BELLEAIR, Fla. – Four champions were crowned at the inaugural FJT Sam Parks Open hosted by the prestigious Belleair Country Club. Alex Ogle, Aaron DeWitt, Kelly Shanahan, and Junyuan Zhang defeated tough competition to capture their respective age divisions.
Boys (16-18)
Alex Ogle won his second FJT event, after winning the 11-12 age division in 2018, in wire-to-wire fashion. A total of six birdies led to a 69 (-2) and the early lead after round one for Ogle, of Palm Harbor. Following close, one-stroke behind, was Rayan Nabilzadeh, of Winter Garden, and two-strokes back finished Brody Stevenson, Bingwen (Dylan) Ma, and Cody Williams. Round two would be a tight race to crown the champion.
Windy conditions challenged the players in round two, but that did not stop Ogle from playing steady golf. Turning at two over-par, Ogle finished the back-nine with two birdies to post an even par 71. Both Stevenson, of Saint Augustine, and Ma, of Jacksonville, carded four birdies to chase Ogle with a second round one under-par score. Ma and Stevenson could not overcome Ogle’s lead and tied for second place at one under-par 141. Ogle took home the Sam Parks trophy with an impressive two under-par 140 finish.
Boys (13-15)
The tournament low round of 68 (-3) was posted by Carson Yonge, of Orlando, to finish at the top after round one. A near flawless round, Yonge posted four birdies and one bogey to lead by two-strokes over Aaron DeWitt. DeWitt, of Winter Haven, played strong on the front-nine, turning at three-under, and finished with one under-par 70.
Momentum from round one guided DeWitt to the top during round two. Yonge fell to third place with Qi (Steven) Liu, both tied at four over-par 146. DeWitt played a consistent round, making a birdie after each bogey on the front-nine, to finish at even par in first place. Shawn Coultoff of Winter Garden, climbed up the leaderboard to second place. Coultoff shaved four strokes off of his round one score of 74 to finish at 144 (+2). DeWitt captured his second FJT win by three strokes with a red number, one under-par 141 finish.
Girls (16-18)
Consistency was key for Kelly Shanahan, of Coral Springs, who posted two rounds of 75 to take home the trophy. McKenzie Kane, of Lutz, led after round one with a 74 and fell to second place in round two. Erasing nine strokes from round one to round two, Sarah Loza, of Winter Garden, tied Kane in second place at 161. Shanahan won her first FJT event by 11 strokes with a 150 finish.
Girls (13-15)
Junyuan Zhang, of Orlando, overcame a two-stroke deficit to win her first FSGA tournament. Round one saw Gabriella Albert, of Delray Beach, in first at even par after posting two nine-hole scores of even par. Zhang finished round one with a 73 and with two birdies in round two, moved into first place. Albert finished one stroke back in second place with a 148 total. Catalina Harvey, of Palm Harbor, and Jamie Lowry, of Fort Myers, tied for third place at 161. Zhang came from behind to claim her first FJT win with a 147 total.
