The 16-18 age division visited Northeast Florida for the final Florida Junior Tour event before the year end Tour Championship. The Oak Marsh course at Amelia Island Plantation was in fantastic condition which would have resulted in some great scores, but Mother Nature had other plans.
Round one was filled with clouds and gusting winds that left players spinning. It was a true test of mental and physical toughness for the juniors. Somehow, one player was able to tame the winds and take a commanding round one lead. Brandon Mancheno's 3-under par 69 gave him a 6 shot lead over Fletcher Wunderlich heading in to Sunday. In the girls' division, Siyan Chen set the pace with a 3-over par 75. She led by one over Jenny Kim, Lauren Miller, and Ramya Meenakshisundaram.
The winds slowed down a bit for Sunday's final round as the average score for the field went down by two strokes. Entering the day with a six shot lead, Brandon Mancheno played it safe on Sunday finding fairways and aiming for the center of the greens en route to a 74 and a tournament total of one-under par 143. Fletcher Wunderlich gave it his all, but a 68 was not in the cards. His even par 72 would be good for second place. Prescott Butler rounded out the top three with a 76-72--148.
In the girls' division, there was no stopping 15-year-old Siyan Chen. A final round 73 (a tournament low for the girls) was good for a three stroke victory. This was Siyan's second Florida Junior Tour victory in the 16-18 division this Fall. Jenny Kim finished in a hard fought second place with Lauren Miller taking third.
Next up is the Tour Championship at Adena Golf & Country Club on December 10-11, 2016. Click here to view the pairings.
