The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Richmond, Virginia to host the Richmond Junior Challenge. The tournament was held at the Providence Golf Club. The course had great playing conditions with the fall just coming around. It was a beautiful scene with the leaves just beginning to change and fall. The weather was nice both rounds of the tournament with the rain stopping just in time for the first few groups to tee off. 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.
The boys 15-18 division came down to a sudden death playoff between Boyd Peete and Connor Johnson, both from Richmond, Virginia. Peete and Johnson had an overall score of 145 for the tournament. Peete led the group after the first day with a four storke lead over Johnson with even par. Johnson shot an impressive 70 on Sunday to put him in the playoffs. Peete birdied the second hole in the playoff to win the sudden death match over Johnson. Third place was a tie between Coleman Andrews, from Richmond, VA, and Tom Dzwonczyk, from North Abington Township, Pennsylvania. Both boys shot a 150 over the weekend. Andrews led the divison in most birdies with six.
The boys 13-14 division had four boys within two strokes of each other after round one. Christian Dyer, from Richmond, VA, won with a Sunday round of 79. Dyer came back from a two-stroke deficit. There was a three-way tie for second place between Thomas Otteni, Caleb DeBass, and Taylor Jefferson. Not one of the second place finishers had an edge over another. They were going back and forth on every hole over the weekend competing with one another. Dyer led the group in birdies with three.
The winner of the girls 15-18 division was Arisa Kimura, from Bethesda, Maryland. She was behind by three strokes after Saturday’s round, but shot an impressive 78 during the second round, claiming her first place trophy. Ally Stefen, from Armonk, New York, finished in second by just one stroke over third place. The strength to her weekend was her first round where she was able to use her putter to capture three birdies. Caroline Klemp, from Lansing, Kansas, and Jessica Thornton, from Virginia Beach, tied for third. Thorton shot the lowest score in the age group with a 77. Klemp knew it was a close battle for third, so she focused on her final putt and made birdie on 18 to secure her third place finish.
The girls 11-14 division featured a battle of future stars. It consisted of a very young age group. This course was great for these girls to gain experience in a tricky course, with different elevation changes and tough hole location angles. Katherine Schuster, from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, finished first. Parker Perry, from Richmond, finished second, and Paris Fieldings, from Suffolk, Virginia, grabbed the third place trophy. Schuster led the group in most birdies with two. Weather: Saturday: Low 60s, Partly Cloudy, Wind 5-10 MPH Sunday: High 60s, Cloudy, Wind 5-10 MPH Boys 15-18: 6,264 YDS Boys 13-14: 6,076 YDS Girls 15-18: 5,608 YDS Girls 11-14: 5,151 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