New Jersey Summer Challenge
(June 29-30, 2016)
Drafting the Plan for Victory
On June 29, 2016 the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Architects Golf Club in Lopatcong, New Jersey. Beautiful weather for the entire tournament made it a wonderful event. Thank you to Architects Golf Club for allowing HJGT to host this event at their wonderful course. Five age divisions were in play this week as Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings and AJGA stars were on the line. The winner of the girls 14-18 division will receive four stars and the top three finishers will receive one star. The winner of each division will be invited to play in the national championship held in December 2016. From the first tee shot to the last putt, the golfers were very competitive throughout the 2-day tournament.
Boys 16-18 Division
Ben Pirro was the champion of the boys 16-18 division. Pirro, a Heathrow, Florida, native, shot a 74 in the first round and a 70 in the second round to finish the tournament with an overall score of 144. Trevor Kraws from Cranbury, New Jersey, and James Bao from Pennington, New Jersey, finished in a tie for second place. Kraws shot a 72 on Wednesday and a 76 on Thursday to finish the tournament with a 148. Boa also finished with a total of 148 after shooting back-to-back 74’s in each round. Pirro finished with a total of seven birdies to lead the division. Kraws led the division with an impressive 14-hole bogeyless streak. Ryan Fitzsimmons from North Haledon, New Jersey took home the Kind Bar Player of the Week for his exceptional sportsmanship throughout the tournament. All of the competitors had a great time competing against some of the best golfers in the nation on this beautiful and well-kept course.
Boys 14-15 Division
Joseph Lostumbo was the champion of the boy 14-15 division. Lustombo shot a total of 154 after shooting a 78 on the first day and a 76 on the second day. Sean Vowells and Aidan Devlin finished in a tie in second place after both shot a 161 for the tournament. Vowells out of Chatham, New Jersey came into the second round 8 strokes out of second place and was able to fight his way back after shooting a 76. Devlin from Ivanhoe, Illinois shot a 77 in the first round and an 84 in the second round. Lustumbo had a total of 19 pars to lead the division. Shushant Ramesh from Millburn, New Jersey finished the tournament with a division leading 9-hole bogeyless streak. All of the golfers showed a great deal of sportsmanship and had a great time competing against each other.
Girls 14-18 Division
Alice Hodge was the winner of the girls 14-18 division. Hodge, a Larchmont, New York native shot an 81 in the first round and a 78 in the second round to finish with a 159 overall. Garbiel Herzig, Micaela Crines, and Sarah Perine finished in a three-way tie for second place after all of them shot a 160 overall. Herzig from New York shot an 81 on Wednesday and a 79 on Thursday. Crines out of Wall, New Jersey shot an 82 in the first round and a 78 in the second round. Sarah Perine from Staten Island, New York shot a 79 and an 81 in each round respectively. Perine led the division in pars with a total of 22. Hodge averaged a score of 38 per nine holes to lead the division. All of the girls were neck-and-neck throughout the tournament and had a great time competing against each other
Boys 11-13 Division
Brian Murdock was the champion of the boys 11-13 division. Murdock who resides in Bergenfield, New Jersey shot a 93 in the first round and a 76 in the second to finish the tournament with a total score of 169. Joseph Giamanco from Middletown, New Jersey finished in second place after shooing a 113 on Wednesday and a 104 on Thursday for a total score of 217. Garo Amerkanian from Cresskill, New Jersey, shot a 114 in the first round and a 108 in the second round to finish the tournament with a 222 overall. Murdock was the division leader in pars with a total of 17. He also had a 10-hole bogeyless streak to lead the division. All of the golfers had a great time competing against each other and look forward to playing with each other again in the future.
Girls U13 Division
Muskan Mankikar was the champion of the girls U13 division. Makikar from Bridgewater, New Jersey shot a 91 in the first round and an 86 in the second to finish the tournament with an overall score of 177. Amelia Shen out of Tenafly, New Jersey shot a 104 followed by a 103 to finish the tournament with a 222. Shen had 2 birdies to lead the division in this category. Manikar had a total of 9 pars to lead the division. Both of these girls had a great time competing against each other and showed a great deal of sportsmanship throughout the 2-day tournament.
Weather June 11-12, 2016:
Round 1: Low 61, High 81, Mostly Sunny, Wind 5-10 mph
Round 2: Low 64, High 85. Mostly Sunny, Wind 10-15 mph
Tournament Division Yardages
Boys 16-18: 6,732 yards
Boys 14-15: 6,732 yards
Girls 14-18: 5,750 yards
Boys 11-13: 5,750 yards
Girls U13: 5,198 yards
About Hurricane Junior Golf Tour
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2007 with the intent of providing junior golfers between the ages of 11-18, and now 10 and under, an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment. Golfers who participate on the tour will compete in one of six age divisions: Boys 16-18, Boys 14-15, Boys 11-13, Boys U10, Girls 14-18, and Girls U13. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. In 2016, we have now expanded to the west coast and cover California, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Nevada, and Oregon. For more information regarding the 2016 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
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