LADY LAKE, Fla. – It was an eventful weekend to say the least, as mother nature kept us on our toes. Saturday was filled with storms, which meant a few groups were unable to finish their first round on Saturday. Luckily Sunday's weather cooperated a little bit more, as we had a beautiful day for golf, and allowed us to finish the 36 hole event as planned.
Boys (16-18)
The first round brought fireworks as we saw 10 players under par on Saturday. After an opening bogey, William Huang carded four birdies and an eagle, to come in with the low round of the tournament 67 (-5). Lurking closely behind was first time FJT player, Gabriel Prisciandaro, and Alexander Parker, who both came in with impressive opening rounds of 69 (-3). Rounding out the Top 5, all sitting at 2 under, was Ibby Carrington, Max Colby Bendixen, & Lucas Gimenez. Round 1 was suspended due to darkness, so two groups still needed to wrap up play Sunday morning.
Round 2 was pushed back an hour due to more inclement weather, so play resumed / started at 8:30 AM. Pairing groups remained the same for the boys, since we couldn't re-pair on score, so in unorthodox fashion, Carrington went off first on Hole #1. He didn't let the early tee time phase him though, as he made his move up the leaderboard. Although the scorecard was nothing flashly, due to the windy conditions, Carrington's bogey free round of 71 (-1) was enough to move him up three spots into a tie for the lead. Meanwhile, Huang played in the second-to-last group of the day off of hole 10, and his day was a little more eventful to say the least. Huang shot an opening nine of 38 which included three birdies, three bogeys, and one double bogey. After a double bogey on Hole 2 to put him at four over on the day, he righted the ship, and played the last seven holes at three under. The great bounce back, got Huang back into a tie for first, forcing a play-off that began on Hole #1.
With both players having chances to win in the play-off, Carrington eventually came out on top after three holes, and secured his long awaited first FJT victory
Girls (16-18)
After Round 1, it looked all too much like a two player race heading into Sunday. Man Yang came out firing, and put together an opening round of 68 (-4), which included four birdies and a eagle on Hole #3. Closely behind Yang was Angela Yiting Wang, who carded the only other under par round of 70 (-2) for the girls on Saturday. Sitting five shots behind, and at one over for the tournament, was the group of Emily Storm, Haley Davis, Bradyn Smith, & Hannah Hall.
The girls were able to finish Round 1 on Saturday, so everyone was repaired based on their score. Teeing off Hole #10, Yang quickly saw her four shot lead evaporate as she carded four bogeys on her opening nine, leaving the door open for others to pounce. Hannah Hall & Hailey Davis both took advantage of the opportunity, by opening their rounds with under par front nines. Both went bogey free, but Hall was able to secure one more birdie, which loomed large at the end of the two days. Both players carded one birdie and one bogey on their back, and finished with a closing nine of 36 (E).
Angela Yiting Wang had two costly double bogeys on her closing nine, and Maggie Potash made a late charge up the leaderboard with three birdies, but ultimately Hannah Hall came out on top with a one shot victory. Despite many close finishes recently, this marked Hall's first victory since February of 2022.
The 16-18 division makes it way to Boynton Beach next week for the Golf Road Major hosted by Pine Tree Golf Club
