PGA National Crowns Two Major Champions
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Under the hot Florida sun, two golfers rose above the rest to claim victory in the 54-hole major on the Fazio course at PGA National. Cooper Franklin came from behind in the final round to earn a one-shot victory. Iris Lee, the youngest player in the field, won in wire-to-wire fashion in the girl’s division.
Boys (13-15) Division
On Saturday morning, our players teed off on the attackable Fazio course in their first of three rounds. At the conclusion of Saturday, eight players in the boys division finished under par. Leading them all was Maxwell Morgan, who fired a very impressive bogey-free six-under 66. In a tie for second at four-under par were Ignacio Hurtado and Noah Manly. Hurtado was propelled by five straight birdies after he made the turn while Manly had six total birdies. Samuel Ha and Eddie Gu rounded out the top five, both at three-under par.
Sunday’s round saw similar scoring conditions as our leaders got off to a hot start. Manly birdied five on his front nine and took the lead at nine-under par, up by one shot over Morgan. Both player’s struggled on the back nine, as Morgan would regain his lead. Gu remained in third place, but Cooper Franklin joined him in a tie at three-under par.
Entering Monday, only four players remained under par, so low scores were needed to get into contention. Looking to make a run at the top, Charlie Woods pushed into the top five early on Monday, with four birdies and an eagle in his first nine holes. Maxwell Morgan maintained his lead through the first nine holes, with multiple players right behind him. Coming down the stretch, the leaderboard tightened up. Cooper Franklin made a push to nine-under par, finding himself tied with Morgan. After a bogey on 18, Franklin would post a final round score of five-under 67 and cement himself at eight-under par total. After bogeying 17, Morgan would need just a par on 18 to force a playoff. However, he would lip out his par putt and Franklin would earn himself a come-from-behind victory. This marks Franklin’s second straight FJT victory and third of the year. Eddie Gu shot even-par for the second straight day to finish in third place for the tournament.
Girls (13-15) Division
On Saturday morning, Catherine Andino took the lead early after a couple of birdies on her first nine holes. Keala Richichi sat closely behind at one-under par. At the conclusion of round one, Andino sat in a tie for the lead with Iris Lee, after both shooting one-under par 71.
Our two leaders after round one continued their great play into round two. Lee shot a very impressive bogey-free 69 to take the lead by two shots at four-under par. Andino had her second straight round of 71 to be two shots back heading into our final round. Angela Yiting Wang fired the only other under-par round of the day in her division with a one-under 71. She finished the day in fourth place, one shot behind Alexandra Snyder in third.
On Monday, there was a two-way race for champion as Lee and Andino were tied at six-under par after their first nine holes. Down the stretch, Iris Lee, the youngest player in the field at just 11 years old, played consistent golf to hold on to a one-shot victory. This marks her first FJT win in the 13-15 division and her third overall in 2024. Catherine Andino finished in solo second place, followed by Alexandra Snyder in third.
