Season Kickoff at Woodmont
January 3-4, 2015
Woodmont Country Club, Tamarac, Florida
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) traveled to Tamarac, Florida for the opening event of the 2015 season. Players from six states across the US joined HJGT for a two-day event at Woodmont Country Club. With two days of sunny but windy weather the event played for some challenging yet impressive play. For the season opener there was plenty at stake with the winner of the Girls 15-18 division walking away with four AJGA Performance Stars. Four of the five divisions were ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS). Winners in all five divisions received an invitation to the 2015 HJGT Mid-Season Invitation and Tour Championship. The top ten finishers in each division received valuable points towards end of the year honors, state team recognition and the Hurricane Cup. Boys 15-18 Favorable conditions lead Zachary Bariso of Boca Raton, Florida, to lead the field both days. Bariso carded 4 birdies on Saturday to lead the field untouched with a -1, 71. On day two, Bariso fired a +3, 75 with twelve pars. Bariso recorded a total of six birdies to start off the 2015 season in great fashion. Finishing not far behind Bariso was Matthew Galluzzo of Plantation, FL. With consistent play, Galluzzo posted back to back rounds of +5, 77 both Saturday and Sunday. With 2 birdies, 11 pars on day one and 11 pars on day two, second place was safely secured for Galluzzo. Coming in third was Anthony Colombino of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, who created a great turn around on day two to hold down the third place position. Colombino carded rounds of +13, 85 and +7, 79 respectively. Girls 15-18 It was a quite competitive weekend in the Girls 15-18 division this past weekend. Finishing with a 153, +9, for the weekend was Amy Ding of Lexington, MA. Ding played well on the weekend with two birdies, and 23 pars. On Saturday, Ding carded a 78 and improved upon this on Sunday scoring a 75. Finishing second in the field was both Alexa Rivas of Miami, FL and Meiyi Yan of Lake Mary, FL. Rivas posted rounds of 76, +4 and 80, +8 while carding 21 pars. Yan posted rounds of 79, +7 and 77, +5 with an eagle to end her final round on the 18th hole! Boys 13-14 Playing two fantastic rounds was Taylor John McGerity of Lake Mary, Florida. McGerity finished 10 strokes ahead of his competitors on day one at +5, firing a 77 with thirteen pars on day one. McGerity played excellent back to back and on day two it lead to his victory. The day one success carried over to day two as McGerity carded a 75 with thirteen pars. With a two day total of 163 were TJ Repcyznski of Fairfax Station, Virginia and Joseph Storey of Delray Beach, Florida. Repcynski managed an awesome turn around carding an 87 on day one and an impressive 76 on day two accompanied with four birdies. Storey posted an 83 on day one and an 80 on day two to finish +19. Storey maintained 3 birdies throughout both his rounds. Girls 11-14 Leading the field for the girls 11-14 division was Sarah Beqaj of Palm Beach, Florida. Day one did not go as planned for Beqaj, but while playing in the final pairing on Sunday Beqaj persevered to improve by 9 strokes. Beqaj ended the weekend with an 83, eleven pars to secure a first place finish. Laura Lou of Miramar, Florida ended the weekend with great improvement from day one to day two. Lou carded rounds of 94 on day one and 83 on day two to improve overall by eleven strokes. Lou held fourteen pars on the weekend to secure second place. Third place was given to Lisbeth Rubin of Delray Beach, FL with rounds of 95 and 88. Rubin carded one birdie and eleven pars in her combined rounds to aid in her placement. Boys 11-12 The Season Kickoff at Woodmont truly was in favor of Boys 11-12 winner Nicklaus Staub, Staub won his 66th event as a junior. With impressive rounds of 77, +5 and 75, +3 Staub felt no pressure and firmly landed his first win of 2015. With 25 pars on the weekend, Staub held his own. Landing the second place trophy was Poppy Lee of Loxahatchee, FL. Lee had consistent rounds of 81, +9 and 80, +8. With nearly a hole in one of the par three sixteenth on day two, Lee was able to grasp hold of second place nicely. Coming in third for the division was Will Whittaker of Palm Beach Gardens, FL carding rounds of 84 and 90. Whittaker managed fourteen pars on the weekend for his first event of 2015. Weather: Day 1 - High 77, Windy Day 2 -High 80, Windy and light rainfall at times Tournament Yardage: Boys 15-18: 6839 yards Girls 15-18: 5782 yards Boys 13-14: 6215 yards Girls 11-14: 5160 yards Boys 11-12: 5782 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, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Connecticut, Mississippi, and Lousiana. 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.