Wang & Albert Go Wire-to-Wire at Stoneybrook West
Winter Garden, Fla. – Stoneybrook West Golf Club hosted the 16-18 division for the first time this past weekend. After being abandoned for four years, the golf course was renovated in September of 2023 and is open to play. The Florida Junior Tour traveled to just outside of Orlando to see who was up to the test of firm, undulating greens and heavy winds.
Junzhe Wang finished at six-under par total to go wire-to-wire for his first FJT victory while Team Florida member Gabriella Albert rejoined the winner’s circle for the first time since 2022 with a two-day total of one-under par.
Boys (16-18)
Round one saw difficult scoring conditions for many of the competitors. The eventual leader at the end of the day, Junzhe Wang, saw a slow start after parring the first eight and bogeying the 9th hole. However, a bogey free back nine consisting of four birdies shot him up to the top of the leaderboard. Mingbo Jiang was the closest behind him at -1 with more of a flashy round. After having three birdies, an eagle, no bogeys and two double bogeys, he was able to remain two back.
Round two began and it became a battle up until the end. Jiang and Wang were trading punches swapping leads up until the 12th hole when Wang was able to birdie four in a row (13-16) while Jiang played his last seven in one-over par. The Bradenton native won his first FJT event in 13 starts.
Girls (16-18)
The girls' division saw two Team Florida members along with a star-studded field. After round one, one of the Team Florida members held the lead. Gabriella Albert fired the round of the day with a one-over par 73 with Grace Xu and Nancy Cox nipping on her heels. Albert’s round was very front and back heavy, playing the first seven in three-under and her last three in two-under. However, doubles on 12 and 15 made it difficult to bounce back from.
The final round slowly turned into a one woman show, With Albert making only one bogey on the par-5 18th hole, a bogey free back nine helped her cruise to a five shot lead. In second place was Man Yang, who was able to move her way up the leaderboard with a final round 71. Tied with her was Grace Xu who played two consistent rounds of 75-73 to finish at +4.
