Pictured: Casey Weidenfeld | Brendan Valdes
Florida Junior Tour (13-15)
- Kingsway Country Club
- Yardages and Rating
- Boys - 6,528 yds. 72.4/132
- Girls - 5,784 yds. 74.2/137
Weather
- Saturday - Temperatures in the high 80's, with winds gusting to 25 mph
- Sunday - One hour smoke delay due to a brush fire nearby, followed by mid-80's with slight breeze
Boys' Division
An ambitious tournament chairman tempted Mother Nature by forecasting a nice reprieve from the severely windy conditions that had plagued recent FJT events, only to be terribly mistaken. Players on Saturday had to suffer the consequences as the day turned out to produce sustained winds approaching 20 miles per hour and gusts significantly stronger. Battling to the top after one round was Brendan Valdes with his even par, 72. Searching for his third FJT victory, Valdes started Sunday steady as can be with eight pars and one birdie on the opening nine. Several players chasing from behind were able to card under par front nines but unable to sustain the momentum into the inward nine. Closest was Leo Herrera in the penultimate group, finishing at 6 over par for the tournament, three strokes behind Valdes.
Girls' Division
In the first group of the day on Saturday, Madison Hewlett got the tournament off to a roaring start with a hole-in-one at the par 3, 3rd hole. It was Madison's first hole-in-one and kick started what would be tie for the low score of the day. Congratulations to Madison! Nipping at her heals were a host of girls, but Casey Weidenfeld would be the one to make a charge. Weidenfeld took advantage of the change in conditions on Sunday to post the only under par round of the tournament. Her 71 was highlighted by a hole out eagle on the par 4, 12th hole. Hewlett, needing a birdie to force a playoff, chipped in on her 18th hole for birdie! The two would head to the first tee and Weidenfeld grinded out a par, which proved to be enough to earn her first FJT victory!
Scoring & Results
