Boys 13-14- 6,225 yards Boys 11-12- 5,649 yards Girls 15-18- 5,649 yards Girls 11-14- 5,241 yards 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 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 HJGT, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org Experience #TheHurricaneDifference