Yvonne Zheng punches her ticket for the LPGA's Symetra Tour at Victoria Hills in DeLand, Fla.

The IMG Junior Golf Tour returned to the links with a field of 82 players from 15 states and 13 different countries at Victoria Hills Golf Club in DeLand, Fla., March 16-17. It is the third year for the Tour to visit Victoria Hills, but the top storyline of the weekend is that it marked the final points event to determine the winner of the LPGA Symetra Tour exemption, awarded to the top player in the Girls 15-18 Division after 13 qualifying events. Heading into the event, six players were within striking distance, but points leader Yvonne Zheng of Bradenton, Fla. was able to hang on to the lead and earn the exemption after tying for second place with a four-over 148 total.

“I am just really excited about [Guardian Retirement Championship at] Sara Bay, so I’m going to practice a lot for it,” said Zheng of the exemption. “Tee shots were important out there, so I was focused on putting myself in the fairway.”

Last year, Zheng entered the final qualifying event as the points leader, but was overtaken by Bolivia’s Natalia Pérez, who went on to play at Sara Bay.

The winner of the Girls 15-18 Division was Ailin Li of Windermere, Fla., who entered the event in third place for the Symetra Tour exemption. Li came in focused, and shot a solid 73+72=145 (+1) to score her third Tour win of the season. Li’s performance gave her the edge over second place finishers, Zheng and Brazil’s Vitoria Teixeira (+4). Li finished just five points behind Zheng in the exemption points race with the win. 

In the Boys 15-18 Division, 14-year old Zongfan Li of Bradenton, Fla. took home his first career IMG Junior Golf Tour win. Li shot 70 on Saturday, the lowest total in his division, and it provided enough cushion to hang on to the win. Li finished the weekend with a two-over 146 total, edging out Harry Xue of Lake Mary, Fla (+5) by three strokes.  

“I felt great the first day, but not as confident Sunday – just had to play my game,” said Li on the win. “Approach shots were the key for me, and my putter was fantastic on Sunday.”

Rounding out the weekend in the Boys 11-14 Division, Brandon Wang of Houston, Texas, cruised to his second victory in his last three events when he tied for the lowest round in any division, shooting 70 on Sunday. Wang’s five-over 149 total gave him a six-stroke advantage over Singapore’s Qi Ming Wong (+11), who finished in second place. It was Wang’s fifth top-two finish on the season. 

Victoria Hills is ranked by Golfweek as the No. 18 course you can play in the state of Florida. The event was ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and AJGA Performance Based Entry Status was awarded to top finishers. Li and Li each earned four performance stars for AJGA Performance Based Entry status, while the Boys 15-18 top-five each earned one star. The IMG Junior Golf Tour returns to action at Heron Glen Golf Course in Ringoes, N.J., April 6-7. 

For full results, please visit the IMG Junior Golf Tour leaderboard by clicking HERE.

For the full final standings of the Symetra Tour exemption race, please visit the leaderboard by clicking HERE.