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Beindorf BATTLES the Wind ~ fires a final round of 69 to win the Championship
For three days the wind at the FCWT Championship has been the major story. It has humbled many a player. Jackson Beindorf of Vero Beach, FL (2008) was not able to tame the wind, but he did find a way to win!
The 2007 FCWT Boys 16-18 National Championship began at 7:30am on Saturday with a field of 180 boys representing 16 countries and 33 states and provinces. Juniors make up the largest group with 78, followed by seniors with 49, sophomores with 31, freshman with 16 and 4 players who do not graduate until 2011.
The Morning Wave of Round One put Jason Chun of Virginia Beach, VA, (2008) at the top of the leaderboard with a 2 under par 70. He was followed by Aaron Fitzpatrick of Windermere, FL (2009) who posted the only other sub-par round of the morning. Jackson Beindorf of Vero Beach, FL (2008) and Wilson Bowen of Winnetka, IL (2008) were in at even par 72 on a day when the wind played a definite factor. The Afternoon Wave brought Derek Ernst of Clovis, CA who won twice on the West Coast, in at -2 to join Chun. Ernst, who teed off around 12:24 pm, played a stellar round with 2 birdies on each side, despite the winds which increased throughout the day to about 15 to 20 mph. The round of the day was posted by sixteen year old Luke Benford from Hampshire, ENGLAND (2008), who must have felt right at home with these "sea breezes" because he fired a 4 under par (68) opening round on Saturday.
ROUND TWO: Unfortunately some players who had stellar rounds on Saturday were "blown" away by the wind on Sunday. Benford was one of the wounded, after an opening round of 68, he posted a round of 80 on Sunday dropping him to +4 for the event. It could have been worse for Benford, when all scores were in on Sunday he was sitting T3. The best news of the day came to Sean Dale of Jacksonville, FL (2008). Dale carded a one under par round on Sunday that put him in the lead going into Monday's final round. Dale was named to the FCWT 2nd Team All-Americans on Friday night. He entered the final round with a 2 stroke advantage over Esteban Calisto Albornoz of Quito, ECUADOR (2007). Esteban moved up the leaderboard on Sunday with his round of -2 (70) after opening with a 77. Joining overnight leader Benford in a tie for 3rd place were: Connor Green of Selma, CA (2008), who opened with a 77 then carded a one under par 71 on Sunday, and Kyle Kopsick of Lake Bluff, IL (2008) whose rounds of 74-74 set him up for a run at the title on Monday. Also in a tie for 3rd were Dennis Carson of Burlingame, CA (2008) and Jackson Beindorf of Vero Beach, FL (2008).
On Monday, it was Jackson Beindorf who prevailed. Beindorf kept himself in contention all weekend with rounds of 72-76-69 when many other players had scoring differentials of 10 or more strokes. The wind was tough and in order to play well you had to stay mentally tough. Beindorf was able to do that. Statistically speaking it was not a weekend to remember for Beindorf, although his final round of 5 birdies and 2 bogeys is certainly noteworthy. The only category which he led was par 5 performance at 4.42. What Beindorf did was establish himself as a player ready to play college golf. College golf where you brave the elements - the wind and the cold. College golf where you may not get to play your favorite club all round because the conditions don't allow for it, nevertheless, you still have to play. As a rising senior Beindorf is well on his way to refining his game for the college level. Jackson has not won on the FCWT since January 2005 when he won at Sea Island, but he is consistently in the race. In three seasons on the FCWT he has 4 Top 3s, 7 Top 10s and a T16 in regular season events. In 2005 he finished T13 at the National Championship. Last season he finished T12 and this season he takes home the title!
Two other players tied Jackson for Low Round on Sunday: Michael Cromie of Cary, NC (2010) who finished T2 and Taylor Sharber of Florence, SC (2008) who finished 5th. Cromie, 15, pulled off his 69 by making an eagle on the 18th hole. On Friday night Michael was named a 1st team FCWT All-American for the Boys 13-15 division which he played for 5 events this season, winning twice. Also finishing T2 were: Connor Arendell of Cape Coral, FL (2008), who carded a final round of 2 under par 70 and second round leader Sean Dale of Jacksonville, FL (2008). Both were named 1st Team Boys 16-18 division FCWT All-Americans on Friday night. Kyle Kopsick of Lake Bluff, IL (2008) finished in 6th place with a final round of 73. Andrew Colvin of Longwood, FL (2010) and Chris Kennedy of Bradenton, FL both carded final rounds of 71 to finish tied for 7th with Nicholaus Mullhaupt of Bradenton, FL (2007). Also carding a final round of 71 was FCWT Boys 16-18 Player of the Year Brinson Paolini of Virginia Beach, VA (2009) to finish T16 and Micah Jacobsen of Fernandina Beach, FL (2008), who was named to the 3rd Team Boys 16-18 All-American. Chris Piumelli of Bradenton, FL (2007) moved up to T22 with his final round of even par. Michael Hebert's round of 73 put him tied for 10th with Dennis Carson of Burlingame, CA (2007) and Esteban Calisto Albornoz of Quito, ECUADOR (2007). The Top 25 players in the Boys 16-18 division are fully exempt for next season. |
