This past weekend, April 11-12, 2015, while the PGA professionals took on Augusta National at the 2015 Masters, IJGA juniors took on their own challenge in the form of the IJGT Oldfield Junior at Oldfield Country Club in Okatie, S.C. On the other side of the weekend, while Jordan Speith was celebrating his first green jacket IJGA students Ankita Kedlaya, Bangalore, India, and Ritwik Jain, New Delhi, India, were celebrating their most recent IJGT tournament win with their friends over barbecue chicken.
Jain led wire-to-wire with an impressive 3-under 69 in the first round. In the first, he knocked in four birdies in his first eight holes and made par on the remaining four. To end his round, he shot a birdie on the par-4 hole No. 17 and even par on hole No. 18 giving him a five stroke lead after day one.
In the second round, the senior committed to play college golf at the University of Charleston shot an even-par 72. While he probably would have preferred another round like his first, the even finish was more than enough and included three birdies in the first five holes while closing out with back-to-back even pars.
Academy students Jason Stokes of the Jersey Channel Islands and Masashi Yano of Aichi, Japan rounded out the top three with respective scores of 1-over and 2-over, respectively, on the weekend. The top ten of the event was filled with IJGA students as three more tied for the fourth place spot and all but two of the top 20 Boys 15-19 Division finishers study as part of the IJGA.
In the Girls Division, Kedlaya also led wire-to-wire with her twin 1-under 71 scores. Kedlaya’s consistency brought her the title with just one bogey and two birdies in each of the two rounds. In round one, she birdied holes No. 9 and 11 while in round two, she birdied 8 and 10. She then finished each round with pars on the remaining holes following her second birdie.
Kedlaya was joined by fellow IJGA students Samantha Huang, Shenzen, China, and Sophie Guo, Bluffton, S.C., in the top three. Guo made an impressive eagle on the par-5 hole No. 18 in the final round to cement her third place finish.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division Chase Phillips took second place showing well and finishing out the tournament strong with back-to-back birdies on holes No. 17 and 18.
IJGA students will spend this week and next weekend volunteering at the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage before returning to the IJGT competition circuit on April 15-16, 2015 for the IJGT Island Open at Palmetto Hall.
