The Florida Junior Tour’s 54 hole Memorial Day Major came to a close on Monday with three champions. Orange County National’s Crooked Cat course was the host for all three days, providing a steady challenge for all players. Brandon Mancheno, Morgan Baxendale and Mimi Chen outlasted their fellow competitors to win their respective divisions.
Mancheno was the lone wire-to-wire winner of the three after shooting an opening 67. He increased the lead further with a 69 on Sunday. Finally, he survived a stellar 67 from Manuel Girona on Monday to win the Boy’s 13-15 division. This will be Brandon’s second win since winning the Tour Championship in December of 2014, and his fifth top two finish of 2015.
Morgan Baxendale showed yet again why she hasn’t finished outside of the top 6 in a junior event. Of the three under par rounds owned by a lady, Morgan posted two of them and finished with a ten shot victory.
The girls’ 13-15 division provided the most excitement for the tournament as there was a playoff needed to decide the winner. Mimi Chen defeated Jennifer Zhou on the first hole with a par to give her the first FJT win of her young career.
Many thanks go out to Orange County National for being an excellent host, as well as the players and parents for surviving the delay on the second and third day.
