Panama City Beach, Fla. - Bay Point Golf Club continued to be one of the more difficult FJT stops of the year with heavy winds, but it was no match for Joseph (Ajax) LaNasa & Bella Dovhey as they claimed their first Florida Junior Tour victories.
Boys (13-18)
Challenging conditions consisting of gusting winds and tight fairways led to a difficult round one, however a few players were able to stay steady and patient. Matthew Rau took the round one lead with an even par 72. A steady start was halted by a few bogeys and a double bogey, but four birdies on the back nine got him back to be the only player to fire a round of even or better. On his tail was Wick Baker who played a solid round of one over par.
Round two came and went with multiple different players sharing the lead at one point, however it was Josh Orgen and Ajax LaNasa who came from behind to battle it out through the last few holes. With Orgen in the clubhouse at a 36-hole total of +4, LaNasa held a two shot lead on the last. After a plugged ball in the bunker led to a double bogey on the last hole of regulation, LaNasa and Orgen were headed to extra holes. LaNasa hit his approach shot to about five feet for birdie while Orgen was in the greenside bunker. Josh knew he needed to make that to have a chance. The ball took one hop, hit the flagstick, dropped in the hole and popped out. LaNasa made his birdie putt to become the champion of the Boys Division.
Girls (13-18)
The Girls Division played very similar to the way the boys did, with one player taking advantage of the difficult conditions. Nicole Sardinha, coming off of a second place finish last weekend at the FJT Stone Creek Open, continued her solid play firing a round of even par. A front nine two under par was slowed by a double bogey on the 10th, but Sardinha was able to right the ship by parring out her last eight holes.
The second round turned into a battle between two players; Nicole Sardinha and Bella Dovhey. Sardinha held a two shot lead with three holes to play over Dovhey after making three birdies in a row. However, bogeys on her last three holes canceled out the lead. Meanwhile, Dovhey got off to a hot start, playing her first four holes holes in two under. After a few blunders, she came to her last hole (the difficult 10th) needing a par to secure her first FJT victory, and she did just that.
Rounding out the podium was Madison Roach, in her last Florida Junior Tour event, giving the Naples native her best finish in an Open event.
