Orange County National Summer Junior Open presented by Short Par 4
July 1–2, 2023
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Orange County National Golf Club
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Winter Garden, FL
WINTER GARDEN – The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour hosted the Orange County National Summer Junior Open presented by Short Par 4 at the Orange County National Golf Club from July 1-2. Boys and girls traveled from around the globe to participate in the 36-hole tournament. The event had six divisions: Boys 16-18, Boys 14-15, Boys 11-13, Boys U10, Girls 14-18 and Girls U13.
In the boys 16-18 division, Takato Imoto from Osaka, Japan was our first place finisher. Imoto had an outstanding scorecard for the weekend. With one eagle and nine birdies on the weekend, he had scores of 70 and 71. He finished off the weekend with a total of 141 strokes. This was Takato’s third event of the year and his first win. William Keiley from Jupiter, FL and Nutthachai Khamkhokgruad from Bangkok, Thailand tied for the runner up honors on the weekend. Both players were able to bring in exceptional scores of 75 and 70 totaling 145 strokes.
In the boys 14-15 division, in a tie for first place was Ethan Parish from St. Cloud, FL and Eduardo Marin from Managua, Nicaragua. Parish brought in three birdies along with scores of 75 and 72 while Marin brought in seven birdies and scores of 73 and 74. Both players finished the tournament with a total of 147 strokes. With a final score of 150, Micah Sheffer from Brownstown, IN finishes up the top three honors.
First place in the boys 11-13 division went to Ajalawich Anantasethakul from Phitsanulok, Thailand. This was Ajalawich’s first HJGT tournament, he did a fantastic job on the course. He brought in three eagles and eight birdies along with scores of 69 and 64. He was able to take the win with 133 strokes. The runner up honors went to Kyle Tongkai Zhang from Beijing, China, also playing in his first tournament with HJGT. Zhang had an even round 1 score of 72 and a 75 in round 2 totaling 147 for the weekend. Finishing up top three honors, Jack Ye from Orlando, FL with a score of 155 strokes.
Andrew Zixuan Zhang from Beijing, China was the champion of the boys under 10 division. With five birdies on the weekend, he put up scores of 77 in round 1 and an even 72 in round 2. Zhang finished the tournament with a total of 149 strokes. Hampton Hardee from Orlando, FL took home the runner up honors for the weekend. With a round 1 score of 79 and an 80 in round 2 totaling 159 strokes. This was the first tournament of the year for both players and we hope to see them on tour again soon.
Taking the lead in the girls 14-18 division was Yaxuan Zheng from ShenZhen, China. Zheng did a great job on the course this past weekend and brought in her lowest tournament score of the year. With six birdies on the weekend, she had scores of 70 and 72. She was able to take home the win with a total of 142 strokes. This was Yaxuan’s third event of the year and her second win. The runner up honors went to Maria Mercedes Tablante from Lecheria, Venezuela. Maria brought in a round 1 score of 73 and a 70 in round 2 totaling 143 strokes for the weekend. Nichapas Thawinwan from Phuket, Thailand finishes up the top three honors with scores of 74 and 72 totaling 146 strokes.
To finish off a great weekend, newcomer Alia Feng from San Francisco, CA placed first in the girls under 13 division. With three birdies on the weekend, she put up scores of 77 and 83. She was able to take her first win with a final score of 160. Vivian Cheuk kiu Kan took home the runner up honors with a round 1 score of 82 and an 80 in round 2, her final score for the weekend was 162 strokes.