South Claims Junior Florida Cup Victory for the First Time
The South Team finally prevails to claim the 8th Junior Florida Cup at Bent Pine Golf Club in Vero Beach, earning 20 1/2 points to the North Team’s 11 ½ points on July 29-30. This marks the first time the South Team has won the cup ending the North’s winning streak of six consecutive victories.
After the first day of the Junior Florida Cup, the South Team built a commanding five point lead securing 10 1/2 points to the North’s 5 1/2. After the morning four-ball matches, the South took an early lead earning 5 points with wins from the teams of: Jordan Miller/Philip Knowles, Jalen Ledger/Stefano Butti, Ramsey Touchberry/Tyler Strafaci, Jamie Freedman/Lucy Robson, and Zachary Smith/Anthony Gabriele. In the afternoon round of mixed foursomes, the South Team expanded their lead earning 5 ½ points to the North’s 2 1/2. The teams of Philip Knowles/Kendall Griffin and Jack Tianyi Cen/Ramsey Touchberry, won their matches in convincing fashion by margins of 7 & 6 and 4 & 3 respectively.
On the final day of singles matches, the South Team continued their dominance earning 10 points for a team total of 20 1/2 points to win the cup. The South team earned victories from: Philip Knowles, Kendall Griffin, Emma Bradley, Zachary Smith, Jalen Ledger, Ramsey Touchberry, Kaely Krayeski, Jamie Freedman and David Giandomenico. Jordan Miller and Tyler Strafaci also earned half points on Tuesday. Knowles, Touchberry and Smith all went 3-0 for the South team as Ledger and Miller went 2-0-1 for the tournament.
The North team was represented by: Morgan Baxendale, Ashley Bowman, Luis Gagne, Amanda Gartrell, Austin Hitt, Ben Huizinga, Jacob Huizinga, Summer Moser, Brock Ochsenteiter, Anthony Quintessenza, Kevin Reilly, Latanna Stone, Henry Westmoreland, William Wrigley, Matt Young and Ashley Zagers.
The South featured: Emma Bradley, Stefano Butti, Jamie Freedman, Anthony Gabriele, David Giandomenico, Kendall Griffin, Kaeli Jones, Phillip Knowles, Kaely Krayeski, Jalen Ledger, Jordan Miller, Lucy Robson, Zachary Smith, Tyler Strafaci, Jack Tianyi Cen and Ramsey Touchberry.
The Junior Florida Cup matches 16 players from the North against 16 players from the South in a Ryder Cup format. Each team consists of 10 boys and 6 girls selected mostly from the Florida Junior Tour (FJT) points list. The first morning, each boy and girl is paired with a partner to compete in a four-ball match. In the afternoon round, the boys and girls are paired together to play mixed-foursomes matches. The final day each player competes in a singles match against a player from the opposing team. Points are awarded to each match similarly to the Ryder Cup to determine the winning team. Last year, the North team claimed the 7th Junior Florida Cup earning 21 points to the South team’s 11 points.
players may select who they would like to play against in the following day's singles matches - something that always provides for some entertaining moments! And just like the Ryder Cup, the final day concludes with singles matches followed by the trophy presentation. For those who are invited, it is a can't miss opportunity!
Teams
