BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – Ken Anderson and Mingbo Jiang came from behind to secure the win, while Alyssa Mixon and Yeji Kwon won in wire-to-wire fashion. Anderson, Jiang, Mixon and Kwon hoisted FJT trophies for the first time at Brooksville Country Club.
Boys 16-18
Wilson Stringer, of Orlando, took the early lead after an impressive two under-par 70. Stringer carded four birdies on the day to post the only red number in the boys division for round one. Ken Anderson and Ryan Letterly tied for second, three strokes back, heading into the second round.
Ken Anderson, of Windermere, climbed up the leaderboard to secure his first FJT win in round two. Stringer got off to a rough start and fell to third place with a second round 79 and 149 (+5) finish. Anderson turned at even par and continued to play consistently to finish with a round two 74 for a one-stroke victory. Letterly, of Anthony, was on fire on the final nine, posting four birdies to take second place at four over-par 148.
Boys 13-15
One stroke separated the players at the top of the leaderboard after round. Melbourne native, Vlad Alexander Bercea, finished with a birdie on the 18th hole to post a 76 in first place. Mingbo Jiang and Thayne Thomas followed close behind, tied for second, at 77. Three players, Andrew Aquino, Kobe (Shengqi) Zhang, and Zi Ang (Josiah) Wang, finished two-strokes back in third.
Round two saw a tight race to the top as Jiang started the day with a birdie. Despite Bercea’s steady play, Jiang continued to play impressive golf. Jiang finished both the front-nine and back-nine at one under-par for a final round 70. Bercea fell to second place with a final round 73 while Jiang was crowned FJT champion for the first time at three over-par 147.
Girls 16-18
Residing not far from Brooksville, Alyssa Mixon, of Land O’ Lakes, started round two with a five-stroke lead over Menglu Zhu. Mixon posted a round one 82 in route to her first FJT victory.
After a second round 76, Mixon hoisted the trophy with a 17-stroke wire-to-wire victory. Pamela Cabrera, of Orlando, improved by nine strokes in round two to finish in second place, one-stroke over Zhu in third place.
Girls 13-15
The low round one score of 68 was posted by Yeji Kwon, of Las Vegas, NV, to put her in the lead by five strokes. Kwon carded four birdies on the front-nine and two birdies on the back-nine for a three under-par 68. Arenui Fanna started the first round with a birdie on hole number one to take second place at 73.
Kwon did not lose sight of the lead in her first FJT event played. Three birdies and a final round 74 secured the nine-stroke win for Kwon at two under-par, 142. Yaxuan Zheng, of Windermere, moved into a tie for second place with Youyang (Leah) Li at 151. Faana finished in fourth place after a final round 82.
