Processing your payment, please wait.

Four Win Big at Junior Team

August 6, 2017

After two grueling hot days at Plantation Golf Club in Venice, four teams came out on top to win their respective divisions at the 2017 Junior Team Championship. Both 13-15 age divisions teed it up on the Panther Course while the 16-18 divisions played the Bobcat course both days. Each team consisted of three players and the top two 18-hole scores from each team would be combined to form a team total. After two rounds, teams from the Gainesville Junior Golf Tour, the Junior Golf Association of Broward County, and Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour prevailed to capture their team titles.

In the 16-18 division, both the male and female teams from Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour came out victorious. The Boy's 16-18 division posted some low numbers with the lowest two-day totals coming from two players from Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour. Patrick Poate, who was playing in his last junior golf event before college, led his team to victory after posting an even-par 72 and a two-under par, 70. Poates two-day total of 142 led not only his team but the field as well. Sitting behind Poate in second place was teammate Chase Hurt. Hurt came out of the gate strong after shooting a three-under par, 69 after the first round, however with a four-over par, 76 today, Hurt would finish one-over par, which was good enough for second place. Rounding out the Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour team was incoming junior, John David Cobb. Cobb, despite not having his first round score count, shot a four-over par 76. Cobb's second round, however, was just one better of Hurt, so his three-over par round of 75 helped the team. After shooting a two-day total of two-under, 288, Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour captured the Boy's 16-18 division by eight shots. 

In the Girl's 16-18 division, the team from Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour also won, but only by three shots. Led by Junior Florida Cup North Team member, Lauren Miller, the team from Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour shot 151 & 154 to beat the Junior Golf Association of Broward County by just a few. Lauren Miller shot a consistent 74 and 75 to tie Broward County's Brooke Benedetto for medalist honors. Assisting Lauren to victory was Cameron Fish and Madisyn Messmore. The first round, Cameron shot a five-over par 77 while Madisyn shot an 81. For the second round, Lauren's 75 would count as well as Cameron's seven-over par round of 79. With a two-day total of 305, the Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour would take home their second victory of the day. 

In the Boy's 13-15 division, it was a close race as the Gainesville Junior Golf Tour edged the Greater Sarasota Junior Golf Association by one shot. The Gainesville Junior Golf Tour was led by Jake Davis who backed up his first round score of 73 with a two-over par, second round score of 74. His 147 total would be good enough for medalist honors as well as help lead his team to a first place finish. Davis's other two teammates, Colby Toner and Michael Wu played consistently over the two days. Toner helped his team both days with posting consecutive 80's while Wu sat closely behind with consecutive rounds of 81. Just one shot back of Gainesville Junior Golf Tour was the Greater Sarasota Junior Golf Association who began to make a comeback with Robbie Higgins score of 73. However, with counting an 82, they would finish with at two-day total of 308, one shot back. 

In the Girl's 13-15 division, the Junior Golf Association of Broward County ran away from the field. With two members of the team recent Junior Florida Cup champions, the bar was set high and they delivered. The Junior Golf Association of Broward County was led by Jillian Bourdage who bested her first round score of one-over par round of 73 with a two-under round of 70. With three birdies and just one bogey, Jillian would shoot one of the few rounds under par in the entire event and would lead her team to victory. Her teammate, Casey Weidenfeld, also played extremely well this weekend. After shooting a four-over par round of 76 day one, Casey came out this morning and fired a three-over par, 75 to finish the tournament second individually. The final member of the Junior Golf Association of Broward County's team was Makayla Chau. The team's two-day total of 294 was good enough to take home the victory by twelve shots over the Greater Sarasota Junior Golf Association.

13-15 Final Results | 16-18 Final Results | Photos