Ocala’s weather forecast for Saturday did not look promising Friday night as the players prepared their rain gear for round one. Saturday morning started with thunderstorms but fortunately the inclement weather 
ended before the first group teed off! Despite the wind gusts over 20 miles per hour, light rain, and wet conditions, the juniors posted impressive first round scores. In the boys’ division, Davis Lee, who was in the first group of the day, shot a one under-par, 71 to take the lead by one stroke. Jonathan Yaun was in second place at even-par followed by Fletcher Wunderlich and Tyler Wilkes tied for third place with a round one score of one over-par, 73.
Round two started with cooler temperatures in the morning but turned out to be a great day for golf with sunshine and a high of 75 degrees. Sunday was a day to record in FJT history! The excitement began when Fred Biondi, of Port Saint Lucie made his first ever hole-in-one on number five, the 163 yard par three! Fred used this as momentum to comeback from a five stroke deficit and capture first place with the tournament low round of three under-par, 69! His comeback tied the FJT 13-15 division record for a come from behind win! Fred did not let anything rattle him during his final nine holes and went out with a birdie on his last hole to claim his first victory in only his second FJT event with a 145 tournament total. Evan Sun, of Wesley Chapel, Fletcher Wunderlich, of Port Saint Lucie, and Jonathan Yaun, of Minneola finished one stroke behind tied for second place (146 tournament total).
Lauren Heinlein didn’t have to travel far for this FJT event as she resides in Ocala. After a first round two over-par, 74, Lauren was in first place by two strokes. Emma Zhao and Caroline Hwang tied for second place after Saturday’s round of four over-par, 76. Round two in the girls’ division seemed to mimic the results in the boys’ division when Lauren got her first ace on lucky number five! Similar to Fred, Lauren posted the tournament low in the girls’ division with the only red number, one under-par 71! Lauren finished her front nine at three under-par and played a steady back nine to finish with a tournament total 145 and four stroke win! Emma Zhao, of Windermere posted a steady second round of one over-par, 73 to finish in second place (149 tournament total). Eleven year old, Izzy M. Pellot , of Apopka rounded out third place with rounds of 79-75—154. This marks Lauren’s first victory as well as Emma and Izzy’s first finish in the top three!
The juniors have a weekend off to fully enjoy The Masters Tournament, April 9-10. The 16-18 FJT division tee it up at Duran Golf Club in Viera on April 16-17.
