On Thursday, Feb. 5, the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Royal Palm Beach, Fla., to host the South Florida Junior Open at Village Golf Club. With mixed weather in the forecast, the kids were ready to handle a variety of conditions. Weather for Saturday’s first round was humid at points, but all around we had a great day for golf. On Sunday, the field of just under 50 players dealt with cold, overcast and windy conditions, but the sun eventually came out warming everybody up. The HJGT thanks the Village Golf Club staff for allowing us to host our event at a great venue. A large field meant the girls between the ages of 14-18 received AJGA Performance Stars, while all age divisions’ top performers received Junior Golf Scoreboard ranking points. Winners in each age division received an invitation to the 2016 Tour Championship on Dec. 3-4. Top three finishers in each division were awarded exemptions into the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational at Chateau Elan on June 11-13, 2016.
Boys 16-18 Division
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Alberto Martinez[/caption] Round two of the tournament definitely proved to be a challenge, but not to our Boys 16-18 division. Alberto Martinez, of Weston, Fla., showed up as a forced to be reckoned with. Martinez impressed the field of 29 golfers by not wasting any time in grabbing the lead by shooting a three-over-par (75) after round one. Jack Perfett and Callum Brown trailed by just one and four strokes, respectively, after one round. In a tight competition, Martinez continued to play steady golf in round two with three birdies. This put him safely in first at three-over for the day and six-over for the tournament (150). This marked Martinez’ second top-three finish in 2016 on the HJGT. With four birdies in round two, Perfett finished just one behind Martinez at seven over (151), followed closely by Brown. Brown rounded out our top three at six-over for round two and 13-over for the two-day tournament.
Boys 14-15 Division
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Morgan Tournemire[/caption] Morgan Tournemire, Thomas Christensen III, and Joseph Storey provided quality entertainment during the tournament. They all fought hard for the top three spots, finishing within two strokes of each other. All three golfers played solid golf during round one, but the excitement really started during the windy second day. Floridians Morgan Tournemire and Thomas Christensen III of Delray Beach and Coral Springs, respectively, finished at a two-day total of 17-over-par 161. Storey, another Delray Beach native finished just two strokes behind at 163, but missed the playoff. The playoff between Tournemire and Christensen III only took one hole after Tournemire made par to clinch the victory.
Girls 14-18 Division
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Siyan Chan[/caption] The Girls 14-18 division also proved to be a very close competition. The three top golfers, Siyan Chan, Claire Albrecht, and Evita Wu, combined for eight birdies in rounds one and two in round two in an impressive display. At the conclusion of the tournament, Chan, a Howey in the Hills, Fla., native edged out Albrecht for a one-stroke victory. Chan finished at seven-over-par (146) for the tournament. Wu’s third place performance certainly cannot be overlooked after compiling a two day total of 148, only two strokes behind the champion. By claiming victory, Chan also took home three AJGA stars while Albrecht of Ormond Beach, Fla, and Wu of Shanghai, China, each earned one.
Girls U13 Division
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Chloe Kovelesky[/caption] Chloe Kovelesky, of Boca Raton, Fla., played solid golf throughout all weather conditions of the weekend and cruised comfortably to a six-stroke victory with a two-day total of 168. However, the race for second place was a much closer one with only three strokes dividing the second- and third-place finishers. Christiana Marcellus of Loxahatchee, Fla., shot a 30-over-par 174 to secure second place, while Frances Melendez of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., rounded out the top three with a three-day total of 177.
Weather February 6-7, 2016
Round 1: Low 59, High 78. Sunny Skies Throughout the Day, Wind 0-5 MPH
Round 2: Low 40, High 62. Cloudy Morning, Sunny Skies, Wind 15-20 MPH
Tournament Division Yardages
Boys 16-18: 6,750 Yards
Boys 14-15: 6,750 Yards
Girls 14-18: 5,774 Yards
Boys 11-13: 5,416 Yards
Girls U13: 5,071 Yards