HJGT Awards Stanger and Bradshaw with Junior Golf Tournament Title in Tampa, Florida

July 13, 2011 - PRLog -- The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) returned to Hunters Green Country Club in Tampa, FL July 11-12 for the Hunters Green Jr. Shootout.  This was the third consecutive year in which the tour had visited the Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course.  The National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS) ranked tournament featured a solid field of over sixty junior golfers, which offered Florida Junior Tour (FJT) exemptions to the winners in the top-3 divisions.  The tour wants to give a well-deserved thanks to the staff at Hunters Green CC for providing the HJGT and its members with a great couple of days of competitive golf, and for allowing the tour to make its annual stop at one of the finest golfing establishments in the Tampa area.

   There was quite a display of pure golf excellence put on by the young man who captured the top prize in the Boys 15-19 Division at Hunters Green CC.  Jimmy Stanger of Tampa, FL, who was competing in his first HJGT event of the 2011 season, ran away from his fellow junior golfers in this division and finished five strokes better than the second place finisher.  Stanger came out firing on Monday, and shot a imposing -4 (68) which included five birdies and garnered him the top spot by four strokes after just 18 holes of competition.  Stanger continued his hot streak on the second day, and was able to extend his lead by an additional stroke to finish at -6 (138) in all.  Stanger compiled some remarkable statistics including seven total birdies, 26 pars, and one eagle which was actually posted on Tuesday.  In all, he posted 94.4% pars or better which rivals the highest percentage of any competitor throughout the 2011 season.  Finishing in second place was Andrew Welk of Aberdeem, SD who posted a very respectable score of -1 (72+71=143).  He too had a solid two days of golf, but just was not able to keep up with the pace at which Stanger was going.  Welk posted 26 pars as well, and averaged a par five score of 4.75.  Rounding out the top three was Anthony Maccaglia of Tampa, FL.  Maccaglia posted a two day total score of +2 (77+69=146).  His second round score of -3 (69) was the second lowest of any golfer in the tournament, and played a big role is his ability to finish in the top three of this division after shooting a +5 (77) in the opening round.  The Birdie Challenge title for this division goes to Maccaglia and Stanger, as both were able to post seven total birdies.

In the Girls 14-18 Division, Brittany Bradshaw of Tampa, FL posted a two day total of +5 (76+73=149) to take home the first place hardware.  Bradshaw too came into the tournament with hopes of winning in her first HJGT event of 2011.  Like Stanger, she did just that and won by a margin of four strokes over the second place finisher Laura Estefenn of Sunny Isles Beach, FL.  Bradshaw led by two strokes after the first day of play at the Hunters Green Jr. Shootout, and pushed the lead to even more by posting three of her total four birdies on Tuesday.  Bradshaw led the division is a few different statistical categories including pars at 23, par 3 and par 4 performance, and pars or better at 75.0%.  Estefenn, who too was playing in her first HJGT event of 2011, posted a total score of +9 (79+74=153).  Her second round score wasn’t enough to make up for the deficit, but still allowed her to land a single stroke ahead of the three girls who tied for third place.  Bradshaw shot a total of three birdies and 22 pars.  Third place went to three different golfers as Julia McQuilken of Riverview, FL, Belinda George of Plant City, FL, and Lauren Coe of Tarpon Springs, FL all shot a two day total of +10 (154).  All were able to post second round totals which were lower than their opening day scores.  The Birdie Challenge winner for this division goes to Lauren Coe, who posted six total birdies.

It was quite the shootout in the Boys 13-14 Division, as two young golfers battled back and forth throughout the tournament.  After one day of play Joseph Trim of Tampa, FL shot a +3 (75) and found himself one stroke ahead of Cole Johnson of Parrish, FL.  The second day would prove to be equally as competitive.  Johnson who had been down by a single stroke posted a second round +2 (74) versus Trim’s +4 (76) to win by a single stroke.  The win gives Johnson his second HJGT win in as many tournaments.  Johnson previously had won the 54 Hole Mid Season Championship, where he too won by a single stroke there in Kissimmee, FL.  Johnson led the division in every statistical category except one which belonged to Trim.  Johnson posted a total of four birdies, 23 pars, averaged a score of 4.75 on the par five holes, and shot 75.0% pars or better.  Trim led the division in par three performance with an average score of 2.88, and tied with Johnson with four birdies for the division lead. Landing in third place with a two day total score of +13 (81+76=157) was Jared Barclay of Weston, FL.  Barclay earns his second third place finish of the year, as he took home the same prize at the 54 Hole Mid Season Championship in early June.  The Birdie Challenge winners in this division go to Johnson and Trim.  As mentioned, both golfers posted four total birdies.

   For more pictures and information from the Hunters Green Jr. Shootout at the Hunters Green CC in Tampa, FL, please visit the HJGT fan page on Facebook.com.  To get up to the minute tweets during the tournaments and important HJGT news follow us on twitter.  Also, be sure to check out player quotes in our weekly video, which can be found on the HJGT website. For a direct link to the HJGT Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel and final round results please visit www.hjgt.org.

# # #

The mission of the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour is to accommodate the
ladies and gentleman of junior golf with an extraordinary experience
in a competitive environment. The HJGT offfers junior tournaments throughout the Southeast.