Strafaci and Navis Victorious
The Florida Junior Tour's 16-18 division made its way to Boynton Beach this weekend to take on Quail Ridge Country Club. Round one proved to be difficult with winds of 20 MPH and gusts up to 30 MPH.
However, the wind was no match for Daniel Whelan, of Coral Springs, who fired a 3-under par 69 to give him a three-stroke lead in the boys division. Despite a double on the first hole, Whelan carded a 35-34, with five birdies and an impressive eagle on the number two handicap hole, par 5, 15. Tyler Strafaci, Gil Lanoue, Jake Holt, and Joseph Nieporte all tied for second, just three strokes back behind Whelan, with even par 72s.
In the girls division, Cynthia Navis, from Ponte Vedra Beach, led by one stroke over Alexa Hammer following round one. Hammer was fairly consistent shooting 1-over par on each nine with three birdies for the day while Navis fired a 35-38, carding birdies on 1, 7, 9, 11, and 14. Past FJT Champion, Latanna Stone, and Mary Janiga, of Wellington, were three off the lead going into the final round, posting 76s.
The final round still saw much of the same wind with gusts up to 29 MPH. Weather challenges aside, Cynthia Navis was victorious in the girls division, holding on to her lead and carding a 37-38-75, and two round total of 73-75-148. Navis started off with a double on her first hole, the par 4 number 10, but came back and birdied both 12 and 14, and later went on to birdie the par 5 number 4. Latanna Stone took home the hardware for second place with a two round total of 76-73-149, while Mary Janiga finished third with a two day total of 76-74-150, bogeying her final hole due to an unplayable, and keeping her out of second place. 
The scores were much closer in the boys division, with seven players finishing under par in their second round. Whelan finished his second round 39-34, bogeying 6, 8 and 13, but birdied holes 9, 10 and 12. Strafaci was able to card five birdies on holes 4, 7, 12, 13 and 15. After both fired two round totals of two-under par 142, Daniel Whelan and Tyler Strafaci went into a sudden death play-off. The play-off began on the first hole, a straightforward par 4 which both players were able to par. The second play-off hole proved difficult for Whelan when he hit his first and second tee shots out of bounds and conceded the match to Strafaci. Strafaci, who won this event last year, took home the first place hardware. Blake Dyer, of Saint Petersburg, who missed the play-off by one shot, carded a two round total of 73-70-143 to finish third.
