PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Two players complete impressive come-from-behind victories at Santa Lucia River Club. Emile Lebrun won his third straight FJT start and Marley Pedrique wins her second straight event at Santa Lucia.
Boys (16-18)
Ibby Carrington fired an impressive four-under 68 to take control of the round-one lead. The Port St. Lucie native had six total birdies on his way to a one-shot lead. Emile Lebrun, who had won his last two FJT starts, shot a three-under 69 to secure a spot in the final group for Sunday. The third and final member of that group would be Gabriel Holtz who sat two shots back of Carrington after shooting a two-under 70. Two other players would finish under par in round one, including Jack Ryan Donovan and Brayden Jenard.
After overcast conditions Saturday, Sunday brought heavy winds throughout the morning and afternoon making it challenging for our players. However, Lebrun came out of the gates hot, with three birdies in his first six holes, which allowed him to overtake the lead from Carrington. Jupiter native Brayden Jenard also made a push on Sunday, as he was three-under through his first nine holes. Down the final stretch, Lebrun was able to pull away from the rest of the field, adding two more birdies to his total for the day. He finished with a two-under 70 on Sunday, for a two-round total of five-under 139. This gave Lebrun a victory in his third straight FJT start, dating back to the middle of February. Jenard and Holtz both finished in a tie for second at two-over par for the weekend, seven shots back of Lebrun. Carrington and Junzhe Wang rounded out the top five at four over and five over, respectively.
Girls (16-18)
After the first round, there was a tight race in the girl's division. Angelina Pacheco led the way with a bogey-free three-under 69. Sitting one shot behind her was Marley Pedrique, who had six total birdies on her way to a two-under 70. In solo third place after round one was Mara King, who shot a one-over 73 on Saturday.
Similar to Lebrun in the boy's division, Pedrique started her round hot on Sunday. She had three birdies through ten holes which helped her overtake Pacheco for the lead. After claiming the lead, Pedrique wouldn’t look back and finished at the top of the leaderboard after shooting a one-under 71. This was the second time in four months that Pedrique has won an FJT event at Santa Lucia, after she won the Exempt-Only event there in December of last year. She wound up winning by four strokes over Pacheco, who finished at one-over 145 on the weekend. King captured solo third, three shots behind Pacheco at four-over 148.
