On Saturday, July 21 – Sunday, July 22, 2018, the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour hosted the LPGA Junior Open in Daytona Beach, Florida. The two-day, thirty-six-hole tournament that took place on the LPGA International- Jones Course, consisted of players from all six of our divisions including the Tiger Woods Boys 16-18 Division, Will Smith Boys 14-15 Division, Ernie Els Boys 11-13 Division, Bryson DeChambeau Boys U10 Division, Justin Timberlake Girls 14-18 Division, and the Justin Rose Girls U13 Division.
Boys 16-18
Jacob Saarela of Jacksonville, Florida captured the title in the Tiger Woods Boys 16-18 Division after completing the thirty-six holes at +1. He made 4 birdies and had a scoring average of 73. There was a three-way tie for second-place between Colin McCabe (Tampa, FL), Nick Stuedli (Charlotte, NC), and Pablito Saenz Avila (Bogota, Colombia) as they all made 111 strokes for a +3 finish.
Boys 14-15
In the Will Smith Boys 14-15 Division, Adam Vermut of Jacksonville, Florida was victorious with his +9 finish on the weekend. He led his playing field with the most birdies (4) and the lowest scoring average (77). Roy Boyd of St. Simons Island, Georgia placed second after making 119 strokes to finish at +11. Third-place finisher was Zhugang Liu of Gainesville, Florida who completed the thirty-six holes at +15.
Boys 11-13
Jon Wang of Melbourne had a successful weekend in Ernie Els Boys 11-13 Division even through the weather. Through eighteen holes, he made 71 strokes to result in a -1 finish. He led his playing field with the most birdies (2), the lowest Par 3 leaderboard (2.8), and the lowest scoring average (71). This is Jon’s first victory on tour with us this year, following his fourth-place finish earlier this month.
Girls 14-18
The Top-3 finishers in the Justin Timberlake Girls 14-18 Division all finished within 1 stroke of each other, but it was Jessie Lai of Winter Garden, Florida who walked away with the first-place trophy after completing the thirty-six holes at +1. She made 3 birdies and led her playing field with the lowest scoring average of 73. Second-place finisher was Sarah Scott of Oviedo, Florida who made 110 strokes for a +2 finish. Danielle Owens of Orlando, Florida claimed the third-place spot as her 111 strokes resulted in a +3 total on the weekend.
Girls U13
The Justin Rose Girls U13 champion of the weekend was McKenna Murphy of Sanford who completed the two-day tournament at +12. She led her playing field with the lowest Par-3 average (2.5), the most birdies (4), and the lowest scoring average (80). Second-place finisher was Haley Davis of Ocala, Florida whose 121 strokes resulted in a +13 finish. Amelia Cobb of Jacksonville placed third following her 122 strokes through the thirty-six holes to end the weekend at +14.
Boys 10 Under
It was Jeremiah Smith of Viera, Florida that walked away the champion in the Bryson DeChambeau Boys U10 Division. Due to weather, he was only able to complete eighteen holes, but made 88 strokes for a +16 finish. He led his playing field with the lowest Par-3 average (3.5) and the lowest scoring average (88). This is his second victory on tour this year and sixth Top-5 finish.
Weather
Tournament Yardages
About Hurricane Junior Golf Tour
In 2017, The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour announced a partnership with Nexus, an international hospitality and entertainment company backed by financier Joe Lewis and Tavistock Group, golfing great Tiger Woods and musician and entertainer Justin Timberlake, which will further our collective goal of growing the game of golf, broadening the Tour’s reach across the U.S. and around the world.
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2007 with the intent of providing junior golfers between the ages of 11-18, and now 10 and under, an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment. Golfers who participate on the tour will compete in one of six age divisions: Boys 16-18, Boys 14-15, Boys 11-13, Boys U10, Girls 14-18, and Girls U13. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. In 2016, we have now expanded to the west coast and cover California, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Nevada, and Oregon.
For more information regarding the 2017 HJGT Tour, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (407) 614-2962, or email info@hjgt.org.
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