Two Juniors Conquer Ocala
OCALA, Fla. – Tight fairways, quick greens, and strong winds made for an exciting tournament at the Country Club of Ocala. Luke Balaskiewicz claims his first FJT victory while Marley Pedrique wins her second in as many starts.
Boys (16-18)
After brief rain showers early on in day one, the skies cleared up but brought some moderate wind gusts for our players. Through nine holes on Saturday, Nicholas Pisarski was leading the way at two-under par. Other players including AJ Hovermale, Ryo Murata, Luke Splane, and Gordon Goetz were two shots back at even-par. None of our players were able to separate from the field and build momentum as the winds continued to increase throughout the afternoon. After an opening hole double-bogey by Luke Balaskiewicz, he would play the rest of his round at three-under par and finish the day with the solo lead shooting a one-under 71. Hovermale and Goetz sat one shot back of him at even-par. Rounding out the top five after Saturday were Murata and Joshua Hess who finished at one-over par 73.
Sunday brought beautiful weather for our golfers and some better scoring conditions. Our round one leader Balaskiewicz started his day off hot with a four-under bogey-free front nine. Two other players, Victor Herrera and Anthony Monteleone, caught fire early and were two under through their first nine. Coming down the final stretch, Balaskiewicz made some costly double bogies that shrunk his lead from five shots to just one. However, a birdie on the final hole clinched his victory at three-under-par total, his first FJT win. The Jacksonville native said this about his finish, “bad shots are going to happen, you just have to move past them and hit your next shot”. Monteleone carded the round of the tournament with a five-under 67 to claim solo second place. Joshua Hess finished in third place, finishing the tournament at even par.
Girls (16-18)
Starting their day on the front nine, only two players sat under par through their first nine holes. Layla Pedrique was three-under making the turn and Victoria Lourdes Renzi was one-under through her first nine. Youyang Li aslo played well early, sitting at even par. Our solo leader through round one was Marley Pedrique, who shot even-par 72. In solo second and one shot back of the lead was Renzi who finished at one-over 73. Two players, McKenzee Sullivan and Katelyn Huber, were tied for third after rounds of four-over 76.
After Saturday played fairly tough for the girls, the course played nearly two strokes easier Sunday morning. Huber, Olivia Hasselbach, and Catherine Odom started their days out strong, playing their first nine holes in one-under par. In a tight race down the stretch, Marley Pedrique birdied her 17th hole of the day to secure her victory by three strokes. This marks her second straight FJT victory in as many starts. Huber and Renzi finished three shots behind her at four-over par for the weekend and in a tie for second. Hasselbach and Odom shot the best rounds of the day for the girls with a one-under-par 71.
