Bercea & Hines Battle the Weather and the Field
LADY LAKE, Fla. – Dannika Hines & Vlad Alexander Bercea secure their first FJT victories of 2025. The pair were able to battle tough conditions with final round comebacks.
Boys (16-18)
A blustery Saturday led to an exciting first round. The first round saw tough playing conditions with steady winds and strong gusts. The first round leader, Will Somers fired a solid score of one-under par 71. Somers posted four birdies in windy conditions to sit atop of the leaderboard. Sitting in second place wasDarren Zhou after posting an even-par round of 72. Zhou posted three birdies in his final eleven holes in order to finish in solid position. Joshua Hess, Clipper Salmon and Avery Liu sit just two shots back and look to make a run on Sunday.
With a grim forecast for the weather on Sunday, conditions remained windy with a strong chance of storms for our final round. The first round leader Will Somers got off to an up and down start giving players the opportunity to move up the leaderboard. Vlad Alexander Bercea was on a mission shooting a three under-par, 33, on his outward nine. After carding eight birdies during the two rounds, Bercea was able to claim the title with a one-stroke victory. Joshua Hess moved up one spot to finish solo second after a solid weekend with scores of 73-72— 145. Finishing in third place was Chase Nicks who carded the low round of the day for Boys division a three under-par, 69.
Girls (16-18)
After the first round, Grace Carter sat atop the leaderboard after firing a one-over par round of 73. Carter will be looking to win her 4th title this year and her 6th since the beginning of 2024. Sitting in solo second was Elisabeth Borsheim after posting a four-over par 76. Borsheim will be looking to get off to a hot start on Sunday to move up the leaderboard and claim the victory. In a tie for third, Dannika Hines and Sabrina Smith sit just four back and will be looking to capitalize early.
Battling until the very end was Hines, Carter and Borsheim. They would go back and forth throughout the final round with Hines posting a stellar round of three-under par, 69 to become the leader in the clubhouse. Carter would birdie two of her last three holes to come up just one shot shy of forcing a playoff. Finishing in solo third was Borsheim after posting the second lowest round of the event in the Girls division with a one-under par, 71. Hines was able to wait out the final group and claim her first victory of the year in fantastic fashion.
