NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - As The Florida Junior Tour fall season kicks into high gear, Sugar Mill Country Club proved to
be a great test for some of the state’s best junior golfers. After the final scores were tallied, Samuel Ha and Hannah Hall were crowned Champions.
Boys (16-18)
Players looked to take advantage of the calm winds and soft conditions due to the heavy rain in the week leading up to the event. And they did just that. Samuel Ha got the flat stick hot early and often. Starting on the back nine, Ha birdied his opening hole, then would eagle the par-5 15th. He followed up with a birdie on 16 to go out with a 4-under 32. His closing nine would consist of steady ball striking and stellar wedge play. He added one birdie on hole 8 to fire a bogey-free 67. Ha looked to take a commanding lead over the field.
However, Noah Ochab looked to chip into that lead. Also starting on hole 10, Ochab birdied two of his first three holes, but dropped a shot with a bogey on 13. He bounced right back with a birdie on 15 to post a 2-under 34 on his opening nine. The Bernardsville, NJ native looked to get the front nine going strong with a birdie on the first hole. He would drop a shot on hole four, but bounced back with an eagle on 8. After another 2-under 34 on the front nine, Ochab sat just one off the lead.
Carson Whitehead, Nolan Hyatt, Wylie Inman, and Nicholas Pisarski all put themselves within striking distance at 2-under par. It looked to be anyone’s game come Sunday.
Round two came and went, and it continued to be Samuel Ha’s tournament. Ha’s rollercoaster of a round started off with back-to-back bogeys to start the round. That did not stop him from carding seven birdies total in the final round, enough to offset his five bogeys. In a pure show of dominance, Samuel Ha won by four strokes, even with bogeying two of his last three. In a tie for second, Nicholas Pisarski continued his steady play with a final round 71, while Gabriel Hull fired a final round 69 to move up six spots to second.
Girls (16-18)
The Girls Division provided great scores and a tight leaderboard after round one. After a victory and solo second in her two previous events, Hannah Hall showed no signs of slowing down in round one. Hall’s opening nine was consistent from start to finish. She carded four pars to start but would bogey the par-3 fifth hole. She got that shot back with a birdie on 7 to go out with an even par 36. After a bogey on eleven, the 2026 grad from Rockledge would show great poise and immediately made birdie on twelve. She added one more birdie and another bogey to finish at even par for the day.
We saw even more steady play from Mara King and Charlize Peterson. King went out with a 1-over 37 and looked to make up ground on the back nine. She would strike the ball well and made some big putts to finish her round at 1-over par. Competing in her first ever FJT Charlize Peterson carded a 3-over 39 on her opening nine, but made three birdies and one bogey coming in to sit tied with King at 1-over par and put herself in contention.
The shot of the day belonged to Taylor Dytkowski, who holed out from 115 yards on hole seven for an eagle two!
Round two proved to be a challenge in the girls division, with only one score being under par. That score belonged to overnight leader Hannah Hall, who fired the only under par score of the tournament. After a front nine score of three under, Hall was able to put it into cruise control to fire 71 and win by two shots. In second place Mara King fired a final round score of even, while Angelina Pacheco rounds out the podium with a third place finish.
