Beach and Smith go wire-to-wire at Sea Island
Easing winds but ever cold temperatures set up an exciting finish for the Sea Island Junior Classic, today. With some close scores in our age divisions through the first two rounds, the final round would see many changes on the leaderboard as well as see some runaway victories. Ultimately, our overall female and male champions went wire-to-wire with their victories - Emilia Smith and Jay beach led their respective championships from the very first round.
The female 12-14 division saw Brooke Gober cruise to victory. Gober fired a final-round 79 to win the division by 14 strokes. Her rounds of 82, 81 and 79 also gave her a great look at the overall championship, only to be pulled back over the final few holes. Coming second in the division was Liza Lapeyre. A final-round 83 gave Lapeyre a comfortable margin over third place and also 850 valuable SJGT points.
Moving in to the female 15-19 division and we see our overall female champion take the division title. Emilia Smith led all three rounds, with her scores of 81, 77 and 81. Smith made five birdies during the tournament and, despite a tough stretch early in the final round, did enough to take the overall title. Smith has now booked her place in the season-end Tournament of Champions at Willow Point. Coming second in the division, climbing one spot on the leaderboard, was Katie Scheck. Her final-round 75 was the lowest in the entire female championship and contained 13 pars. Rounding out the division awards was Taylor Palmer. Rounds of 86, 86, and 80 put Palmer two strokes ahead of fourth place.
Our male 12-13 division also saw some excellent golf during the final round, no more so than eventual winner Parker Claxton. His final round of 74 capped an amazing comeback, after his opening round of 84. Coming second in the division, after rounds of 83, 76 and 76, was Will Baker. The Statham, GA native made two birdies in his final round and finished easily in second place. Completing the top-3 in the division was Boles Middleton, with his scores of 87, 76 and 82.
The tightest contest throughout the tournament could be found in the male 14-15 division. Hogan Ingram, Reed Sweigart and Harry Jones all battled it out in the final round for the division crown. Ingram came out as the winner, after a strong run of par at the end of his round saw him pull away from Sweigart and Jones. The Rome, GA native fired consistent rounds of 75, 73 and 77. Sweigart finished second in the division, after a card playoff with Harry Jones. Rounds of 81, 71 and 75 put Sweigart at 227 for the tournament and certainly provided a great benchmark for the rest of the season. Coming third in the division was Harry Jones of Augusta, GA. Jones, who flirted with the division title throughout the first two rounds, unfortunately fell away during round three. The 2020 grad can be pleased with his performance however, making four birdies in his rounds of 74, 75 and 78.
Jay Beach coasted to the male 16-19 and overall male championship titles. Beach shot rounds of 74, 67 and 75. Holding an eight-shot lead heading in to the final round, the Augusta, GA native did enough to come away with victory in the final round. Beach's scorecards from this week were littered with the color of birdies, making 13 in total. Braden Jones finished second in the division, after rounds of 74, 74 and 73. Jones made an impressive nine birdies over his three rounds and can be very pleased with his season opener. Taking third place in the male 16-19 division was Walker Winslette. Rounds of 75, 77 and 72 gave the Canton, GA native the third-place trophy and 700 SJGT points.
Thank you to all the players, parents, golf course staff and volunteers for their support throughout the Sea Island Junior Classic. We appreciate your continued support of the SJGT. To view tournament images, please view our Facebook page or tournament page at SJGT.com
