2023 Minnesota Kickoff
LINDSTROM – The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour hosted the Minnesota Kickoff this past weekend from June 17-18 at the Chisago Lakes Golf Course. Boys and girls traveled from around the country to participate in the 36-hole tournament. The event had five divisions: Boys 16-18, Boys 14-15, Boys 11-13, Girls 14-18 and Girls U13.
boys 16-18
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Tony Kurn from Mahtomedi, MN is a newcomer to the HJGT and played in his first tournament this past weekend, he led the boys 16-18 division. With seven birdies on the weekend, Kurn brought in scores of 77 and 72. He took the win with a total of 149 strokes. With almost identical scorecards, Landon Rogala from Maple Grove, MN and Charlie Willette from Eden Prairie, MN tied for the runner up honors. Both boys put up scores of 78 in round 1 and 74 in round 2. They finished the weekend with a total of 152 strokes.
Rank
Player
Total
No. 1 Rank
Tony Kurn
+5 Total
No. 2 Rank
Landon Rogala
+8 Total
No. 3 Rank
Charlie Willette
+8 Total
No. 4 Rank
Nolan Witham
+11 Total
No. 5 Rank
Hank Detlie
+12 Total
boys 14-15
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Longtime HJGT player, Brandon Yabandith from St. Michael, MN was the first place finisher for the boys 14-15 division. Yabandith has been playing with HJGT since 2019 and has played in over 30 tournaments, not to mention he has placed in the Top 3 in over half of them. Brandon was able to take home the win this past weekend with an even score of 144 strokes. Elias Ekern from Northfield, MN played in his first HJGT tournament and placed as our runner up honors for the weekend. With four birdies on the weekend and scores of 75 and 79 totaling 154 for the weekend. With scores of 79 and 81, Owen Johnson from Duluth, MN finishes up the top three honors. He totaled 160 strokes for the weekend.
Rank
Player
Total
No. 1 Rank
Brandon Yabandith
Total
No. 2 Rank
Elias Ekern
+10 Total
No. 3 Rank
Owen Johnson
+16 Total
No. 4 Rank
Reid Barberot
+28 Total
No. 5 Rank
Duke DJ Kim
+30 Total
boys 11-13
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In his first HJGT tournament since 2022, Nicholas Melvin from Forest Lake, MN was the first place finisher in the boys 11-13 division. Nicholas did an outstanding job on the course this past weekend. With seven birdies on the weekend, his scores of 70 and 74 gave him an even total of 144. Ryder Haskins from Minnetrista, MN has played in over 15 HJGT tournaments and has placed Top 2 in most of them, this weekend was no different. Haskins took home the runner up honors with a weekend score of 153 strokes. Finishing up the top three honors was Andrew Burstad from Blaine, MN with scores of 81 and 79 totaling 160 strokes.
Rank
Player
Total
No. 1 Rank
Nicholas Melvin
Total
No. 2 Rank
Ryder Haskins
+9 Total
No. 3 Rank
Andrew Burstad
+16 Total
No. 4 Rank
Dylan Hughes
+19 Total
girls 14-18
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First place in the girls 14-18 division went to Abigail Smith from Port Saint Lucie, FL. Smith brought in a fantastic scorecard. With four birdies on the weekend, she brought in scores of 76 for round 1 and 79 in round 2. Abigail took the win with 155 strokes, this was her first HJGT tournament win. She currently holds 3rd place in HJGT point rankings. The runner up honors went to Lauren Chambs from Plymouth, MN. Chambs scores of 83 and 78 gave her a weekend total of 161. Finishing up top three honors, Carolina Cultu from Edina, MN brought in a total of 186 strokes.
Rank
Player
Total
No. 1 Rank
Abigail Smith
+11 Total
No. 2 Rank
Lauren Chambs
+17 Total
No. 3 Rank
Carolina Cultu
+42 Total
No. 4 Rank
Peyton Zipperer
+53 Total
girls 13 & under
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To finish off a great weekend, Ella Souli from Ostego, MN was the girls under 13 division champion. This was Ella’s third first place win since joining HJGT in 2022. With scores of 84 and 85 her weekend total was 169 strokes.
Rank
Player
Total
No. 1 Rank
Ella Souli
+25 Total