Florida Junior Tour

Chris Ingham and Simin Feng each fired a 3-under par 70 in the final round to win their respective divisions of the 54-hole Florida Junior Tour (FJT) 13-15 age division event at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando over Easter weekend.

Chris Ingham, 15, from Pinecrest, captured his first FJT title finishing with a 7-under par 212 for the three day event. In the first round, Ingham made four birdies including one on the 18th hole to card a 71 in the windy conditions. Ingham matched his first round score of 71 in the second round making three consecutive birdies on holes 10, 11, and 12. “I was struggling on the front,” said Ingham. “I really wanted to play in the final group so I just told myself I needed to turn it around.” Ingham finished with birdies on holes 16 and 18 to share the lead with Motin Yeung heading into the final round. Playing with Yeung and Daniel Berger on the last day, Ingham drained a 20 foot birdie putt on the 4th hole and birdied #7 to make the turn at 2-under. Ingham played steady and parred holes 10, 11, 12 and 13. Berger closed the gap to within one stroke after an eagle on the 13th hole and birdie on #14. Ingham then pulled away from the field birdying the 16th hole to lead by three strokes. Recording a par on #17, Ingham played “conservative” on #18 to 2-putt for the win. “Playing on the Tour last year really inspired me to work on my game,” said Ingham. “It’s really exciting to now have a victory.” This season, Ingham has three additional top ten finishes including two second place finishes. Motin Yeung, 14, of Orlando, fell to second place to tie with Alex Slaton at a tournament total of 215. Yeung shot a 70 in the first round and posted a 72-73 on the final two days for his best finish in an FJT event. Alex Slaton, 15, of Gainesville, recorded a 74 in the first round and moved into a share of second place with under par rounds of 71-70. Daniel Berger, 14, from Jupiter, took fourth place with rounds of 75-68-73. A highlight of the final round came when Edward Figueroa, 14, from Naples, aced the 11th hole from approximately 170 yards.

In the girls division, Simin Feng, 12, of Orlando, won her third FJT event carding a tournament total of 1-under par 218. After two rounds of 74, Feng sat one stroke back from the leader heading into the final round. “I was playing ok so I wasn’t too worried that I wasn’t leading,” said Feng. In the final round, Feng fired a 3-under par 70 to move in front and top the field by two strokes. “I was hitting my irons well and my putting helped me a lot,” said Feng. “My goal is to be the division points leader and this win helps a lot.” With wins at Haile Plantation and Disney, Feng currently leads the points standings. Nicole Quinn, 15, of Windermere, posted a 78 in the first round and became the second round leader after shooting a 69, the low round of the division. Quinn finished with a 73 in the final round to take second place at 220. Karen Chung, 12, from Orlando, Cindy Feng, 12, of Orlando, and Kristine Odaiyar, 12, of Ocala, shared third place honors each posting a 223 tournament total.

Conducted by the Florida State Golf Association, the Florida Junior Tour (FJT) is a junior golf tour offering highly competitive and affordable competitions for juniors in Florida. The 2007-2008 season consists of 21 events for juniors, male and female, ages 13-18. Beginning September and running through May, the FJT schedule will play at some of the state’s top courses including Eagle Creek and Lake Jovita. The FJT’s focus is on quality, affordability and integrity. Tournaments consist of 36 holes conducted over 2 days, typically weekends, with an entry fee of $95 or $115. Scholarship entry is available to junior golfers unable to afford the entry fee.

For complete results, please see www.floridajuniortour.org.

American Junior Golf Association story courtesy of the AJGA

Kevin Phelan of St. Augustine, Fla., took home the Boys Division title at the Mizuno Junior at Innisbrook at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, carding a 1-under-par 70 for a 2-under-par 211 tournament total.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the 15th annual Mizuno Junior at Innisbrook featured 138 boys and 78 girls — ages 12-18 — from 27 states and five foreign countries. This was the largest tournament field in the history of the AJGA. Past champions of the event include current PGA and LPGA Tour players Charles Howell III, Ryuji Imada, Beth Bauer and Brittany Lincicome. The Boys Division played the par-71 Copperhead Course at 7,105 yards, while the Girls Division competed on the par-70 Highlands North Course, which played at 5,791 yards.

Phelan came into the final round with a four-stroke lead and never looked back, finishing five shots ahead of the field. The 17-year-old, playing in only his third AJGA event, came into the day determined to focus on his own game and not worry what his playing partners were doing.

“My mindset at every tournament this year has been to be fully committed on every shot I make,” Phelan said. “It worked really well today.”

Phelan credited strong iron play as the key to his victory. On No. 12, he hit a 6-iron to five feet of the hole. On the following hole, he hit a 5-iron to three feet. Phelan was able to convert both birdie putts. His ability to make the short putts — he never missed one outside of five feet — was another integral part of his low round.

“I feel really good about the way I played today and I'm happy I got the win,” Phelan said. “I'm looking forward to playing more events this spring.”

In the Girls Division, Dottie Ardina, of Bradenton, and Lindy Duncan, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., tied for second place with 213 tournament totals. Evan Jensen, of Belleair, Fla., shared fourth place after carding a 214 tournament total.

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