Sierota and Kou Claim First FJT Victories

The Florida Junior Tour’s 13-15 age division got off to an exciting start this past weekend at Brooksville Country Club. Cold weather, as well as extremely windy conditions on Saturday, led to a very difficult tournament to begin the 2015 season for the 13-15 year old players. Finding a way to keep their golf balls out of the wind, both Calvin Sierota and Xin (Cindy) Kou won their first tournament on the Florida Junior Tour earning them not only a great excuse to visit Mickey Mouse, but also a spot in this December’s Tour Championship to be played at Lake Buena Vista in Disney World!

Following up last weekend’s battle between Bennett Baker and Brock Ochsenreiter at Southwood Golf Club in Tallahassee, Brandon Mancheno, of Jacksonville, found himself on the top of the leaderboard after the first round for the second week in a row. Brandon’s impressive round of one over-par 73, in difficult weather conditions, put him one shot ahead of competitors Calvin Sierota, of Melbourne, and Amadeo Figus, of Port St. Lucie.

Mancheno, the 2014 Tour Champion in the 13-15 age division, battled strongly against both Sierota and Figus during Sunday’s final round. Unfortunately, Mancheno got off to a relatively slow start to begin Sunday’s round bogeying two holes on the front nine and ultimately losing his one stroke advantage over both Sierota and Figus. Mancheno's struggle allowed Alberto Martinez, of Weston, to get into the mix. Martinez made a strong run early in his round. He managed to go one under through his first 11 holes until bogeys at 12, 15, and 16 derailed his attempt at a come from behind victory. The story was the same for Figus as well; he shot a five over-par 77 for a tournament total of 151 finishing fourth overall, one stroke behind third place finisher Martinez and two strokes behind second place finisher Mancheno. Finishing with a tournament total 148, with back to back 74's, Calvin Sierota took home the victory by one stroke. Calvin made a birdie early in his final round at the fifth hole, and later made a clutch birdie on the signature par three,17th hole, to increase his lead to two shots and seal the deal for his first FJT win.

In the girl’s 13-15 age division, it was Windemere's Cindy Kou that was able to play two very consistent rounds to win the event. Kou, the only girl to shoot in the 70s both days, was able to hold off a plethora of competitors only a few strokes behind. Ramya Meenakshisundaram of Jacksonville, Bradenton resident Ariel (SiQin) Yu, Longwood resident Mimi (Xiaoyi) Chen, and Alyssa Lamoureux of Seminole, all finished tied for second with a tournament total 160. Although Lamoureux boasted the low round of the tournament, a second round 76, Kou’s steady rounds of 78 and 77 proved to be more than enough to give her the 5 shot victory. Just like Calvin Sierota, Kou never let up and also walked away with a birdie on the signature 17th hole on her way to shooting an impressive 37 on the back nine.

The FJT 13-15 age division’s next event will be at Gainesville Country Club on February 7th and 8th. Also on the 7th and 8th, the 16-18 division will be playing at River Wilderness Golf and Country Club in Parrish. Best of luck to all the competitors in the coming weeks!

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