ENGLEWOOD, Fla. - Florida's golf stars of tomorrow travelled to the par-71 Lemon Bay Golf Club with the hope of adding their name to the prestigious list of Futures Champions. After the dust settled, Declan Young, Christine Bagwill, Liam Kinne, and Athena Li had separated themselves from the pack to raise championship trophies.
Boys (11-12)
Declan Young, a 2030 graduate from Bradenton, had a stellar start to the Championship with birdies on each of his first two holes. Sitting at even-par with seven holes remaining, the Bradenton native would once again birdie consecutive holes, and record pars the rest of the round, turning in a score of 2-under par, 69, to hold the lead. One shot behind was Zachary Netz, a 2031 graduate from Viera. After completing his first nine-holes at 1-over par, the 2031 graduate would record an ace on the par-3 second hole, ultimately finishing the round at 1-under par, 70.
In the final round, Young continued to pour in birdies, converting on four of his first eight holes. Despite a rough stretch that included four consecutive bogeys in the middle of his round, the Bradenton native bounced back strong, adding two more birdies on the back-nine, to record a score of 1-under par, 70. At 3-under par for the tournament, Young secured a wire-to-wire, three-stroke victory in his first-ever FSGA Championship appearance. Netz would follow-up his first round with another strong performance on Thursday. Three birdies in his final six holes kept the Viera native in a tie for second place with a final-round score of 2-over par, 73, and tournament total of 1-over par. Joining Netz on the leaderboard was Chi San Allen Huang, a 2030 graduate from Bradenton, who, after a first-round score of even-par, 71, recorded 14 pars on Thursday for a final-round score of 1-over par, 72.
Girls (11-12)
Through 18 holes, Chloe Audrey Chen, a 2032 graduate from Winter Garden, held a two-stroke lead thanks to her consistent play that led to a score of 1-over par, 72. After recording consecutive bogeys to begin her round, the 2032 graduate would add just one more bogey throughout the day, and two birdies, to sit atop the leaderboard. Christine Bagwill, a 2031 graduate from New Port Richey, was also able to showase great consistency, recording a par on all but six holes, to enter the final round at 3-over par.
Two players would get off to hot starts to begin the final round. After recording just two birdies in the first round, Bagwill had three of them in her first nine holes to hold the lead with nine holes remaining. Close behind was Elianna Grace, a 2032 graduate from Lakewood Ranch, who, following a first-round score of 5-over par, 76, would birdie four of her first eight holes to leap into contention. The two matched each other's birdie totals throughout the remainder of the round, but Bagwill excelled at limiting her bogeys, ultimately completing her round with a score of 4-under par, 67. This would be enough for the 2031 graduate to secure a two-stroke victory at 1-under par. Grace matched Bagwill with a 4-under par, 67, on Thursday to take second place at 1-over par, and Chen would finish in third at 7-over par.
Boys (9-10)
At the conclusion of the first round Liam Kinne, a 2032 graduate from Sarasota, had separated himself from the field with after completing his round at 3-over par, 74. The Sarasota native was able to build a four-stroke lead after recording four birdies throughout the round, including one on the 17th hole, the most difficult par-3 on the course. In second place was Zander Wolf, a 2034 graduate from Lakewood Ranch. The Lakewood Ranch native would birdie his final hole of the day to take second place by himself at 7-over par.
Kinne continued to extend his lead as the final round wore on. After a birdie on his first hole of the day, the 2032 graduate recorded a par on his next 11 holes, adding a couple bogeys and a birdie later in the round to finish the day at even-par, 71, and 4-over par for the Championship. With his dominant performance, the Sarasota native secured an 11-stroke victory in his first-ever FSGA Championship appearance. Blake Godfrey, a 2033 graduate from Oxford, took second place with a cumulative score of 14-over par; meanwhile, Oliver Zhang, a 2034 graduate from Orlando, finished in third with a score of 15-over par.
Girls (9-10)
Athena Li, a 2032 graduate from Osprey, put together an impressive round to take a commanding seven-stroke lead heading into the final round. The Osprey native's four birdies powered her to a first-round score of 3-over par, 74. Cheetah Baez, a 2034 graduate from Palm City, recorded a birdie on the par-4 seventh hole to help her record a score of 10-over par, 81, and take second place with one round to go.
Like Kinne, Li continued to improve and extend her lead throughout the final round. Despite a rough start to the final round where she played the first three holes at 3-over par, the 2032 graduate completed the remainder of the round at 3-under par, highlighted by an eagle on the par-4, 16th hole. In her first-ever FSGA Championship start, Li would claim an eight-stroke victory with an even-par, 71 in the final round, and cumulative score of 3-over par. Baez would vastly improve on her performance the day prior, recording a 1-over, 72, on Thursday, to take second place at 11-over par. Lydia Lu, a 2033 graduate from Orlando, claimed third at 21-over par.
