DeBary, FL - In the third (9-12) event of the year Juniors from all over came to take on the golf course at DeBary Golf & Country Club. Chase Bauer, Marley Pedrique, Benny Ossi, and Alexandra Phung stood above the rest in their respective divisions and came home with the trophy.
Boys (11-12)
Coming off a win two weeks ago in Ocala, Chase Bauer would continue his impressive play at DeBary Golf & Country Club with four birdies to just one bogey on Saturday for an opening round 3-under 69. That round would be good enough for a six shot lead through 18 holes over Christian Koehn and Cooper Foegen. Foegen had a great finish to his Saturday with a birdie on his 17th hole and a hole out eagle from 98 yards on his final hole for an opening 75.
Sunday proved to be a tougher round for players in the Boys (11-12) Division. After a triple-bogey on the 4th hole, Bauer’s lead was briefly relinquished into a tie with Koehn through 6 holes. However, Koehn found trouble on the par-3 7th with a double-bogey that would see him fall to two strokes behind which is where they would be at the turn.
On the back nine was where Axel Monssoh would make his run towards the top. Three straight birdies on the 12th through 14th holes would allow him to card a 3-under 69 that would put him two shots back while he waited for Bauer to finish. Pars would be Bauer’s friend though as he made plenty of them on the back nine along with one birdie and two bogeys. That steady play would allow him to shoot 75 and a one stroke victory. Axel Monssoh finished second at a 4-over total for the weekend and Christian Koehn’s two rounds of 75 put him in third place for the event.
Boys (9-10)
Benny Ossi’s two birdies on Saturday helped him on his way to an opening round 77 to lead the Boys (9-10) Division. His birdie on the 18th hole would secure his position two ahead of Josiah Joseph heading into Sunday’s final round.
Early in Sunday’s final round Ossi opened up the door for those chasing him with two opening bogeys. Caiden Westbroek made two easy pars to open up his round to cut the deficit to just one shot. Ossi would turn things around with a birdie on his 8th hole of the day while Westbroek would make bogey on the final two holes of the opening nine to find himself four back of Ossi with nine holes to play.
Ossi would pull away as the final group made their way to their back nine. With a birdie on their 10th hole followed by a hole-out eagle from 100 yards on their 12th hole, Ossi would take a lead that he would not a relinquish. Rounds of 77 and 74 would give Benny Ossi the win by six shots. Caiden Westbroek’s final round 77 would find him in second place while Josiah Joseph finished third with rounds of 79 and 83.
Girls (11-12)
In the opening round, Marley Pedrique’s steady play found herself with an even-par 72 on Saturday. Two birdies and two bogeys made things quite simple for Pedrique as she claimed a two shot lead through 18 holes. Her closest competitor would be Leonie Tavares after she came back from early bogeys to card a 2-under 34 on her back nine that included a chip-in on the 18th hole. Her opening round 74 would set-up a showdown between the first two winners of the 2022 season.
Pedrique would take advantage of scoring opportunities early with birdies on both par-5’s on her front nine along with another birdie on her 5th hole of the day. Those three birdies would be enough to give her a nine shot lead as the final group made the turn.
Pedrique would keep the lead on the entire back nine despite two bogeys on her way in. A final round one-under par 71 would give her a six shot victory. Sophia Christy finished second at 6-over total after a second round 73 and Leonie Tavares claimed third place after a two-day total of 10-over 154.
Girls (9-10)
Saturday’s round of the day would come from Alexandra Phung. Without a bogey on the card, her four birdies led to a 4-under 68 to start the tournament. Her closest competitor would be Keira Shavitranuruk after her 5-over 77.
Phung would pick up right where she left off with birdies on the 1st and 3rd holes. Even with a couple bogeys to follow, she would extend her lead to 15 shots by the time all players in the Girls (9-10) Division made the turn on Sunday.
A birdie on the 17th hole would capitalize a very impressive performance as Alexandra Phung would shoot 71 for a 5-under par total for the two days and a 17 shot victory. Xiyao Zhang would post two consecutive rounds of 78 for a second place finish while Bryn Krosse would take third with rounds of 78 and 80.
