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 tees off at Sarasota's Sara Bay Country Club
Brandon Wang plays up for Boys 15-18 division title; Mika Liu wins Girls 15-18 division; Qi Ming Wong takes second-straight Boys 11-14 win; Daniela Gonzalez victorious in Girls 11-14 division
BRADENTON, Fla. (October 15, 2013) - The IMG Junior Golf Tour returned to Florida after back-to-back events in the Northeast, teeing off at Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota, Fla., Oct. 12-13. Sara Bay marked the fourth event of the season and featured a field of 80 players from 10 states and 13 countries. After finishing last season as the Tour’s Boys 11-14 Player of the Year, 14-year old Brandon Wang of Houston, Texas played up in the Boys 15-18 division for the first time. Wang got off to an impressive start with a 67 (-5) on Saturday to gain an early five-stroke cushion over Japan’s Kaito Onishi. Wang was three-over par on Sunday, but it was enough to keep Onishi at bay and secure his first career 15-18 division title with a two-under 142 total.
“I just wanted to play my same game,” Wang remarked about playing up for the first time. “The greens can be difficult out here, so I just focused on keeping it out of trouble off the tee and knowing where to miss if you miss the green.”
In the Girls 15-18 division, 14-year old Mika Liu of Beverly Hills, Calif. came away with her first IMG Junior Golf Tour title with solid scores of 71-71 (-1). Liu, the No. 41 ranked player in the POLO Golf Junior Rankings, maintained the lead throughout the weekend, finishing two strokes ahead of Thailand’s Jaravee Boonchant (+1).
“My consistency was the key, and I made a lot of pars over the course of the two rounds,” Liu said of the win. “There is challenge in the elevated greens, so I hit a lot of half shots into the greens to try to knock it down a bit”
Other winners included 14-year old Qi Ming Wong of Singapore, who won his second Boys 11-14 division title in as many starts this season with a 10-over 154. In the Girls 11-14 division, 13-year old Daniela Gonzalez of Colombia made her Tour debut and won after carding a 14-over 158.
The event was hosted by Sara Bay Country Club, which previously hosted the IMG Junior Golf Tour’s Kickoff at Sara Bay to open the 2012-13 season. AJGA Performance Based Entry was awarded to the top-five boys in the 15-18 division, and the Girls champion. The IMG Junior Golf Tour gets back underway at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 19-20.
For full results, visit the IMG Junior Golf Tour leaderboard by clicking HERE.
