The IMG Junior Golf Tour was developed to fill a key niche in junior golf, the IMG Junior Golf Tour provides an elite setting for junior golfers to compete and gain exposure to college golf, professional golf, national junior rankings and athletic excellence.
Held in Florida every December, and open to boys and girls ages 11-18, the the IMG Academy Junior World Florida Challengeis a qualification and invitation only event featuring an international field of over 200 players.News
IMG Junior Golf Tour at the Reunion Resort Nicklaus Course is a hole-in-one
Colombia's Camila Serrano drains a hole-in-one as she wins the Girls 15-18 Division; Chile's Claudio Correa cruises to victory in Boys 15-18 Division; Brandon Wang of Houston, Texas breaks through to win Boys 11-14 Division
The IMG Junior Golf Tour got back underway at the Reunion Resort Nicklaus Course in Kissimmee, Fla., Feb. 2-3. The event featured a full field of 84 players from 11 U.S. states and 17 different countries. Colombia’s Camila Serrano stole the show with a hole-in-one on the way to her first career Tour victory in the Girls 15-18 Division after two second place finishes earlier in the season (LPGA International and Red Tail). On Saturday, Serrano took on the par-3 11th hole using a seven-iron from 137 yards into the wind to sink the hole-in-one. She finished with a commanding win, shooting 74+74=148 (+4), five-strokes ahead of Taiwan’s Vivian Chen (+9) who took second place. With the victory, Serrano jolted her to second place in the season points standings and Symetra Tour exemption race, just 20 points behind China’s Yvonne Zheng.
“The wind was against me, I hit my 7-iron and I could see that the ball disappeared so I walked all over the green looking for it, and finally my playing partner, Chelsea Adams, told me to check the hole so I did and I was like ‘oh my god,’ it was my first ever hole-in-one,” exclaimed Serrano. “I’ll never forget it.”
In the Boys 15-18 division, Chile’s Claudio Correa joined Serrano as a first-time winner on the IMG Junior Golf Tour in only his second appearance on Tour this season. Correa shot a solid 74+71=141 (+1), remaining ahead of the pack to finish three-strokes ahead of second place finisher, Singapore’s Qi Wen Wong (+4).
“I started off poorly Saturday with a 40 on the front nine, but I pulled it together with a birdie on 12 and an eagle on 15 and it felt great to come back and put myself in position to win,” remarked Correa on the win. “I hit my driver well this weekend, which left me with a wedge for a lot of approach shots which was good.”
After three runner-up finishes in a row, Brandon Wang of Houston, Texas edged Doug Smith of Windermere, Fla. by one stroke to claim the Boys 11-14 Division title. Wang’s 75+81=156 (+12) was not only strong enough to take home the win, but firmly entrenched him atop the season standings in the Boys 11-14 Division.
The event was held at the Reunion Resort’s Nicklaus Course, featuring a challenging course designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. The event was ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Serrano and Correa each earned four performance stars for AJGA Performance Based Entry, while the Boys 15-18 top-5 each earned one star.The IMG Junior Golf Tour resumes action The Club at Savannah Harbor in Savannah, Ga., Feb. 16-17. Savannah Harbor is recognized by Golfweek and Golf Magazine as one of the best courses you can play in the state of Georgia. In addition to being ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek Rankings, the event is a qualifier for the renowned Callaway Junior World Golf Championships.
For full results, visit the IMG Junior Golf Tour leaderboard by clicking HERE.
