KISSIMMEE – The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour held the Orange Lake Junior Open at the Orange Lake Resort and Country Club this past weekend from August 12-13. Boys and girls traveled from all over 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.
Leading the boys 16-18 division was Julian Lombisano from San Isidro, Argentina. Lombisano did a fantastic job on the course, this was his third event of 2023 and his first win. He brought in a score of 74 in round 1 and a 75 in round 2. Lombisano ended the weekend with a final score of 149 strokes to take home the champion title. Tehorahkwaneken Albany from Kahnawake, Canada and Qishu (Daniel) Yang from Dongguan, China tied for the runner-up honors on the weekend. Albany brought in four birdies with scores of 75 for both days and Yang brought in five birdies with scores of 71 and 79. Both players ended the tournament with a scorecard of 150 strokes.
In the boys’ 14-15 division, Nicholas Kupper from Weston, MA was our first-place finisher. With a round 1 score of 80 and a round 2 score of 86 along with three birdies. Kupper ended the weekend with 166 strokes to receive his first HJGT win. Kupper is ranked within the Top 30 players of the HJGT point rankings. The runner up honors went to Cooper Welch from Orlando, FL. Welch finished the weekend with a scorecard of 185 strokes. In round 1 he brought in a score of 85 and a 100 in round 2.
Zexi Xue from Scarsdale, NY took home the first-place win in the boys 11-3 division. Xue brought in an exceptional scorecard for the weekend. With eight birdies on the weekend, he had a round 1 score of 69 and a 74 in round 2. Xue finished the weekend with a score of 143 strokes. He’s played in 16 tournaments with 14 Top 10 finishes under his belt. Ethan Nejman from Orlando, FL took home the runner up honors on the weekend. His scores of 79 and 75 gave him a final score of 154, his best score of 2023. Finishing up the top three honors was Dean Raider from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL with a total of 158 strokes for the weekend.
Qikun Jia from Kissimmee, FL played in his first HJGT tournament this past weekend and took the win in the boys under 10 division. In round 1 he brought in a score of 89 and in round 2 a score of 85. Jia ended the weekend with 174 strokes to secure his win.
In the girls 14-18 division, Shreya Suresh finished the weekend in first place. Suresh, from Winter Garden, FL is an up-and-coming player on the tour, this was her first win of 2023. Bringing in three birdies and scores of 77 and 82, ending the weekend with a total of 159 strokes. Isabella Stewart from Dublin, Ireland took home the runner up honors on the weekend with a scorecard of 160 strokes. In round 1 she brought in a score of 84 and a 76 in round 2. Finishing up the top three honors, Kelley Tu from Davenport, FL with scores of 79 and 80, totaling 169 strokes.
To finish off a great weekend, Natalie Nejman from Orlando, FL was crowned champion of the girls under 13 division. Nejman is a newcomer to the HJGT and brought in a great scorecard for the weekend. With two birdies, she had scores of 102 and 94, taking the win with a total of 196 strokes.