Winter Haven, Fla. – The weekend at The Country Club of Winter Haven brought some high temperatures and low numbers, and after two rounds of golf we came out with four well deserving champions. Ethan Tak captured the Boys (16-18) division, while Alyssa Mixon took home the Girls (16-18) division. In the Boys (13-15) division, Conor Whalen took home the victory, and Wendy Wei captured the Girls (13-15) division.
Boys (16-18)
Will Browning of Orlando started the weekend out strong with a bogey free 6-under 66 during Saturday’s round. Browning gave himself a three shot lead going into Sunday, but many players were not far behind him. Jack Minutoli posted a 3-under 69 during round one to put himself in an ideal position to chase the leader on Sunday.
Ethan Tak who shot a first round 70 put together a consistent front nine on Sunday, but then fired four birdies on his back nine to earn him a 4-under 68. Browning sat one shot back of Tak going into his final hole of the tournament, but Tak ended up capturing the come-back win on Sunday.
Browning finished in second place with scores of 66-74, while Jizhou Tian took solo third with rounds of 72-71.
Girls (16-18)
Alyssa Mixon took the lead after Saturday’s round with birdies on her final two holes of the day to shoot an even par 72. Madeline Crosby birdied her final hole of the day to put her two shots behind Mixon going into the final round.
Mixon and Crosby battled it out on their front nine, with Darby Hancock not far behind. However, Mixon put together an even par back nine to outpace the competition and capture the championship title.
Crosby posted scores of 74-78 to take home second place, and Darby Hancock posted rounds of 76-78 to earn her solo third place.
Boys (13-15)
During round one, it was a tight race between Conor Whalen and Cooper Foegen. Whalen fired an even par 72 to outpace Foegen by one shot going into round two, while others sat not far behind them looking to make a run on Sunday.
Whalen started off his round with two birdies and a bogey on his front nine to extend his lead and separate himself from the pack. Whalen made all pars on his back nine to secure his six stroke victory and take home the FJT trophy.
Joshua Castellanos made his comeback in round two posting an even par 72 to earn him a second place finish. Connor Danahy takes home a solo third place finish with scores of 76-75.
Girls (13-15)
Wendy Xizhao Wei of Windemere took a commanding lead on Saturday, shooting a 3-over 75. Wei birdied her last hole of the day to give herself a five shot lead after round one. She once again got off to a great start on Sunday shooting a 2-under 34 on her front nine to give herself a commanding lead. After posting an even par back nine for the day, Wei sealed her victory by an impressive twelve shots over the field.
Aryanah Ahmad took home second place with scores of 80-77, and Dannika Hines captures third place with scores of 82-77.
