BLUFFTON, SC - Oldfield Country
Club was home to this weekend’s International Junior Golf Tour event. Designed
by Greg Norman, Oldfield Country Club’s layout offered plenty of challenges for
this highly skilled group of golfers.
In
the Boys 16-19 Division, Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy (Hank
Haney IJGA) student Miguel Solórzano Amaya (Chiapas, Mexico) dominated the
field on extremely windy conditions with a solid first round of 1-under par,
71, positioning himself in first place with a 3-shot lead going into
Sunday. Solorzano posted a final round
of 75 to finish with a tournament score of 146, crowning him the newest IJGT
Champion and claiming his first victory of the year. Hank Haney IJGA student
Greg Schmaus (Upper Saddle River, NJ) finished in third place posting rounds of
76 and 76 for a tournament total of 152.
Solórzano
explained during Sunday’s interview that his approach shots were solid both
days of the tournament, which lead to him posting two solid rounds. He also added that his strategy for Sunday
was to “stay relaxed”, He committed himself to continue on making pars during
his second round. Miguel Solórzano Amaya
will be travelling back to Mexico to play the Mexico Amateur Open during the
month of March.
In
the Boys 13-15 Division, Hank Haney IJGA student J.J. Qualkenbush (La Quinta,
CA) finished in second place, firing dual rounds of 82 and Hank Haney IJGA
student Liam Courtney (Saskatoon, Canada) finished third with rounds of 83 on
both days.
In
the Girls 15-19 Division, Hank Haney IJGA student Anna Young (Saskatoon,
Canada) posted an 84 on Saturday during windy conditions and then fired a 76 on
Sunday for first place honors. Hank Haney IJGA student Tracey Marshall
(Newfields, NH) posted scores of 85 and 83 for a total score 168 for second
place, while Hank Haney IJGA student Jenny Liang (Shanghai, China) posted
scores of 88 and 83 for a total of 171 for third place.
Young gave credit to her round of 76 on Sunday to her long game. She also added
that due to the wet ground conditions, she played an extra club on each approach
shot which lead to closer proximity to the hole and more birdie opportunities.
The
International Junior Golf Tour travels next to Kiawah Island Resort (Kiawah
Island, SC) on February 13th and 14th.
