Seabrook Island – Perhaps one of the most beautiful days in the state of South Carolina this soggy summer was the backdrop for some great junior golf action at the 2013 SCJGA Tommy Cuthbert All Stars. One hurtle for the players was the breezy conditions they faced at the appropriately named Seabrook Island Club’s Ocean Winds Course.
Once again, the end of summer classic, featuring junior boys and girls from across the lower half of the state, proved to be a great day for South Carolina Junior Golf. In the boys 15-18 year old division, Ben Burton of Charleston remained steady as the other co-leaders slipped. After firing a seven over par 79 during the first round and one better on day two for a total of 157, Burton earned the title of overall champion, representing the Mt. Pleasant Chapter. In the Boys 13-14 Division, Daniel Azallion of Hilton Head and Jackson Cole of Pawleys Island finished 36 holes tied at 159. In a two hole playoff, Cole, representing the South Strand Chapter made par to Azallion’s bogey and earned title of Champion of the Boys 13-14 Division. In the Boys 10-12 Division Drayton Stewart of Charleston rallied from behind following a first round 42 with a second round 39 to out duel first day leader Jonathan Griz by a single stroke. In the Boys 8-9 age bracket, Seabrook Island resident and first day leader Zach Adams, representing the Mt. Pleasant Chapter, held off Jerry Bruns of Beaufort with nines of 37-39 for a two day total of four over par 76.
On the girls side of things, Nathalie Lezcano of Hilton Head rallied from a five stroke deficit to win the Girls 14-18 Division. Lezcano overtook first day leader Kylie Nizolek, out of Bluffton, with the help of an eagle on the par-five sixth hole and birdies on holes eight and nine. She finished the tournament with a two day total of 164 just four shots ahead of Nizolek. Kathleen Sumner of the Mt. Pleasant chapter finished third with a 173 total.
Lake View’s Ashley Rogers took fourth place in the Girls 14-18 Division, shooting an 89 on day one and a 92 on day two for a total of 181.
In the match up of sisters Jalen and Jensen Castle from West Columbia in the Girls 11-13 Division, older sister Jensen closed the gap on Sunday and defended her title from 2012 by shooting a two day total of 83 finishing two strokes better than Jalen. Similar to Zach Adams in the boys 8-9 Division, Adrian Anderson held on to her first day lead in the Girls 8-10 Division and claimed the title. Anderson, from Garden City and representing the South Strand Chapter, had a two day total of 85, nine shots better than Florence’s Sophia Burnett.
At the completion of play, team standings remained the same as round one.
The Mt. Pleasant Chapter notched a three-peat and won the Overall Boys Team results by 30 strokes over the Hilton Head Island Chapter. In third was the South Strand Chapter. Just as the first round ended, there was a tie in the Overall Girls Team results. Mount Pleasant and the young ladies playing for the South Strand Chapter ended with a total of 185-189 for a two day total of 374. In third was the Chapter from Hilton Head Island. Competing in the Tommy Cuthbert South All Stars were the chapters of: Aiken, Beaufort, Hilton Head, Horry County, Mid-State, Mt. Pleasant, Orangeburg, Pee Dee and South Strand.
The All Stars Championship is a stroke play competition played over two days that is comprised of the top point winners in each of the nineteen chapters of the Hootie and the Blowfish Junior Golf Summer Series. The All Stars Championship is one of 16 major tournaments conducted by the SCJGA. Results, schedules and applications for participation can be accessed via the Internet at www.scjga.org.
