Tour Championship

Champions Crowned at Tour Championship

The top junior players in the state battled at TPC Sawgrass for the third FJT Tour Championship this weekend, December 13-14. Round one was played on the challenging Dye's Valley Course, home of the Web.com Tour Finals, followed by round two on The PLAYERS Stadium Course, home each May to the PGA Tour's PLAYERS Championship and famous Par 3 Island Green 17th!  Both courses were in excellent condition, despite the two hour frost delay each morning, making for close competition in every division.

In the boys 16-18 division Andrew Kozan, of Palm Beach, fired two rounds of 72 to capture his second Tour Championship win in a row. After round one, Samuel Uhland, of Jacksonville, took the lead with a two under-par score of 70. Following close behind Uhland was Sachin Kumar, Kyle Flexsenhar, and Kevin Slayden Jr. tied for second place with a one under-par score of 71. Kozan sat tied for fifth place after round one with an even par score. Sunday Morning’s final pairing of Uhland, Flexsenhar, and Slayden, would see all three players move backwards down the leaderboard. In one group ahead of the final group, Sachin Kumar, of Port Saint Lucie, battled closely with Kozan for first place honors. Kozan started his second round on fire with an eagle on the second hole followed by a birdie on number four. Kumar birdied hole 17 to pull even with Kozan, but a costly tee shot on 18 caused Kumar to fall behind with a bogey. Kozan hit the green in regulation on hole 18 leading to a par and one stroke victory. Kyle Flexsenhar and Gabriel Lench tied for third with a 147 tournament total.

In the girls 16-18 division Dree Fausnaugh, of Orlando, held onto the lead after round one to win by five strokes. Fausnaugh finished round one in first place with a one over-par score of 73, two strokes ahead of Emily Uhland, of Jacksonville, and Mary Janiga, of Wellington, tied for second place. On Sunday, Lauren Waidner came from behind to claim second place with a birdie on hole 16 and a second round score of two over-par. Fausnaugh never fell from the lead during round two with three birdies to finish with a second round score of 73 and tournament total 146. Uhland fell to a third place finish followed by Terese Romeo in fourth place.
  
In the boys’ 13-15 division Brandon Mancheno, of Jacksonville, and Wocheng Ye, of Lake Mary, were tied for the lead after round one, each firing two-under par 70. Manuel Girona, of Windemere, sat in second place with a one under-par round of 71. Ye faltered on Sunday with a score of 76 to finish in fourth place. Despite a slow start to the round, Mancheno managed to chip-in for birdie on number 18 to shoot a 73. Manuel Girona followed the leader closely throughout round two and birdied his last hole to tie Mancheno and force a playoff. The playoff went to the 16th hole where it was quickly ended by Mancheno’s birdie defeating Girona’s par.
 
Brittany Shin, of Cape Coral, held the lead after round one but fell to second place after round two on the difficult PLAYERS Stadium Course. Lauren Miller, of Niceville, posted a first round score of 74 to finish Saturday in second place, one stroke behind Shin. Miller finished Sunday’s round with birdies on holes 14 and 17 to score a 78. With a tournament total 152, Miller won the girls’ 13-15 division by one stroke.

This event concludes the 2014 Florida Junior Tour Season. We want to thank everyone for another great year, and can't wait to see everyone out in the new year.  2015 will kick off at The Conservatory at Hammock Beach on January 10-11.  

Click here for Full Results.
Click here for hole-by-hole scoring.

Entries Open:  Wednesday, October 22nd
Entry Deadline:  Wednesday, November 5th
16-18 & 13-15 Age Division
$495 entry fee (includes hotel) - see Field Determination Summary below
Membership is required

FJT exemptions are not used in determining the field. See the field determination policy below.

Home of THE PLAYERS Championship, birthplace of the TPC (Tournament Players Club) Network, and backdrop to the PGA TOUR headquarters, the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is perhaps the world’s most famous golf course.  THE PLAYERS Stadium Course sports one of the most recognizable and challenging holes on the PGA Tour. The notorious par-3, 17th hole, features an island green that makes or breaks many a PGA TOUR pro’s round.

Click here to visit the club's website.

Entry Fee

The entry fee of $495 includes:

• 2 night stay at the Sawgrass Marriott - $250+ value
• Tournament rounds on Dye's Valley and THE PLAYERS Stadium
• Pair of FootJoy golf shoes
• FJT tee gift

Players that reside in Duval, Clay, St. Johns, or Nassau counties can chose to be exempt from the hotel cost. On the entry form, a question will be asked if the player lives in one of the counties listed above, and if they choose not to stay at the hotel their entry fee will be reduced by $250 before it is charged internally. Since room nights at the Marriott Sawgrass are required to gain access to the Stadium courses, only players that live in the counties listed will be exempt from staying at the hotel.

Field Determination Summary

The field is determined in the following method:

1.  FJT winners from the current season. A spot will be reserved for the boy and girl winners of the events that are held after the entry deadline. If the winners decline the reserved spot then the next alternates will be accepted.

2.  All other entries are held until Wednesday, November 5th. Players are then accepted based off their standing on the FJT points lists. Approximately 69 boys and 21 girls will be accepted into the field (~42 in boys 16-18 division, 27 in the boys 13-15 division, 12 in the girls 16-18 division, and 9 in the girls 13-15 division).

3.  An alternates list will be posted to the FJT website under "Tee Times & Player Information".

Click here for further details.

The FSGA reserves the right to modify the selection process and field sizes. 

Schedule of Play

Saturday, December 13th

6:45 AM - 9:30 AM - Tournament registration (near practice range)
8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Round one tee times off the 1st and 10th tees

Sunday, December 14th

8:30 AM - 10:27 AM - Final round tee times off the 1st and 10th tees

Practice Rounds

Dye's Valley Course - Players can set-up a practice round at a special discounted rate of $65 on Dye's Valley Course plus tax which includes a cart. Practice rounds are available 12/6 to 12/12. Reservations can be made 14 days prior of the requested date by calling 904-273-3255.

A parent may play along for $120 on Dye's Valley Course

During practice rounds, players are not allowed to play multiple shots off tees or into greens. The playing of multiple shots or slow play may result in the player's removal from the course without a refund

THE PLAYERS Stadium - Due new restrictions put in effect by the PGA Tour to ensure the best possible conditions for the THE PLAYERS Championship, practice rounds are not available on the PLAYERS Stadium. Players are allowed to walk the course to study sight lines, take measurements and get familiar with the course on Thursday (12/11) and Friday (12/12) in the afternoon. Players need to make arrangements with the golf shop to walk THE PLAYERS Stadium. There is no fee to walk the course, but players must stay off the putting greens and avoid resort play.

Players may book their own practice round on THE PLAYERS Stadium by going through the "normal" channels of booking a tee time (14 days prior to date if not staying at the Marriott Sawgrass. Available tee times might be extremely limited and the junior rate is approximately $200.

Walking and Pull/Push Carts

Players must walk and carry their clubs during the competition rounds (pull/push carts are permitted). Caddies are not permitted.

Tees To Play

Tees are not selected until the tournament staff arrives on site. Tournament set-up may change, including yardages, to offset inclement weather or other course conditions (i.e. wet course conditions). Typical yardages are below:

• Boys 16-18 will play approximately 6,800 yards
• Girls 16-18 and Girls 13-15 will play approximately 5,800 yards
• Boys 13-15 will play approximately 6,600 yards

The Girls 13-15 & 16-18 divisions will play the same set of tees and the results will be combined for AJGA and ranking websites. The divisions will stay seperate for FJT purposes (FJT points, exemptions, and awards).

National Rankings

This event is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and GolfWeek.

AJGA - PBE (Performance Based Entrance)

Boys 16-18

• Champion - 8 Performance Stars
• Top 5 - 4 Performance Stars
• Top 10 - 1 Performance Star

Boys 13-15

• Champion - 2 Performance Stars
• Top 5 - 1 Performance Star

Girls 13-18

• Champion - 8 Performance Stars
• Top 3 - 4 Performance Stars
• Top 5 - 2 Performance Stars

The Girls 13-15 & 16-18 divisions will play the same set of tees and the results will be combined for AJGA and ranking websites. The divisions will stay separate for FJT purposes (FJT points, exemptions, and awards).

Spectator Carts

Spectators will be authorized to rent carts, but must follow the Spectator policies. Spectator carts will cost $25 a day, plus tax. Spectator carts may be limited, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Eligibility

Male or female amateur golfers that are members of the FJT may apply for entry. Entries are subject to rejection at any time, including during the event. The reason for rejection may include unbecoming behavior. Please see the Code of Conduct for further details.

Application Procedure

• Tournament applications must be submitted through the website with valid payment. Telephone and fax requests will not be accepted.
• Applicants must have a current FSGA/FJT membership.
• Players should read the Tournament Policies and Pace of Play policy.
• Players will receive an e-mail that their entry has been received and a second e-mail will be sent if the player is accepted into the field. As a player is not automatically confirmed into the tournament, travel arrangements should not be made until the second confirmation e-mail is received. Review Tournament Policies for further details.

Registration

Registration will be available prior to the first round. ALL players are expected to register. General tournament information, Footjoy shoes, and other tee gifts will be distributed at registration.

Tee Times & Pairings

First round tee times and pairings will be available on the website. After the completion of the first round, all competitors will be repaired by score, within their age group, for their next round. Final round pairings will be available approximately one-hour after the final score has been posted. Pairings will be available on the website, at the club, and will be sent via text message. It is the player's responsibility to be at his/her respective starting tee at least 10 minutes prior to teeing off. We recommend that you always see your tee time in black and white (in print), and if you still have questions, please contact an FSGA Official at the host facility.

Rules

USGA Rules of Golf will govern play. Review the FSGA Hard Card and Pace of Play Policy. The Notice to Players (local rules and hole locations) will be distributed on the starting tee.

Range Finders - Electronic distance measuring devices are allowed. (effective December 1st, 2012)

Music - Phones and other devices that play music should not be used at the tournament site.  Listening to music during a competitive round will generally result in disqualification under the Rules of Golf.  This is true for all types of competitions - not just FJT.

Pace of Play

The FJT uses a checkpoint pace of play policy that provides no verbal warnings throughout the round. Each group is responsible for playing under the allotted time or finishing each checkpoint hole within 15 minutes of the group ahead of them.

Pace of play will be strictly enforced with anticipated rounds to be less than 4 hours and 45 minutes. We strongly recommend that all players and parents read and understand the Pace of Play Policy.