TAMPA, Fla. – Three players were crowned Junior Match Play champions on Thursday. Palmer Haynes raised the Boys (16-18) trophy at River Hills Country Club, while Kayla Bryant and Pavel Tsar took home the Girls (13-18) and Boys (13-15) wins, respectively, at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club.
This is the first FSGA championship victory for Haynes and Tsar, while Bryant takes home her second FSGA championship victory.
Boys (16-18)
Haynes defeated Joshua Pritchett, 3 and 1, in the Finals to earn the victory in the Boys (16-18) Division. Pritchett took an early lead, winning the third hole to go 1 up. Haynes won two-straight holes on Nos. 7-8 to take his first lead of the day at 2 up, but Pritchett closed the gap to 1 up on the ninth.
Haynes started the back nine by winning two of the first four holes to extend his lead to 2 up. He closed out the match on the 17th hole, winning 3 and 1.
Haynes earned the No. 5 seed after two rounds of stroke-play seeding. He won his first two matches 4 and 2, and 1 up, before defeating Jason Shwartz in 21 holes to secure a spot in the Semifinals. The Orlando native defeated the No. 1 seed, James Earle, to advance to the finals.
Pritchett, who began the championship as the No. 14 seed, ended the week with a runner-up finish.
Girls (13-18)
Bryant took home the win in the Girls (13-18) division, defeating Sabree Lefebvre, 3 and 2, in the Finals. Lefebvre took the first lead of the day on the first, but Bryant tied the match back up on the fifth. Bryant won two of her next three hole to take her first lead of the day.
Lefebvre won back a hole on the ninth to head to the back nine 1 down. Bryant, a Boca Raton native, won back-to-back holes on the 12th and 13th to take a 3-up lead. She secured the championship win on the 16th hole, winning 3 and 2.
Bryant earned the No. 2 seed with a 2-over 146 in the stroke-play seeding rounds. She began match play with a big 8-and-6 win over Vanessa Perry, adding a 3-and-2 win and 1-up victory to advance to the Finals. This is the second FSGA championship for Bryant, who captured the Futures Championship in 2018. Her Junior Match Play victory at Buckhorn comes at the site of her first Florida Junior Tour win in 2018.
Lefebvre, who earned the No. 1 seed with a 1-under 143, finished the championship with a runner-up finish
Boys (13-15)
Tsar raised the trophy in the Boys (13-15) Division, defeating Ronav Benak, 4 and 3, in the Finals. Tsar took the lead on the third hole and never let it go. The Palm Beach Gardens native took a 3-up lead, winning Nos. 5-6 to extend his lead
Benak won the ninth hole to head to the back side 2 down. Tsar won back-to-back holes on Nos. 10-11 to extend his lead to 4 up. Beank won the 12th hole, but Tsar took the 15th with a birdie to capture the 4-and-3 win and the championship.
Tsar earned the No. 2 seed heading into the week, posting a 1-over 145 for the stroke-play seeding. Tsar earned a 1-up win and a 5-and-3 win in the Round of the 16 and Quarterfinals, respectively, to advance. He picked up a commanding 8-and-7 win against Vlad Alexander Bercea to punch his ticket to the finals, winning seven holes on the front side to post a 28.
Benak, who ended the week with a runner-up finish, defeated the No. 1 seed, Mykhailo Golod, in the Semifinals.
