Hurricane Junior Golf Tour Chicago Summer Finale at Red Tail

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour held the Chicago Summer Finale at Red Tail Golf Club this past weekend from August 5-6. Boys and girls traveled from all over the country to participate in the 36-hole tournament.

The event had four divisions: Boys 16-18, Boys 14-15, Boys 11-13, and Girls 14-18.

Boys’ 16-18 Division

Christian Wakeford participated in his first HJGT tournament of 2023 and took home the first-place win in the boys’ 16-18 division. Wakeford, from the Village of Lakewood, IL, brought in an exceptional scorecard for the weekend. With eight birdies, he brought in a round 1 score of 70 and a round 2 score of 76. Christian ended the weekend with a total of 146 strokes.

The runner-up honors went to Nathan Elm from Algonquin, IL. With three birdies on the weekend, he brought in scores of 75 for both days. Elm finished the tournament with a total of 150 strokes, one of his lowest scores this year. Newcomer to the HJGT, Julian Bhardwaj from Mankato, MN, finishes up the top three honors. Bhardwaj brought in scores of 73 in round 1 and 83 in round 2, totaling 156 strokes.

Boys’ 14-15 Division

In the boys’ 14-15 division, newcomer Logan Hong from Oswego, IL, finished the weekend in first place. This was Hong’s second event of the year and his first win. In round 1, he brought in a score of 83 and one birdie; in round 2, he had a score of 80 and one birdie. Hong took the champion title with a final score of 163 strokes. This follows a fantastic second-place finish at the Illinois Junior Open, where he scored a 164.

With a final score of 173, Peter Lochnicki places as the runner-up honors. Lochnicki, from Northbrook, IL, brought in scores of 81 in round 1 and 92 in round 2. This was his third Top 10 finish of the year. Finishing up the top three honors was Niall Panchal from Winnetka, IL. This was Panchal’s first HJGT tournament; he finished the weekend with a scorecard of 176 strokes.

Boys’ 11-13 Division

In the boys, 11-13 division, Zeidan Rowe from Chicago, IL, was the first-place finisher. This was Rowe’s first HJGT event of 2023; he did a great job on the course this past weekend. With a round 1 score of 86 and a round 2 score of 91, he ended the tournament with a final score of 177. We applaud his efforts on the course and hope to see him play again soon.

The runner-up honors went to newcomer Lucas Lochnicki from Northbrook, IL. Lochnicki brought in scores of 107 and 101 for a total of 208 strokes.

Girls’ 14-18 Division

To finish off a great weekend, Delaney Medlyn from Cary, IL, finished in first place in the girls’ 14-18 division. Medlyn has been playing with the HJGT since 2019, with seven Top 10 finishes under her belt. This past weekend she was able to secure her first victory of the year with one eagle, one birdie, and scores of 78 and 82, totaling 160 strokes.

Emma Fiocchi from Kildeer, IL, took home the runner-up honors. Her scores of 84 in round 1 and 83 in round 2 gave her a total score of 167 strokes. Sophia Pignataro from Arlington Heights, IL, finishes up the top three honors with scores of 102 in round 1 and 104 in round 2 for a total of 206 strokes.

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2007 with the intention of providing junior golfers between the ages of 8-18 an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment.

The tour’s vision is to provide superb hospitality and make every event a memorable one. With play open to both males and females, nearly every junior golfer is eligible to participate in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.

Currently, the HJGT is the largest multi-day junior golf tour in the United States, hosting more 2-day nationally ranked events than any other tour.

The HJGT has been able to achieve this goal by running the most professional events and providing exceptional value to all of our players and families over the last 15 years.

Based out of Orlando, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the country.