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 heats up at Victoria Hills Golf Club
Claudio Correa earns Boys 15-18 division title; Erica Stoner takes Girls 15-18 division; Guillermo Casares wins Boys 11-14 division; Caitlin Cotterill runs away with Girls 11-14 division
BRADENTON, Fla. (March 17, 2014) - The IMG Junior Golf Tour returned to action at Victoria Hills Golf Club in DeLand, Fla., Mar. 15-16. It was the fourth consecutive year for the Tour to visit Victoria Hills, and the event attracted a field of 90 players from 11 states and 15 countries. The Boys 15-18 division went down to the wire between Ecuador’s Andres Arango and Chile’s Claudio Correa. Arango paced the field on the first day with an impressive round of 68 (-4), and entered the second day with a two-stroke lead. However, Arango faltered on Sunday, shooting 77 (+5) as Correa settled in with a solid 74(+2) to come from behind and card a one-stroke win at even-par 144 over Arango. For Correa, it marked his second win of the season after winning at Rio Pinar in February.
“It felt really good, and I knew I was playing with some good players in the final group,” commented Correa, a University of South Florida signee, after the win. “I really helped myself on the last 4 holes”
Meanwhile, Erica Stoner of Ocala, Fla. was steady as could be in the Girls 15-18 division, carding a two-over 146 for the win. Stoner entered Sunday four strokes behind Maria Balcazar of Bradenton, Fla., but her consistency allowed her to overtake the top spot by four strokes at the end of the day.
Other winners included Mexico’s Guillermo Casares, who prevented Jason Jin of Windermere, Fla. from taking a fifth Tour victory on the year. Casares won the Boys 11-14 division with rounds of 76, 80 to best Jin by a single stroke. In the Girls 11-14 division, Australia’s Caitlin Cotterill won her second Girls 11-14 title in seven Tour starts with five-over 149. Cotterill has not finished lower than third in any event, and has increased her lead atop the Girls 11-14 Player of the Year standings.
Victoria Hills is regarded by Golfweek as the No. 18 course to play in the State of Florida. The event was ranked by the Golfweek/Sagarin junior rankings, Junior Golf Scoreboard and AJGA Performance Based Entry was awarded to top finishers in the Boys and Girls 15-18 divisions.
The IMG Junior Golf Tour gets back underway when it returns to action in the Northeast at Heron Glen Golf Club in Ringoes, N.J., Apr. 5-6, followed by the Tour’s first-ever stop at Galloping Hills Golf Club in Kenilworth, N.J., Apr. 26-27. The Tour returns to Florida at Marriott’s Grande Pines Golf Club in Orlando, May 3-4.
For full results, visit the IMG Junior Golf Tour leaderboard by clicking HERE.
