Free Practice Round, AJGA Exemptions, Banquet & Beachfront Accommodations At AJGT Gulf Coast Championship at Peninsula on Dec 19-20! 
AJGT Triple Points Championship Tournament! 

Wilmore and Noibanchong Win Triple Points
Tournament at AJGT Kelly Love Showcase Classic!

McCormick & Hodge Take Age Division Crowns

Travis Wilmore of Alexandria, Louisiana and Pair Noibanchong of Mandeville, LA captured the coveted Boys and Girls Overall Championships at the Fifth Annual AJGT Kelly Love Showcase Classic at Indian Bayou Country Club in Destin, Florida. Mobile’s Daniel McCormick and Lana Hodge of Monroe, LA brought home Age Division Titles. Wilmore and Noibanchong earned AJGA Tournament Exemptions with their respective victories.

As the traditional Award Ceremony was concluding, several families remarked, “I don’t want to leave.” It was that kind of weekend: brilliant sunshine and warmth in the middle of the day with bookend chill in the morning and evening. Perfect Indian Summer Weather. Indian Bayou provided a challenging but fair test: greens were very quick but rolled perfectly, fairways were tight but not too tight, pin placements were alternately easy, moderately difficult and very tough. And the course was stretched to a challenging pre-collegiate yardage. Sunday’s round was warmer, but windier. All told, the event was one of the most successful in the history of the tournament.

New AJGT owners Owen Seiler and Dave Baer administered the event with outgoing AJGT personnel and acclimated themselves easily to the spirit of this great annual affair. The tournament is played in memory of Kelly Love, an AJGT member from Slidell, LA who perished in a tragic automobile accident in the spring of her senior year. Tournament participants wore kelly green ribbons in honor of our tournament namesake.

Wilmore Molds His AJGT
Legacy With Victory

Stepnes Fires Final Round, Even Par 72

Sweeney Takes Third With Best AJGT Effort

Travis Wilmore (73-73-146) has a penchant for playing excellent golf in big AJGT events. Wilmore, who won the AJGT Copper Mill Junior Classic last March, claimed a 1-stroke lead after Saturday’s opening round and finished 2 shots ahead of the field enroute to his Boys Overall Championship. Wilmore was fighting a nasty nasal congestion and a sore throat that left him barely able to speak following the 36th hole. UNO Head Men’s Golf Coach Chris McCarter, one of the colleges offering Wilmore, followed the Menard High senior both days.

“He’s extremely steady, isn’t he?” said McCarter. “He manages his game and himself very well, always under control. He’s longer than I thought and he’s got a nice wedge game.”

Wilmore birdied 9 & 18 on Saturday and played the front in even par 36 and the back in 1 over 37. His opening round, 1 over 73 gave him a 1 shot lead over Davis Riley (74-78-152) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and a 2 shot lead over Chuck Spears (75-80-155) of Pineville, LA, Scott Sweeney (75-76-151) of Lake Charles, LA and James Durbin (75-79-154) of Biloxi, MS.

Cherry Hills Forty-Nine Years Later

Travis Wilmore

Chuck Spears

Davis Riley

Sunday’s final pairing included Wilmore, a senior, sophomore Chuck Spears, and 12 year-old Davis Riley, playing up in the Boys 15-18 Year-Old Age Division. The pairing represented the present, the future, and the distant future of the AJGT. And it bore a remarkable resemblance to the convergence of generations at the U. S. Open at Cherry Hills near Denver, Colorado in 1960, one of the most famous professional tournaments in golf history. A changing of the guard took place at that event, as Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, giants of the game, all influenced the outcome of the event. For Hogan, it was his last hurrah in a major. Hogan hit one in the creek in front of the green on the 548-yard, par five 17th and made bogey. Then Hogan hooked one into the lake on 18 and took a triple on the tournament’s final hole. Prior to this train wreck, Hogan had hit 34 straight greens in regulation. Twenty year-old Jack Nicklaus tore up the course, but hadn’t learned how to score yet. Hogan said of him, “I played with a kid today, who if he knew how good he was, would have won the tournament by ten strokes.” Nicklaus would indeed learn how to score, and still holds the record for victories in Majors with 19. And Palmer? Palmer had just missed driving the first green during the first three rounds on the first hole, a 346-yard, par four with an elevated tee. That Saturday afternoon Palmer drove the green, made birdie and jump started a final round 65 that earned him the U. S. Open Championship.

Or, as Den Jenkins so aptly wrote in “Fairways and Greens”, “What exactly happened? Oh, not much. Just a routine collision of three decades at one historical intersection . . . On that afternoon, in the span of just eighteen holes, we witnessed the arrival of Nicklaus, the coronation of Palmer, and the end of Hogan.”

Wilmore made eight pars on the front on Sunday and then birdied the par five 9th, turning at even par 36 for the day. Wilmore shot 1 over 37 on the back for another 73, giving him a 2 over 146 for the tournament. Pensacola’s Joe Stepnes (76-72-148) recorded the tournament’s best round on Sunday, an even par 72, which included birdies on 2, 14, 15 & 16. Stepnes shot 1 under 35 on Sunday’s back nine and finished second, 2 shots back of Wilmore at 146. Scott Sweeney (75-76-151) of Lake Charles, LA was third, 3 shots back of Stepnes at 151. Sweeney played the middle 18 holes of the tournament in even par and collected a pair of weekend birdies. Riley (74-78-152) and Brandon Baxter (78-74-152), both of Hattiesburg, tied for 4th, 1 shot back of Sweeney at 152. Riley birdied 1 and 8 on Sunday and turned in 1 under par 35. Riley birdied 18 enroute to an even par 36 on Saturday’s back side. Baxter birdied 5, 7 & 16 on Sunday and covered the front in even par 36. Baxter had two birdies on Saturday and played the back in 1 over.

Fisher Bodenstein (78-75-153) of Milton, FL birdied 2 & 8 and shot even par 36 on Sunday’s front nine enroute to a final round 75, good for 6th place. Biloxi’s James Durbin (75-79-154) birdied 9 & 16 and shot 75 on Saturday enroute to a 154 and 7th place. Biloxi’s Garrett Barnes (79-76-155), Mobile’s Mason Seaborn (79-76-155) and Spears (75-80-155) tied for 8th at 155 to round out the Top Ten. Barnes had four weekend birdies and shot even par 36 on Sunday’s front side. Seaborn birdied 9 & 10 in succession on Saturday and played Sunday’s back nine in even par. Spears’ opening round included three birdies and an even par 36 on the back side.

Noibanchong 1 Under on Sunday Back Nine

Jordan Even Par on Sunday Back Side

Durbin and Lucas 1 Shot Apart

Pair Noibanchong (76-77-153) played her way to a commanding first round lead and closed on Sunday with a solid performance to earn the Girls Overall Championship. Noibanchong’s opening round, 4 over 76 included a 1 under par 35 on Saturday’s back nine. Noibanchong birdied the par four 11th and the par five 18th. Noibanchong birdied the par three 13th on Sunday and shot 39-38-77 for the victory.

Jaime Jordan (83-75-158) of Niceville, FL covered Sunday’s back nine in even par 36 to close with a 75 enroute to a second place finish at 158. Jordan birdied the par four 4th and the par five 9th. Biloxi’s Lauren Durbin (82-78-160) fired a solid, final round 78 to take third at 160, 2 shots behind Jordan. Durbin birdied the par four 11th on Saturday and the par four 3rd hole on Sunday. Ali Lucas (81-80-161) of Crowley, LA took 4th at 161. Lucas, who birdied the par five 18th on Sunday, shot 3 over 39 on the back side both days.

Pensacola’s Joanna Holt (81-83-164), Hannah Schorr (84-80-164) of Broussard, LA and Jara’ Templet (80-84-164) of Baton Rouge all tied for 5th at 164. Holt played Sunday’s front nine in 3 over 39 and birdied the par three 13th on the back side. Schorr fired a 3 over 39 on Sunday’s back side and improved her Saturday effort by four shots. Templet birdied 8, 10 & 11 and shot 3 over 39 on Saturday’s front enroute to first round 80. Pensacola’s Langley Vannoy (80-88-168) birdied the par three 17th and played Saturday’s back nine in 3 over 39. Vannoy finished 8th. Skyler Pusch (85-84-169) of Navarre, FL played Saturday’s back side in 4 over 40 and finished 9th at 169. Summer Struzinski (90-82-172) of Fort Walton Beach, FL shot a final round 82, including a 40 on the back side, to round out the Top Ten in the Girls 15-18 Year-Old Age Division.

Monroe’s Lana Hodge (84-76-160) fired a final round, 4 over par 76 enroute to the Girls 12-14 Year-Old Age Division Championship. Hodge, at 160, tied for third overall. Hodge birdied 6, 13 & 17 on Sunday and covered the front nine in 1 over par 37. Hodge posted a 3 over 39 on the back side.

Rachel Struzinksi (94-90-184) of Fort Walton Beach, FL finished second. Struzinksi shot 45 on the back side both days. Antonia Poate (107-105-212) took third, improving her Saturday score by 2 shots.

McCormick’s 73 Leads to Age Division Title

Remig Shoots Final Round 76 To Take Second

Karam & Mata Are Third & Fourth, Respectively

Mobile’s Daniel McCormick (76-73-149) carded eight pars and a birdie on the par three 8th on Saturday’s front side and finished at 4 over par 76, good for the first round lead in the Boys 12-14 Year-Old Age Division. McCormick birdied three holes on the front on Sunday and then birdied the par three 17th on the back side, shooting 35-37-73 and cruising to the title with a 149 effort. Parker Remig (81-76-157) of Gulf Breeze, FL was second at 157. Remig shot 38 on Saturday’s back nine and 1 over 37 on Sunday’s back side. Conner Karam (83-78-161) of Lake Charles, LA birdied the par four 15th and covered Sunday’s back nine in 1 over par 37. Karam shot 78 on Sunday and finished third at 161. Peter Mata (83-80-163) of Baton Rouge was 2 shots back at 163, good for fourth place. Mata birdied the par four 11th on Saturday and covered Sunday’s front nine in 3 over par 39.

Rogers, Panepinto & Jakuback Are 5th-7th

Elston, Wilmore & Briggs Round Out Top Ten

Destin’s Jason Rogers (90-79-169) closed with a final round 79 and moved into 5th place. Rogers fired an even par 36 on Sunday’s back nine. Casey Panepinto (91-80-171) of Hammond, LA birdied 11 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday and shot a final round 80 to take 6th. Matthew Jakuback (88-84-172) of Baton Rouge shot 42-42-84 on Sunday and closed in 7th. Triston Elston (88-86-174) of Baton Rouge shot 43-43-86 on Sunday and took home 8th. Alexandria’s Thomas Wilmore (88-89-177) and Beau Briggs (92-86-178) of Madisonville, LA rounded out the Top Ten in the Boys 12-14 Year-Old Age Division.