PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Our two winners this week conquered the tough Island Course and some harsh Sunday conditions to claim victory. William Lisle won his second straight FJT after shooting 73-75--148 and winning in a playoff on the first hole. Ann-Sophie Bourgault led wire-to-wire and shot 70-74--144 in the Girls Division to win by seven strokes.
Boys (16-18)
Saturday’s first round proved to be a tough test, as none of the players in our boy’s division were able to break par on the difficult Island course. Through nine holes of competition, a couple of players sat under par, including Lucas Gimenez and Jinquan (Justin) Wen at two-under par. Wen would get it to as low as three-under par before some costly bogeys would give him a first-round score of one-over 73. He sat tied atop the leaderboard after the first round with four other players including Gimenez, Justin Sui, Emmet Kuhlenkamp, and William Lisle.
Day two proved to be an even tougher test as players would experience high wind gusts starting before noon. Thayne Thomas made a push in round two, going two-under on his front nine to sit just two shots out of the lead. Just past the midway point on Sunday, William Lisle held a two-shot lead over two players at even par after shooting one-under through his first 10 holes. He would hold that lead two-shot lead standing on the 18th tee, but a costly double bogey forced a playoff between himself and Wen. On the first playoff hole, Lisle would make a great up-and-down for par to seal his second straight victory. Darren Zhou would finish solo third place after shooting even-par 72, the best round of the day.
Girls (16-18)
On Saturday, our eventual champion Ann-Sophie Bourgault would shoot the only under-par round of the tournament, carding an impressive two-under 70. Her three birdies and lone bogey would be good enough to take a six-shot lead over Youyang Li heading into Sunday’s final round.
Li, with two FJT victories this year and three runner-up finishes, was looking to close the gap when Sunday’s final round began. An opening birdie and a bogey by Bourgault would cut the lead to only four strokes. However, Bourgault was able to pull away the rest of the day and would wind up winning by seven strokes over second-place Li and would earn her second FJT victory of the year. Finishing in solo third place was Chloe Chang, who fired off a couple birdies in her final nine holes to claim that spot.
