Round 2 Recap

The Conquering Kordas

The first round of the Bobcat Trail produced a tight race in the Girls 13-18 division.

 Jessica Korda of Bradenton, FL (2011) and

 Ginger Howard, also of Bradenton (2012), were co-leading after carding rounds of 1 over par.  Jessica, who was playing in her 2nd event of the season, led the division in birdies with 4.  On Sunday, Jessica added 5 more birdies to finish with 9 for the event.  Those nine birdies helped her to finish at 1 under par for the event and take home 1st place and the Low Round honors.

Finishing in 2nd place was Kristen Warhurst of Mobile, AL (2008) who opened with a round of 75 on Saturday then carded a 73 on Sunday to earn her second Top 3 of the season and her 3rd top 10.  Finishing in 3rd place was

14 year old Monifa Sealy of TRINIDAD who also carded a final round of 73 and now has two Top 3s on the season.

Four players finished tied for 4th: Lauren Benetti of Celebration, FL (2008),

 Gabrielle Balit of Montreal, CANADA (2009), Ginger Howard of Bradenton, FL (2012) and Crystal Smith of Venice, FL (2009).

In the 14 and under division, Nelly Korda of Bradenton, FL (2016), took the first round lead in her first FCWT event.  Nine-year old Nelly carded a round of 86 that included 8 pars, leading every statistical category except par 5 performance which was led by

Stephaine Liu of St. Albans, MO (2015), who finished in 2nd place.  Sofia Molinaro of ITALY finished in 3rd.

Balanced rounds bring Balit first win of the season

Saturday's first round of the Bobcat Trail Open saw

15-year old Cyril Suk of Bradenton, FL (2011) fire a bogey-free round of 5 under par 66 that included an eagle on 17.  Suk had two top 10s so far this season, but was looking for his first win on Sunday.  Unfortunately for Suk, 15-year old Zachary Balit of Montreal, CANADA (2010)  was only 2 strokes back.  On Saturday  Balit carded 15 pars to lead this division.  His opening round of 3 under par 68 put him midway between the overnight leader Suk and

 Michael Murray of White Lake, MI (2008), who began the final round in 3rd after an opening round of 70 during which he carded an eagle on the par 5 6th hole to help him get to 1 under par.

On Sunday, Balit fired a second consecutive round of 3 under par to pull ahead of Suk by 2 strokes and win his first event  of the season at (-6) 136.  Suk, who led this division in pars with 29, took home 2nd. 

Senior Cory Crump of Peachtree, GA, fired a final round of 70 to move into 3rd place.  Michael Murray finished tied for 4th with

 Tae Lim of Seoul, KOREA (2009) who carded a final round of 70 to move up the leaderboard. 

Austin Snell of Austin, TX (2008) also carded a final round of one under par (70) to finish tied for 6th with

David Ostrowski of Burlington, NC (2008) who carded the Low Round of 67 on Sunday.

Santiago soars to the top of the leaderboard with final round 74

On Saturday in the Boys 13-15 division,

Austin Wilson of Eden Prairie, MN (2011) opened with a round of 1 under par, leading the division in birdies with 4.  He began Sunday's round six strokes ahead of

Kevin Liu of St. Albans, MO (2012).  Liu's round of 76 put him one stroke ahead of

Zachary Bonynge of Sarasota, FL (2011) who led this division in pars with 12 on Saturday.

On Sunday, things changed.  Fourteen year old David Santiago of Allentown, NJ (2011) carded the Low Round of 74 to force a playoff with Kevin Liu.  Through 36 holes of play Santiago and Liu were tied for the most birdies in this division with 6 each.  In the playoff, Santiago prevailed ~ winning his first FCWT event and earning an exemption to the FCWT National Championship.