Red-Hot Wins For Duff & Tuttle
OCALA, Fla. – Red scores highlighted the leaderboard of impressive golf at Stone Creek Golf Club. Wire-to-wire victories were won by Jason Duff and Karoline Tuttle, February 22-23.
Boys (13-18)
Jason Duff, of Elkton, played lights out over two rounds to secure a FJT Exempt victory and his first FJT win since 2017! Turning at 3-under and finishing with four other birdies, Duff took the early lead in round one by three strokes at 5-under 67. Kiko Francisco Coelho, Reggie Zhu, and Austin Cherichella tied for second at 2-under heading into the final round.
The final round came down to the last hole for an exciting finish! Cherichella and Coelho narrowed the lead after finishing the front nine with 2-under 34’s against Duff’s 36. Cherichella posted two birdies in the final nine while Coelho carded three birdies to bring the trio tied at 6-under before Duff prevailed against the pressure. A birdie on the 18th hole secured a victory for Duff with a final round 70 and 7-under 137. Cherichella and Coelho posted final rounds of 68 and 6-under 138 to finish one stroke back, tied for second.
Girls (13-18)
Records were tied by exceptional golf from champion Karoline Tuttle, of Lake Mary. Tuttle took the early lead due to six birdies and a 5-under round one 67. Izzy Pellot, who eagled the 16th hole, and Skylee Shin finished the first round right on Tuttle’s heals with 4-under 68’s.
Tuttle was untouchable with a flawless second round of 5-under. A birdie started Tuttle’s final round and with four additional birdies she claimed victory with back-to-back 67’s. Despite Pellot’s second eagle of the tournament, on the third hole, and three straight birdies on holes 14-16, she could not reach the lead. Pellot tied Shin for second place after final round 69’s and 7-under 137 total. Tuttle’s 10-under 134 tied the Girls 16-18 36-hole FJT scoring record previously set in 2007! Not only did Tuttle win by three strokes, but she finished with the lowest two-round total for the entire field by four strokes. This marks Tuttle’s first FSGA win in the new year.
