Albright & Snyder Withstand the Winds at Stoneybrook West
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - This weekend the (13-15) Division of the Florida Junior Tour traveled to Stoneybrook West Golf Club where they were met by the hottest weekend up to this point in the year. Despite this, and some intense winds throughout the weekend, an impressive showcase of golf led to two deserving champions. Gatlin Albright and Alexandra Snyder blew their competition away in the final round to walk away with the trophies.
Boys (13-15)
At the conclusion of the first round, the leaderboard in the Boys’ Division was tightly packed with 8 players within three strokes of the lead. The one they would all be chasing was Andy Dai, a 2027 graduate from Bradenton. Dai was the only player in the field to shoot even-par, 72, in the first round thanks to his impressive consistency (12 pars). Three players shared a tie for second place one stroke behind the leader. Karl Stenson, a 2028 graduate from Orlando, Wick Baker, a 2028 graduate from Bristol, Tennessee, and Gatlin Albright, a 2028 graduate from Stuart, would all look to jump up the leaderboard on Sunday.
Early on in the final round, Albright would take over the solo lead thanks to an impressive stretch that saw him birdie three of his first five holes. The Stuart native would maintain a one-stroke lead with just nine holes remaining. A bogey from Albright on the par-4 10th hole would bring him back into a tie for the top spot, this time with Connor Danahy, a 2028 graduate from Orlando, who began the final round two strokes off the lead. That tie, however, would not stay for long as Albright would go on to record two-straight birdies, leading by three strokes with five holes to play. The 2028 graduate added two more birdies to end his round, ultimately securing his first-ever FJT victory by four strokes with a total score of 4-under par. Nathan Erickson, a 2027 graduate from Orlando, was the only other player in the field to record a score under par as his 4-under par, 68, was good enough to place him in second place with a tournament score of even-par. Baker, Danahy and Kaden Puranik, a 2027 graduate from Kissimmee, would all tie for third at 4-over par.
Girls (13-15)
On Saturday, three players had separated themselves from the field to share the lead heading into the final round. Sadie Goodman, a 2027 graduate from West Harrison, NY, Reese McMillan, a 2029 graduate from Jupiter, and Alexandra Snyder, a 2028 graduate from Orlando, all recorded scores of 2-over par, 74. All three players completed their final five holes of the first round at 2-under par, setting up a showdown in the final pairing of the second round.
After the first six holes in the second round, Snyder separated herself from the field with six-straight pars and held a two-stroke lead. The 2028 graduate would extend that lead to five strokes with just nine holes remaining thanks to birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. With just one bogey on her final round card, Snyder would continue on to secure a five-stroke victory wiht a tournament score of 1-over par. This marks the 2024 Junior Amateur Match Play Champion's second consecutive victory on the Florida Junior Tour. Goodman would ultimately complete her round recording a score of 3-over par, 75, to finish in second with a cumulative score of 6-over par. Qiaoyi Lyu, a 2030 graduate from Celebration, would finish in third at 7-over par.
