Four Crowned Champions at Palatka Golf Club
Boy's 11-12 Division
In the Boy's 11-12 division, the leaderboard was tight after the first round. Shooting a five over-par, 75, Asher Joseph found himself sitting atop the leaderboard alone with a two shot lead over Tommy Tyler, of Venice. With four players within four shots of the lead, Sunday's final round was going to be a race to the finish. On Sunday, Asher backed up his first round 75 with a seven over-par, 77. Tommy Tyler, after shooting a 77 in Saturday's first round went on to improve his score by two, shooting a 75 on Sunday. Therefore, after the 36 holes, it was Tommy Tyler who joined Asher Joseph at the top, forcing a playoff to determine the champion. Needing two holes to secure his victory, Tommy Tyler sunk his par putt to capture the Boy's 11-12 Division for his first FJT victory.
Boy's 9-10 Division
The Boy's 9-10 division, it was Jessy Huebner who captured the title. After finishing his first found two strokes ahead of Gavin Fleming, he used his first round momentum to keep him on top of the leaderboard at the end of the competition. Shooting the low round of his division, Huebner fired a final round, four over-par, 74 to capture his first Florida Junior Tour title. Sitting alone in second was Ronav Benak who backed up his first round 79 with an impressive four over-par 74. His five shot improvement propelled him up the leaderboard to a solo second place finish. Rounding out the top three were Gavin Fleming and Clipper Salmon.
Girl's 11-12 Division
In the Girl's 11-12 Division, it was Gloria Nip who blew away the competition with an eleven-shot victory. Firing the only round in the 70's after the first round, Gloria found herself with a nine shot lead heading into the final round after shooting a low-round of the day, 73. Sitting nine shots behind Gloria was Arenui Faana with an 82. Keeping her first round momentum, Gloria increased her first round lead to 11 strokes following the final 18 holes. After shooting a seven over-par, 77, Gloria Nip would finish with a two-day, 150 total to win by double digits. Finishing alone in second place was Arenui Faana who shot a 79 in the final round to finish with a 161 total. Rounding out the top three was Alexandra Gazzoli with consecutive 82's to finish with a 164 total.
Girl's 9-10 Division
The Girl's 9-10 Division brought the lowest score of the entire Florida Junior Tour event at Palatka Golf Club. After round one, it was Gianna Clemente who fired a four over-par, 74 to take the early lead over Morgan Rodriguez. Morgan finished the first day two strokes behind Gianna with a six over-par, 76. With the competition tight, it was truly anyone's tournament heading into the final round. After getting off to a birdie-birdie start, Gianna Clemente made the turn under-par and increased her lead over Morgan Rodriguez. However, after some mistakes on the back nine, Gianna would prevail to finish with a two over-par, 72 while Morgan finished close behind with a 73. Shooting the low tournament total of 146, Gianna Clemente would capture the Florida Junior Tour event at Palatka.
Upcoming Events
The Florida Junior Tour will head to Ocala Golf Club next month for the next FJT 9-12 event. The event will take place February 24th & 25th and entries will close February 7th.