Four Juniors Victorious in Ocala
OCALA, Fla. – The FJT Ocala Open (9-12) was littered with low scores and drama. This impressive display of golf was showcased at Ocala Golf Club on February 15-16.
Boys 11-12
Lev Grinberg, of Boca Raton, secured the round one lead after posting a flawless 6-under 66. Ibby Carrinton, of Port Saint Lucie, fired an opening round of 2-under 70 to grab solo second place heading into Sunday's final round. Grinberg finished his bogey-free round one with six birdies.
Grinberg continued his dominance in the final round posting yet another 6-under 66. This two-day total gives him the lowest 36-hole performance in the 11-12 Division's history, 12-under 132. Grinberg's pair of 66's tie the lowest 18-hole total in the 11-12 Division as well. Needless to say, Grinberg's weekend was legendary.
Carrington had an impressive final round of 1-under 71 to claim second place. Nicolas Bencomo had the only other round in the 60's on Sunday with a 3-under 69 to boost him into third place.
Boys 9-10
Christian Koehn, of Winter Park, took the early day one lead with a 3-over 75. Jude Desmond and Nathan Drummond finished the first round in a tie for second at 5-over 77. These scores would make for a tightly packed leaderboard going into Sunday.
At the end of the second round on Sunday, it was Desmond and Koehn tied for the lead at 10-over 154. Desmond tied Koehn for the first time on the 35th hole of regulation with a birdie on the par-5 17th hole. After two pars from both players on the 18th, Desmond and Koehn pegged it on the 10th hole for some extra golf. Koehn stuck his approach to four feet and made birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the victory. This is Koehn's second FJT victory of 2020 in as many tournaments.
Girls 11-12
Kayla Bryant, of Boca Raton, came out firing on Saturday; her round of 2-under 70 was the only under-par round in her division. Bryant's solid start gave her a two-stroke lead over Kate Barber, of Savannah, Ga., who sat in second place after round one at even-par.
Sunday's final nine holes were full of lead changes and ties between Bryant and Barber. The third player in that final group, Haley Davis, made a strong fight back on her home course, but ultimately could not catch the two at the top. Bryant and Barber each finished steady to force a playoff at even-par 144. It was Kayla Bryant who finished with a bang on their first playoff hole. Bryant's 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe dropped to give her yet another victory on the Florida Junior Tour, her fourth overall.
Girls 9-10
Nicole Sardinha, of Miramar, and Fernanda Carrion, of Coral Gables, shared the first-round lead at 7-over 79. Their steady play on Saturday gave them both a four-stroke advantage over Marley Pedrique, of West Palm Beach, who is already a proven winner on the Florida Junior Tour.
Sardinha and Carrion carried their success into the final round. However, it was Sardinha's eagle on their 16th hole of the day that bolstered her to the top of the leaderboard over Carrion in a well-fought final round. Sardinha finished the event with rounds of 79-74 to edge Carrion by one stroke.
Hole-in-Ones
It is always exciting to see a hole-in-one during our tournaments, and even better when you have two in one day! Congratulations to both Nicole Sardinha and Brooks Colton on their hole-in-ones Sunday!
Nicole Sardinha struck first with an ace on her second hole of the day, the par-3 11th hole! This was Sardinha's first hole-in-one during a competition and likely not her last.
Brooks Colton followed up with an ace of his own on the par-3 eighth hole! Colton is no stranger to hole-in-ones as this makes number three in his career.
