Champions Crowned at Palm Harbor
PALM COAST, Fla. - Palm Harbor Golf Club played host to the FJT Palm Harbor Open (9-12) over the weekend where Niko Gordic-Ronderos, Iris Lee, Benny Minter and Chloe Chen all walked away with titles in their respective divsions.
Boys (11-12)
Palm Harbor Golf Club proved difficult with winds gusting up to 25 mph during Sunday's final round. The Boys (11-12) division saw a very tight leaderboard coming down to the end. Niko Gordic-Ronderos emerged victorious with scores of 72-74 to finish the event at 2-over par. The Bradenton native would play steady golf over the two rounds, making 7 birdies along the way. Standing on the 18th tee with a 1-shot lead, the 2029 grad would need to convert a tough up and down from just off the green to seal the win. This victory gives Gordic-Ronderos his first FJT win in 2024 and fifth overall. Finishing only one shot behind the champion was Jay Huntley with scores of 72-75, 3-over par. Huntley would pick up his first runner-up finish this year. Rounding out the top 3 was Axel Monssoh with scores of 77-71, 4-over par. Monssoh's final round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-4, 13th hole.
Boys (9-10)
Benny Minter continues to dominate the Boys (9-10) age division picking up his fourth victory of the year at Palm Harbor. Minter played consistent throughout the weekend, firing rounds of 74-74 for a 4-over par total. The Lutz native carded 30 pars over the two rounds which led to his wire-to-wire victory. Minter entered the final round with a 4-shot lead comfortably extending that to 9 shots at the conclusion of play. Atom Zhang put together rounds of 78-79 to finish the event at 13-over par and in second place. Zhang's runner-up position would put him in the top-3 in back-to-back events on the FJT tour. Finishing in a tie for third place was the duo of Rio Buakhum and Jayden Wei at 14-over par.
Girls (11-12)
Starting the final round three shots off the lead, Iris Lee knew that she had to put together a good round on Sunday to challenge the leader. Lee would get off to a good start turning at 1-under par, and adding two more birdies along the way. The Orlando native would fire rounds of 74-70 to claim the victory at even par. Lee's final round of 2-under par would be the low round of the tournament. This win gives Lee back-to-back victories on the FJT Tour. Finishing only one shot behind Lee was Claire Yang after shooting scores of 72-73, 1-over par. Rounding out the top 3 was Lily Wachter at 2-over par with scores of 71-75.
Girls (9-10)
Chloe Chen would take a 4-shot lead in the final round after opening up with a brilliant round of 1-under par, 71. Chen's first round was highlighted by three birdies on the closing six holes. Chen would need a solid final round to seal her victory with Madelyn Dickerson trailing closely behind. The Winter Garden native would solidify her position at the top of the leaderboard making four birdies in the final round. Chen's two day total of 71-74, 1-over par would give her a 3-shot victory when the final putt dropped and her first FJT victory. Finishing in the runner-up position was Madelyn Dickerson with a 4-over par total. The Boca Raton native finished 3-shots back of the winner with rounds of 75-73. Joining her sister in the top-3 was Catherine Chen with scores of 77-78, 11-over par to finish in third place.
