Downing & Carter Earn Wire-to-Wire Wins
LADY LAKE, Fla. – After two great days of golf at Harbor Hills Country Club, Nicklaus Downing and Grace Carter prevailed over tough competition and a tight leaderboard. Both Downing and Carter added a second FJT win to their resume at Harbor Hills.
Boys 13-15
The warmer temperatures led to some red numbers on top of the leaderboard after round one. Nicklaus Downing got off to an impressive start finishing the front-nine at 3-under due to an eagle on the par-5, sixth hole, and two birdies. The Windermere native finished the day at 4-under 68 and held a two shot lead over Giancarlo Aguirre. Andy Dai lurked close behind in third place at even par heading into the second round.
Downing held onto the lead in the second round looking for his first FJT win of the year. AJ Colonna, of Barrington, RI, made his way up the leaderboard posting six birdies to finish with a 4-under 68, seven strokes better than round one. Chase Bauer and Andy Dai remained close to the top, both with four birdies, to finish tied for second with Colonna at 1-under, 143. Downing played steady golf to capture a one shot victory at Harbor Hills Country Club after finishing in second in 2023. This secured Downing’s second FJT victory.
Girls 13-15
Grace Carter and Samantha Loninger closed round one with a tie for the lead at even par. An exciting final round was in store for Sunday with Dannika Hines and Grace Xu sitting one shot off the lead with a round one score of 73.
The second round saw a strong start from Carter with back-to-back birdies on holes five and six. Finishing the ninth hole with a birdie, Carter moved into the solo lead. The Jupiter native, claimed victory with a final round 70 and 142 finish. Carter earned her second FJT victory and both wins were conquered with a 2-under finish. Sofia Macapagal started her climb up the leaderboard with a birdie on the first hole and finished with a red number, two strokes back. Dannika Hines tied Macapagal for second with a day two 1-under, 71.
