It was a beautiful day in Texas on Saturday with temperatures in the 80s and Michael McGee of Kansas City, MO (2009) took advantage of that weather when he carded a one under par to open the Bear Creek West event. McGee was the only player in the Boys 16-18 division to finish under par and thereby entered the final round with a one stroke advantage over : Joe Lynch of Shawnee Mission, KS (2009), Jace Long of Dixon, MO (2008), who finished 2nd earlier this season at Purdue and led this division in pars with 14 on Saturday, and Sam Saunders of Albuquerque, NM (2010).
On Sunday, after round two's 18 holes of play, it came down to Jace Long and Sam Saunders, and this time around Long took home the title by making a birdie on the first playoff hole. Fourth year player, Long, tied Scott Willman for the most pars in this division - they each carded 25 over the weekend. Long, like all FCWT winners, also earned exempt status, including an exemption to the National Championship in May. For the 15 year old Saunders - his day will come! He won last season at the Boys 13-15 level and is already showing the strength of his game at the 16-18 level. FCWT newcomer Mario Clemens of Beverly Hills, CA (2009) finished 3rd at 148 in his first event. Another FCWT newcomer, Joe Lynch of Shawnee Mission, KS (2009) tied Michael McGee for most birdies in this division with 7 and finished in 4th place. Third year player, Zach Sanders of Overland Park, KS (2009) finished in 5th place at 150, just 3 strokes back of our winner, Long.
In the Boys 13-15 division, Luke Vivolo of Carmel, CA (2011) fired a 2 under par on Saturday to lead all scores. The 14 year old, who is in his 4th season on the FCWT, carded 6 birdies in his first event of the season. He entered Sunday's final round with a 5 stroke advantage over Ben Warnquist of Rockville, MD (2011) and Joe Winslow of Overland Park, KS (2011).
On Sunday, Warnquist carded a final round of 73 and Harry Higgs of Overland Park, KS (2010), who began the day tied for 4th at +4, carded the Low Round with a 72 to force a playoff between the two. Warnquist won the playoff with a birdie on the 1st hole and joined Blake Morris with 2 wins in the Boys 13-15 division. Higgs led this division in birdies with 9 and Michael Decker of Dallas, TX (2013) led in pars with 23 and finished in 5th. In 3rd place was Joseph Winslow of Overland Park, KS (2011) and overnight leader Vivolo finished in 4th place.
In the Boys 11-12 division, Evan Mcleod of Pebble Beach, CA (2013) led wire-to-wire to earn his 2nd win of the season. The 12 year old who won at Purdue, carded two solid rounds of 76 this weekend. Elton Yang of Dallas, TX (2012) and Ben Willis-Teff of Scottsbluff, NE (2013) finished in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
At the end of round one of the Bear Creek West Open two young ladies were leading the Girls 13-18 division. Kristi Cardwell of Kokomo, IN (2009), who led the field in pars with 11 on Saturday, and local player Clare Straty of Dallas, TX (2009), one of 4 players to card a birdie on Saturday, both carded opening rounds of 82. On Sunday, Miss Straty improved her score by one stroke and pulled away from her co-leader to win her first FCWT event. Last season, Miss Straty finished T6 at this event, finishing at 171, so it was a personal best for her in both her round scores and her field/finish. Miss Cardwell took home 2nd place, finishing 5 strokes back of Miss Straty, but 8 strokes ahead of 3rd place. FCWT newcomer Miss Lindsay Parks of Bentonville, AR (2009) began the day in 4th place, but finished in 3rd in her first FCWT event.
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