Gabriel Lench caps off a very impressive summer, while Dree Fausnaugh makes it look easy at the Florida Junior Tour (FJT) event at Sugar Mill Country Club, in New Smyrna Beach, August 23-24.
Gabriel Lench, this year's State Amateur Champion, opened with an impressive 69 to take the first round lead. The course's great conditions and fast greens allowed 12 other juniors to stand within 5 shots of the lead heading into Sunday's final round.
In the final round Lench made the turn at 5-under par, but two costly bogeys on the back nine brought Lench back to the field. This is where Zachary Smith made his move. Smith fired the low-round of the entire event with a 4-under par 68. With Smith in the clubhouse with a 141 (-3) tournament total, Lench needed to birdie the 18th hole for the victory. Gabriel missed an 8 foot birdie putt which led everyone to start talking about playoffs. The players went to hole #9 where they both rolled in their par putts. The second playoff hole was hole #1, a reachable par 5. Both players found the green in 3 with 12 foot birdie putts. Smith went first and saw his golf ball just slide by the hole. Lench wasn't going to let the opportunity get away from him again. His putt was right in the heart. The birdie gave him another Florida Junior Tour victory. Jacob Huizinga and Michael Saccente finished in a tie for third place.
In the girl's division, Dree Fausnaugh was the first round leader posting an even par, 72. In the final round, her steady play continued. She went out in 38 and came in with a 37 for a 75 and a tournament total of 147 (+3). The 5 shot win guarantees Dree a spot in this years Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Emily Uhland (73-79--152) finished 2nd and Claire Becker (80-79--159) took 3rd place. This is Fausnaugh's first FJT win.
Click here for full tournament results.
