Eric Black won his second Florida Junior Tour title as Sherlyn Popelka captured her first Championship at The Forest Country Club in Fort Myers sponsored by the Lee County Sports Authority.
In the boys 13-15 age division, Eric Black, 15, of Celebration, led after the first round with a 3-under par 69 on the Bear Course. Black shot a 1-over in the second round, also on the Bear Course, to finish with a two-round total of 142 and win the division. Black, who is coming off a strong second place finish in the Public Links Championship, also won an FJT event last season at Marsh Landing. With this win, Black leads the boys 13-15 points list. Chris Wilson, 15, of Winter Springs, placed second with scores of 71-74—145 to have his best finish in an FJT event. Logan Blondell, 15, of Lakeland, recorded a two-round total of 147 to tie with Diego Tamayo, 15, of Key Biscayne, and Ming-Hao Wang, 15, of Bradenton. Wang had a 76 in the first round but jumped into third place with a 71 in the second round. Tamayo, who shot a 73-74, recently captured the boys 14-15 age division in the Doral Publix Junior Classic. The boys division played from 6518 yards.
Playing in her first FJT event, Sherlyn Popelka, 13, of Lake Mary, claimed the girls 13-15 age division winning in a playoff over Evan Jensen, 15, of Belleair. Both girls made par on the first playoff hole, and then Popelka chipped the ball less than two feet from the hole to make par and win on the second playoff hole. Popelka shot a 76-74—150 while Jensen recorded a 72-78—150. Jensen got back into contention in the final round after making eagle on the par five 14th hole. This is Jensen’s best finish as she has a third, fourth and fifth place finish this year. Sara Romero, 15, an exchange student from Columbia, now living in North Port, took third place in her first FJT tournament logging scores of 78-75—153. The girls division played from 5345 yards, also on the Bear Course.
The FJT website, www.floridajuniortour.org, is a great source for juniors and parents. There, participants can register for membership and tournaments as well as view player profiles, scoring history, and other valuable information
