Stone Impressive Again; Lench Wins in Playoff
Gabriel Lench and Latanna Stone captured their respective titles at the Florida Junior Tour’s (FJT) event at Lake Wales Country Club, in Lake Wales, April 14-15.
Gabriel Lench, of Lake Mary, prevailed in a playoff for his first career FJT victory. Lench posted back-to-back rounds of even par 72 to find himself tied with Cole Johnson, of Parrish, who also posted rounds of 72-72 for a tournament total of even par 144. The two players would head for a sudden death playoff where Lench prevailed by making a par on the first playoff hole. Tyler Bakich, of Valrico, and Christopher Kendall, of Barrow in Furness, England, finished tied for third place with a tournament total of two-over par 146.
In the Girls’ 13-15 division, Latanna Stone, of Valrico, fired a tournament total of 148, to capture her second career FJT title at only 10 years of age. Stone fired a first round of two-over par 74 to trail the leader by three strokes heading into the final round of play. Stone played solid in the final round, going out in one-under par 35, and finishing with a three-over par 39 for her round of 74, which was good enough for a one stroke victory. Jamie Freedman, of Miami, finished alone in second place after posting a tournament total of 149. Phoebe Zhao, of Bradenton, finished in third place with a tournament total of 152.
