As the school year and golf season come to a close many IJGA students headed south to Orlando, Florida wrapping up the year in style at the Bridgestone Golf Tournament of Champions IJGT Tournament. The event included a “Night of Champions” at Universal City Walk’s Antojitos restaurant and a three-round 54-hole Tournament of Champions on Grand Cypress’s east-north and new courses from May 22-25, 2015.
Students completed practice rounds Thursday and Friday before spending their Friday night honoring themselves and their fellow competitors. Leading the IJGA contingency was sophomore Shiso Go, Kanagawa, Japan, who took home Player of the Year honors from the International Junior Golf Tour in the Boys 15-19 Division.
Go, who won three IJGT events this past season and never finished an event outside of the top-10 gave a speech following his introduction. He thanked his family for supporting him and his golf career, his friends, the staff of the IJGT who put on their tournaments and his IJGA Coach, Tim Vickers. Vickers and Go have been a great team as the 16-year old has improved his game throughout the year, working together every step of the way. Vickers was on hand when Go won the IJGA Invitational December 13-14, 2014 and celebrated the win enthusiastically with his young pupil.
Joining Go on the All-IJGT Team were Jason Stokes of the Jersey Channel Islands, Conor Byrne of Dublin Ireland, Tennoshin Ogawa of Ichinomiya-shi Japan, Xue Wen Luo of Haikou China, Santiago Diaz of Merida Mexico, Trey Wren of Suffolk Virgina, and Ritwik Jain of New Dehli Inidia. IJGA students took home eight of the top-10 spots in the Boys 15-19 Division on the season.
In the Girls Division, sophomore Sera Tadokoro of Osaka, Japan took home second place. Joining her were three academy seniors; Bunyaporn “Nat” Zeng of Bangkok Thailand, Chomchana “Cake” Phuchanbanchob of Chiang Mai Thailand, and Kelly Whaley of Framington Conn. Two underclassmen in Kayla Kozak of Bluffton, S.C. and Ankita Kedlaya of Bangalore, India joined her on the All-IJGT Team.
The Boys 14 & Under Division included two IJGA students in Chase Phillips of Hilton Head, S.C. and Ayushman Jaiswal of Bangalore, India.
