FJT Sandridge (13-18) *Exempt-Only*

Emile Lebrun | Katelyn Huber

VERO BEACH, Fla. – This weekend, the Florida Junior Tour traveled to a familiar location, Sandridge Golf Club, where players who had earned exemptions in previous events teed it up in the 36-hole, exempt-only, stroke-play event. Beautiful weather and fantastic conditions paved the way for this high-quality field to challenge each other throughout both rounds. At the end of two competitve days of golf, Emile Lebrun and Katelyn Huber proved they were the best of the best to take home championship trophies. 

Boys (13-18)

With the wind picking up on Saturday afternoon, the Dunes course at Sandridge Golf Club proved to be a challenge. Despite the conditions, five players bettered the course and finished the first round under par. Leading the field with a score of 3-under par, 69, was Emile Lebrun, of Port Saint Lucie. Lebrun, class of 2025, would make five birdies along the way to a first round lead over a packed leaderboard. Trailing one shot behind was Mingbo Jiang, of Orlando, after completing round one at 2-under par, 70. The trio of Aiden Arce, Jules Gentil and Sohan Patel were closely behind at 1-under par and put themselves in a position to challenge Lebrun for the title on Sunday.

After the first nine holes of the second round, the boys division had turned into a three-man race. Lebrun, the round-one leader, maintained a one-shot lead over Jiang and Gentil. Gentil, who ultimately finished in solo third place, would drop out of contention toward the end of the round with back-to-back bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes. A birdie on the par-4 16th hole from Jiang would pull him into a tie with Lebrun, who then birdied the par-3 17th hole to retake the lead. However, the Port Saint Lucie native would bogey the final hole of the round, meaning he and Jiang would enter into a sudden-death playoff. On the first playoff hole, Lebrun seemed to have clinched victory by hitting his approach shot to just four feet from the hole, but a costly mistake resulted in the eventual winner making par, which was matched by Jiang. Lebrun would ultimately emerge victorious on the second playoff hole with a par as he captured his third FJT win. 

Girls (13-18)

Thirty girls teed it up on Saturday for a chance at the Sandridge (13-18) *Exempt Only* title. After the conclusion of play in round one, Katelyn Huber would take a two-shot lead into the final round after making seven birdies en-route to a brilliant 5-under par, 67. Close on Huber's heels was Tsamue Wu who started off her round with birdies on holes one thru four. Wu would finish her round at 3-under par and two shots behind Huber. Jordan Fischer and Mi Li were in a tied for third at the end of day's play after opening rounds of 2-under par, 70.

Then, on Sunday, Huber showed no signs of slowing down as she birdied three of her first four holes. The Gainesville native would add one more birdie on her first nine, and three more on her second nine, to shoot 6-under 66, improving on her first round by one stroke to capture a nine-shot victory. Huber's incredible weekend will go down in the history books as she completed the tournament with the lowest 36-hole score ever recorded by a girl on the Florida Junior Tour (133). Huber, who won the 11th FJT Tour Championship last year, has now won her last two starts and proved she is one of the best junior golfers in the state. Jordan Fischer, of Cape Coral, finished in solo second while Marley Pedrique, of West Palm Beach, finished in solo third.

Results

Divisions and Approximate Yardages

• Boys (13-18) - 6,800 yards (gross only)

• Girls (13-18) - 5,900 yards (gross only)

How Entries are Accepted

• Players with full exemptions will be given priority and entered into the field on a first-come-first serve basis
• After that, if there is still space available in the field, entries will be accepted based on how many active exemptions a player has (most to least).
• STEP exemptions only count towards the number of active exemptions in order to break ties
• If necessary, a random draw will be used to break exemption ties

Schedule of Events

Saturday, March 11th

10:15 AM - 12:30 PM - Tournament Registration (near pro shop)
11:00 AM - 12:57 PM - Round one tee times off the 1st and 10th tees 

Sunday, March 12th

8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Final round tee times off the 1st and 10th tees
Awards presentation immediately following the completion of play

How to Enter

Entries are submitted through the FSGA website. To enter, each player must create an FSGA account on this website (free to set-up), purchase a current Junior Membership ($40), and have an active Florida GHIN Handicap (included in membership if golfer does not already have one). To proceed, click the "Enter" button above once entries have opened.

Late Entry Fee: A late fee of $10 will be applied to entries submitted after the close of entries date. The entry fee and late fee will only be applied if the player gets accepted in to the tournament field.

Practice Rounds

Practice rounds are available one week prior to the tournament after 12:00 noon on a space-available basis. Tee times are only available after 12:00 noon the weekend prior.  The price for a practice round is $30.00 + tax. Please call (772) 770-5000 to arrange your practice round. The proper place to practice your golf swing is on the driving range, hitting multiple shots on the course, not filling divots, and not repairing ball marks are unacceptable and may cause removal from the tournament without a refund.

TrackMan Sessions Available

We are pleased to offer tournament participants the opportunity to utilize our TrackMan launch moniter, and to have his/her swing recorded on March 10th. Specifics will be included in the pre-event email. There is no charge for this service.  All information will be posted to the junior's FSGA profile for college coaches to view. Click here for more information.

National Rankings

Florida Junior Tour Policies

• Tournament & Entry Policies
• Hard Card
• Pace of Play
• Code of Conduct
• Spectator Policy

Host Hotel

Staybridge Suites Vero Beach
5155 20th St., Vero Beach, FL 32966
Phone: (772) 562-6000

Room Information:

• 2 Queen Beds - $199/night + tax
• 1 Queen Bed + Sofa Bed - $189/night + tax
• Book here! (Be sure to change the dates to see both room options)

Booking Deadline: February 9, 2023

Directions

Sandridge Golf Club
5300 73rd Street
Vero Beach, FL 32967
(772) 770-5000

Click here for directions.