Brienen uses impressive first round 72 to land third top three finish of the year
Tanquay pulls away from the field on day one and holds on for impressive victory
Royal Palm Beach, FL (March 24, 2013) – The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour ventured back to southeast Florida to host the Southeast Florida Jr. Shootout. This tournament was hosted at the Links of Madison Green in Royal Palm Beach. The course's water-laced fairways and quick greens proved to be quite the test for the junior golfers during the first round. Sunday proved to be just as difficult with high wind gusts adding another tricky element for the players to account for. This tournament was ranked by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard. The event also offered four AJGA Performance Stars to the winner of the Girls 15-18 division thanks to our newly enacted AJGA Performance Based Entry system which rewards players with stars if the field size meets certain requirements. Finally, winners in each division will receive an automatic bid into the 2013 Tour Championship.
The Boys 15-18 division was won in convincing fashion by Shanren Brienen. The Orlando native and frequent HJGT competitor shot an impressive 72 to finish the first round even par. This impressive first day left him three strokes clear of his two closest competitors. Brienen finished the second day with a 78 which left him at six over par for the tournament. These two days of strong golf secured his victory by two strokes. Brienen was the epitome of consistency, as he led the field in pars with 26 throughout the 36 holes and had a division leading pars or better percentage of 77.8%. Brienen did his most damage on par fours where he led the field with a 4.10 average. Coming in a tie for second place was Jérôme Blouin and Sean Smothers who both finished at eight over par. Blouin was most impressive on par threes where he led the division by an eighth of a stroke finishing with a 3.00 average. Blouin also had the second most pars in the division finishing with 22 over the weekend. Smothers wasn’t nearly as consistent as his competitors, but showed off his immense talent nonetheless by finishing with a division leading 10 birdies.
The Girls 15-18 Division offered 4 AJGA Performance Stars to the champion, as per the HJGT's new performance based entry system which states that there must be 12 players in the divison in order for players to receive the performance stars. The champion and AJGA Performance Star recipient, Valérie Tanguay, shot an admirable +8. Tanquay was extremely impressive on day one shooting a one over par 73 before faltering slightly on day two shooting a 79. Tanguay finished with a par or better on 69.4% of her holes and finished with a total of five birdies. Tanquay did most of her damage on par fours where she finished with a 4.20 average which was a fifth of a stroke better than any other competitor. Placing second was Katherine Gravel-Coursol who held off third place finisher Catherine Rosseau by one stroke. Both players shot 82 on day one before Gravel-Coursol bested Rosseau by shooting an 80 on Sunday to take home second place. Gravel-Courso led her division with 22 total pars. Rousseau had an impressive eagle on the 8th hole which was one of only two eagles in the division.
Clay Gibbs came out victorious in the Boys 11-14 Division, as the 13 year old rifled in a 75 and 82 to finish with a solid 13 over par. Gibbs fended off his competitors and held on to the two stroke lead which he held after round one and received 1,000 Hurricane Cup points in the process. Gibbs led his division with six birdies and averaged par on the course’s par five holes. Placing second was Honza Cernohorsky, who finished four strokes behind the leader. Cernohorsky was impressive on day one shooting a 77 which left him two shots out of the lead before falling back Sunday finishing with an 84. Cernohorsky eagled the 12th hole in the final round and averaged 3.12 on the course's par threes. Coming in third was Charlie Tang Jr. who also shot an impressive 77 on day one before shooting an 85 round two. Tang Jr. shot par or better on 55.6% of his 36 holes.
The Girls 11-14 Division was a thrilling back and forth duel. Coming out on top was Alexandra Forsterling, finishing at 12 over par. Fosterling struggled slightly on day one shooting an 81 before finishing Sunday with an extremely strong 75. Forsterling averaged a dominant 2.88 on par 3s and finished par or better on 66.7% of her holes for the tournament. Forsterling also finished with four total birdies. Paige Lee Garris came in second, and finished with a total of 12 pars and two birdies. Weather: Saturday – Sunny, low of 72 and high of 85, 20 mph winds with gusts reaching up to 30 mph Sunday- Overcast, low of 66 and high of 88, 23 mph winds. Tournament Yardages: Boys 15-18 Division: 6,866 Boys 11-14 Division: 6,293 Girls 15-18 Division: 5,851 Girls 11-14 Division: 5,224 Tournament Awards: EFX Birdie Challenge: Boys 15-18 division: Sean Smothers Boys 11-14 division: Clay Gibbs Girls 15-18 division: Océane Jacques, Valérie Tanguay Girls 11-14 Division: Alexandra Forsterling Golf Pride Grips - Most Improved: Boys 15-18 Division: Jean-Francois Robert Boys 11-14 Division: Poppy Lee Girls 15-18 Division: Noémie Paré Girls 11-14 Division: Alexandra Forsterling 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.