HOMESTEAD, Fla. - It was a windy south Florida weekend that included scattered rain storms throughout the final round at Redland Golf and Country Club. At the
end of the weekend, Reilly Kirwin and Kaden Latreille would prove victorious.
Boys (13-15)
As the sun rose over round one at Redland Golf and Country, the strong winds of south Florida soon followed. Pair that with small greens and our players quickly learned what a test this golf course would be. Looking to get off to a hot start, Luke MacDonald birdied his opening hole, the par-5 10th. He would falter on the difficult par-3 16th with a double bogey. However, the Canada native would bounce back immediately with a birdie on 17 and make the turn at even par. MacDonald would card two more birdies and two bogeys on his closing nine to post an even par 72 and hold the clubhouse lead. Looking to put some pressure on MacDonald were two previous FJT Champions. Kaden Latreille and Ignacio Hurtado. Both players would roll the ball great on the greens to keep them in contention. With two birdies and only a few small hiccups, Latreille would post an opening round 73, 1-over par. Hurtado would roll in five birdies during his round, but would post a 1-over 73 to sit in a tie for second with Latreille.
The final round would be full of birdies, lead changes, and even more great golf. MacDonald, Hurtado, and Latreille all started off their final rounds steady. However, Kaden Latreille would get the birdies rolling early and kept his foot on the gas. He would fire off four birdies on his opening nine to take the solo lead into the back nine. But Hurtado would counter with three birdies on holes on the back nine, adding pressure to Latreille. In the end Latreille would have a stellar back nine which consisted of three birdies of his own to post a 3-under 69 and claim a three shot victory over Hurtado. HIs 69 was the low round of the tournament.
Girls (13-15)
Merian (Darby) Yang was another player looking to get off to a hot start, which she did with a birdie on the first hole. Despite a double bogey on two, the 2027 grad remained cool on her opening nine, going out with a 2-over par 38. Yang would keep up her strong play on the back nine to fire an opening round 3-over 75. Not far behind were Qiaoyi Lyu and Xiyao Zhang. While the south Florida winds really started to pick up later in the round, it caused little stress to both these FJT veterans. Both girls were able to limit their mistakes and take advantage when they had the chance. They would each post a 6-over 78 to sit three off the lead. With rain forecasted for Sunday, it was still anybody's race.
While the final group continued their consistent play on Sunday, Reilly Kirwin, who sat four off the lead after round one, began to make a charge. The 2028 graduate from Naples birdied two of her first five holes, putting her in a great spot to catch Yang on the back nine. And she did just that. She fired a stellar round of 1-over 73 to take the clubhouse lead and force Yang to birdie the 36th hole for a playoff at 8-over par. Yang would cash in that birdie. The sudden death playoff took them back to the par-5 ninth hole. Ultimately, after sticking a 120 yard wedge shot to 8 feet, Kirwin needed just two putts to claim her first ever FJT victory.
