TAMPA, Fla. – Streamsong Resort is set to host its first Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship. This week, the best female junior golfers from around the state will make the trip to Streamsong with the hope of raising the trophy at the end of the week.
Here are five things to know before the championship begins.
Defending the Crown
At last year’s championship, it was Chloe Schiavone and Aaron Whitley on the top of the leaderboard at the end of the championship, with Schiavone taking the 16-18 Division and Whitley capturing the 13-15 Division.
Schiavone, who was named the 2018 FSGA Girls’ Junior Player of the Year, most recently advanced to the Round of 16 at Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month. The Jacksonville native will enter the championship looking to become the first player to win back-to-back Girls’ Junior Championships since Tammy Carter in 1999.
Whitley, who turned 16 years old last October, will be competing in the 16-18 Division this year. She will aim to be the first player to win a Girls’ Junior Championship the year after capturing the title in the younger division since Kacie Myers did it in 1997.
National Championship to State Championship
When the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship made a stop at Timuquana Golf Club in April, there were two Floridians in the final match. Jillian Bourdage, who will be in the field, and Casey Weidenfeld teamed up to advance to the finals before falling to Megan Furtney and Erica Shepherd, 2 and 1.
Sweet Sixteen
The juniors were out in full force two weeks ago at the 90th Women’s Amateur Championship in Bradenton, with over 65 junior golfers in the field. Four players in this year’s field advanced to the Round of 16 at the Women’s Amateur: Wyndom Burnett, Lauren Clark, Chloe Schiavone and Kaitlyn Schroeder. Clark defeated Hanna Kiefer, 5 and 4, to advance to the quarterfinals, where she fell to finalist, Elizabeth Moon, 3 and 1.
Tough Test Ahead at Streamsong
While this will be the first Girls’ Junior Championship to be held at Streamsong, it is no stranger to championship play as it hosted the 2015 Florida Four-Ball Championship and the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Most recently, Streamsong played host to 2019 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.
The Girls’ Junior will consist of 54 holes of individual stroke play, with players competing on the Red and Blue courses on Friday and Saturday. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties, and the final 18 holes will be played on the Red Course.
The championship as a whole will prove to be a physical and mental test all weekend long. Players will have to do their best to manage the course, while dealing with the June sun, surrounding dunes and undulating walks from tee to green.
Florida Junior Tour Winners Seek State Title
Seven Florida Junior Tour winners this season will be in the field at Streamsong. Angelica Holman, Mi Li and Kaitlyn Schroeder have all earned two 13-15 wins so far this year. Other winners this season include, Juliana Camargo, Ainsley Mann, Alyssa Mercado and Aaron Whitley.
Follow the FSGA:
The championship will begin on Wednesday with tee times beginning at 7 a.m. A complete recap with full results will be posted on FSGA.org following the day's play.
Twitter: @FSGA
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