Armstrong and Nurdi Come From Behind to Win South Coast
Josh Armstrong (Gold Creek) and Madeleine Nurdi (St Michaels) have claimed the overall titles at the South Coast JM, with impressive performances in Round Two securing their first JNJG Junior Masters Victories.
Starting the day three shots behind overnight leader Weiliang Wang (St Michaels), Armstrong recovered from a poor tee shot on the opening hole to make a par, and looked very composed for the majority of the day. A double bogey on the 8th, and bogey on the 10th gave eventual runner up Kurt Burns (Bonnie Doon) a sniff, but the newly crowned Australian Schoolboys Team Captain steadied the ship with birdies on 12, 14, and 15, to win by four shots. Burns recovered from a double bogey on the opening hole to finish second overall, as well as taking out the Boys 16 Years and Over Division.
One of the highlights of the event was the three hole play off between ACT resident Luka Brucic (Gold Creek) and local South Coast boy Lachlan Ingram (Moruya) for the Boys 13 Years and Under Division. Ingram had a chance to take it out on the first playoff hole, missing a four foot par putt that would have handed him the title, and the ever-improving Brucic made him pay for that mistake, draining a 20 foot double-breaker on the third playoff hole in front of more than 100 spectators for a birdie and the win!
In the girls event, Nurdi had five birdies in her final 10 holes to overcome a five shot deficit, winning her first major JNJG event by two strokes from overnight co-leader Danni Vasquez (Kiama). A shot further back in third was Eleena Kyriacou (St Michaels), who also held on for a victory in the Girls 16 Years and Over division. Grace Kim (Avondale) prevented the Nurdi sisters doing the double, with Kim hanging on to defeat Madeleine's little sister Teresa by one shot in the Girls 13 Years and Under.
JNJG would like to thank all of the staff and volunteers at Catalina Country Club for making the weekend so enjoyable for everyone. We are already looking forward to next year!
Boys Championship
144 - J Armstrong (Gold Creek)
148 - K Burns (Bonnie Doon)
149 - B Doherty (Oatlands), A Bautista (Bonnie Doon), C Jones (Pymble), H Doig (Ryde-Parramatta)
Girls Championship
152 - M Nurdi (St Michaels)
154 - D Vasquez (Kiama)
155 - E Kyriacou (St Michaels)
Boys 16 and Over
Scratch - K Burns (Bonnie Doon) 148
Nett - B Christofersen (Queanbeyan 11) 140
Boys 14 and 15 Years
Scratch - J Armstrong (Gold Creek) 144
Nett - J Reay (Kiama 16) 140
Boys 13 and Under
Scratch - L Brucic (Gold Creek), L Ingram (Moruya) 160. (Brucic won on the third playoff hole)
Nett - J Fan (Avondale 7) 147
Girls 16 and Over
Scratch - E Kyriacou (St Michaels) 155
Nett - A Elina (Pennant Hills 16) 142
Girls 14 and 15 Years
Scratch - M Nurdi (St Michaels) 152
Nett - B Robards (Belmont 12) 145
Girls 13 and Under
Scratch - G Kim (Avondale) 166
Nett - I Hawes (Royal Canberra 18) 152
Boys Stableford
65 points - J Macfarlane (Catalina 36) c/b
Girls Stableford
68 points - G Vigna (Cronulla)
Surprise Leaders at Catalina Country Club After Round One
Weiliang Wang (St Michaels) fired the round of his JNJG career, a one under par 71, to lead the field at the South Coast Junior Masters. Despite declaring shortly before teeing off, "I'm chopping it." Weiliang played smart and solid golf for the entire round, recording two birdies and a lone bogey, to open up a three shot lead. Three shots behind Weiliang and eager for their maiden JNJG Junior Masters titles were Josh Armstrong (Gold Creek), Brandon Biddle (Everglades), and Corey Jones (Pymble). The final four will play together in tomorrow's shotgun start, teeing off the first hole at 7:15am.
It was a similar story in the girls event, with the ever improving Danni Vasquez (Kiama) sharing the lead with Eleena Kyriacou (St Michaels). The girls will take a four shot lead into tomorrow's final round, with Brianna Baird (Manly), Laura Cummings (Cowra), and Stef Hall (St Michaels) hot on their heels. The leading girls will start on the tenth tee tomorrow at 7:15am.
Boys Championship
71 - W Wang (St Michaels)
74 - J Armstrong (Gold Creek), B Biddle (Everglades), C Jones (Pymble)
Girls Championship
74 - D Vasquez (Kiama), E Kyriacou (St Michaels)
78 - B Baird (Manly), L Cummings (Cowra), S Hall (St Michaels)
Boys 16 and Over
Scratch - B Biddle (Everglades) 74
Nett - B Christofersen (Queanbeyan 11) D Lord (Fairbairn 7) 70
Boys 14 and 15 Years
Scratch - W Wang (St Michaels) 71
Nett - J Reay (Kiama 16) 68
Boys 13 and Under
Scratch - L Brucic (Gold Creek) 80
Nett - J Dickinson (Catalina 13) 72
Girls 16 and Over
Scratch - E Kyriacou (St Michaels) 74
Nett - A Elina (Pennant Hills 16) 68
Girls 14 and 15 Years
Scratch - D Vasquez (Kiama) 74
Nett - B Robards (Belmont 12) 73
Girls 13 and Under
Scratch - G Kim (Avondale) 81
Nett - K Williams (Avondale 7) J Song (North Ryde 9) 76
Boys Stableford
32 points - J Macfarlane (Catalina 36), J Maloney (Moruya 23)
Girls Stableford
33 points - G Vigna (Cronulla)
Full Results - Round 1 Results
Updated Draw - Round 2 Draw
South Coast Junior Masters Underway
Despite more than 15 inches of rain falling on the Catalina Country Club in the past fortnight, the 2014 South Coast Junior Masters is underway. In difficult conditions, more than 120 golfers have teed it up in the fifth event of the 2014 JNJG Junior Masters Series.
The staff and volunteers at Catalina Country Club have done a fantastic job to present the course so well in such difficult circumstances, with the rain fall this last fortnight being the heaviest in many years.
Scores for the opening round can be found here.
