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Wu & Hwang Capture FJT Titles

August 21, 2017

Florida Junior Tour (Boy's & Girl's 16-18)

  • Sandridge Golf Club (Vero Beach) - August 19 - 20, 2017
  • Yardages & Rating - 6,860 (72.0/128) & 5,924 yards (75.0/134)

Weather

  • Saturday - Sunny & Humid with temperatures reaching in the 90's
  • Sunday - Light rain with temperatures in the upper 80's

Boy's 16-18 Division

In the Boy's 16-18 division, it was Tianyu Wu who outplayed the rest of the field to break his runner-up streak and win his first Florida Junior Tour event. After round one,Wu held a one-shot lead over Nicolas Diebel after shooting a two under-par, 70. Sitting two back of Wu was recent Junior Florida Cup standout, Luke Gifford. Gifford opened with an even par, 72 and sat in a tie for third place along with Nicholas Bessire and recent back-to-back Boys' Junior Champion, Fred Biondi. With Wu having just a slight edge over the rest of the field, Sunday's final round was shaping up to be anyone's tournament. Wu began his first round with one birdie yet one bogey on the front nine, making the turn at even-par, 36. However, Wu's putter lit up on the back nine as he went on to make four birdies coming down the home stretch. Wu's four birdies on the back nine propelled him to four-under par for the day and six-under par for the tournament. With a two-day total of six under-par, 138, Wu outlasted runner-up, Luke Gifford by four strokes to win his first Florida Junior Tour title. Finishing in third place was Nicholas Bessire who backed up his first round, 72 with a one under-par round of 71 to finish at 143. The highlight of the Boy's 16-18 division came when Ryder Sutcliffe made his sixth hole-in-one on the 14th hole from 148 yards with his 8 iron. 

Girl's 16-18 Division

In the Girl's 16-18 division, it was Caroline Hwang who came out on top after taking the title by five strokes. After the first round, Caroline led the field with a two-over par, 74 and was one shot ahead of Claire Albrecht heading into the second round. With the next lowest score being a seven over-par, 79 from both Elise Boccabella and Madyson Moy, it seemed as if it was going to be a battle between Hwang and Albrecht Sunday morning. Hwang started her final round by making the turn at 37 that included two bogeys and one birdie. With Albrecht closing in, Hwang distanced herself from the rest of the field by making three birdies on the back nine en route to a two under-par, 34 on the back nine. Hwang would finish her final round with a two-day total of one over-par, 145 after shooting one under-par in her final round. Claire Albrecht shot her second consecutive 75 to finish alone in second place with a six over-par total of 150. Elise Boccabella rounded out the top three, finishing with a 157 total. Hwang's win is her second FJT win within the last year and her third victory in her career. 

Tournament Facts

  • The Girl's 16-18 scoring average dropped significantly from the first to second round. (81 & 77.8) 
  • Ryder Sutcliffe claimed the only hole-in-one of the event on the 14th hole
  • Tianyu Wu captured his first FJT victory
  • The champions had a combined 9 birdies during the final round
  • Louis Fiurmara Jr. earned most improved out of both divisions by improving his second round score by 12 strokes.
 

Full Results | Photos | Course Statistics Round 1 | Course Statistics Round 2