By Barbara Palmgren
As one of the area’s premier junior golf tours, the ECJGT (Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour) scheduled its early spring tournament at Shalimar Pointe Golf Course on March 2. Last year I covered several of their events and enjoyed watching young golfers learn the game and improve their playing skills.
The Emerald Coast Junior Golf Tour started in 2009 for young people to measure their improvement and compete in golf in the Florida Panhandle. Junior golfers gain tournament playing experience to allow them to be the best golfers they can. The core values of the tour are to be affordable, fun, and competitive. As young players familiarize themselves with playing experience, they grow to appreciate the integrity of the game itself.
Dennis Attaway, tour director, was busy at Shalimar Pointe Golf Club on Sunday, March 2, with a large field of 18-hole and 9-hole players.
Fifty-five golfers ages 8 to 18 competed. The winners were:
18-hole Groups
Boys 16-18: Luke Hylton from Quitman, GA shot 77.
Girls 15-18: Corrine LaFerrera from Athens, AL shot 83
Boys 14-15: Jaxson Thomason from Cantonment, FL shot 82
Girls 12-14: Copely Kinsey shot 104
Boys 12-13: Jacob Gonzales from Santa Rosa Beach, FL shot 85
9-hole Groups
Boys 10-11: Mateo Miranda from Santiago, Chile shot 36
Girls 10-11: Olivia Haddock from Fort Walton Beach, FL shot 40
Boys 8-9: Caleb Topp from Freeport, FL shot 42
Girls 8-9: Evie Ile from Freeport, FL shot 56
The next event will be the ECJGT Spring Championship at the Raven in Sandestin March 29-30. This event is a local qualifier for the Noah Begay National Championship.
