Golfweek International Junior Invitational

Ann Sophie Bourgault continues winning fall with Golfweek International Junior title

Ann Sophie Bourgault is on a bit of a winning streak recently with the Golfweek International Junior Invitational being her latest victory.

Ann Sophie Bourgault has been on a bit of a winning streak recently. Two weeks ago, she topped the field in a South Florida PGA Junior event, firing a final-round 4-under 68 to wrap up the victory – which included playing her back nine in 5 under.

On Sunday, Bourgault did herself one better, using a final-round 67 at Celebration Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, to win the Golfweek International Junior Invitational by four shots.

“It’s definitely an important tournament,” Bourgault said when asked how her Golfweek victory stacks up with the others she’s amassed in a short but decorated career. “I think it’s the first invitational I’ve won so I’m definitely proud that I was able to win with such a great field and great people playing in this tournament. I think it’s definitely up there on the list for sure.”

After opening with 73, Bourgault managed the wind much better on Day 2.

“It was kind of a scrambling day,” she said of the first round, “saving par a lot of the times and just not how I would want to play. Today I just kind of woke up and just stuck with my gameplan, just focused each shot at a time and trust myself.

“Today I was able to hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and I converted some birdies so just kept the game simple.”

Scores: Golfweek International Junior Invitational

Bourgault’s final round was particularly big at Celebration, and it ties her personal best in competition. Earlier in the fall, Bourgault used a final-round 67 to win the Quebec Amateur Championship. In fact, she won all three divisions – amateur, junior and juvenile – to be named a Triple Crown winner in the event.

For the past four years, Bourgault, who goes by the nickname “AnnSo” and wears those letters in a necklace, and her family have lived in Naples, Florida, for six to eight months of the year. They return home to Quebec, where Bourgault plays out of Royal Ottawa Golf Club, in the summer months.

Bourgault was invited to Team Canada selection camp this year but didn’t make the final roster even though the experience helped move her game forward. The high school sophomore hopes to play college golf in the U.S. and is looking ahead to this summer, when coaches can begin communicating with her. Until then, she’s putting her energy toward keeping a list of where she’d like to play and improving her game to make sure she has that opportunity.

Photos: Golfweek International Junior Invitational, Girls

Consistency has always been a strong point of Bourgault’s game and as a self-described shorter hitter, she has needed her short game to be sharp. She recently started working with putting coach Derek MacDonald back home at Royal Ottawa and can see that paying off.

“Right now I think what I’m trying to improve is gain more distance, gain more strength, keep working out and getting stronger,” she said

Bourgault notes that she has begun working with a personal trainer and that outside of golf, CrossFit is another thing that occupies her time. Clearly, she doesn’t let anything remain a weakness for long.

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Photos: Golfweek International Junior Invitational, Girls

Check out images from the 2023 Golfweek International Junior Invitational at Celebration Golf Club in Orlando.

The Golfweek International Junior Invitational, which has been played for more than 20 years, wrapped up at Celebration Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.

Lucas Gimenez ran away with the boys competition, going 12 under to win by nine shots. Ann Sophie Bourgault won the girls division by four shots after finishing 36 holes at 4 under.

Add Gimenez and Bourgault to an impressive list of past champions that also includes LPGA players Annie Park, Stephanie Meadow and Bailey Tardy on the women’s side and Peter Uihlein, Morgan Hoffman and, more recently, U.S. Walker Cup team member Nicholas Gabrelcik on the men’s side.

Golfweek International Junior: Scores

Check out photos from the competition at Celebration:

Lucas Gimenez shatters personal-best score to run away with Golfweek International Junior title

Lucas Gimenez can’t imagine how he’ll forget the past weekend in Orlando, Florida.

“I mean, I’ve gotta put it at No. 1 just because I broke my record,” he said when asked how his nine-shot victory at the Golfweek International Junior Invitational stacks up on his list of career victories.

Gimenez, a 15-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida, blistered the field from the start. He made birdie on Celebration Golf Club’s opening par 4, eagled the par-3 sixth and followed that with six birdies in his next seven holes for an opening 8-under 64. Entering the tournament, the high school sophomore’s previous best score in competition had been 10 under. He finished the weekend at the Golfweek event at 12 under.

Midway through his practice round at Celebration, a course he hadn’t seen before this tournament, it dawned on Gimenez that this could be a good week. He saw shades of Marsh Landing Country Club in Ponte Vedra, Florida, which is near his Jacksonville home.

Scores: Golfweek International Junior Invitational

“I was kind of telling myself, oh this is just like the course I played in Jacksonville before,” he said. “I’ve always played well at that course so I knew it was going to fit me well in the practice round.”

You might say he punched the gas at the sixth hole on Saturday. After hitting his drive perfectly on that par 5, he pulled a 6-iron from 190 yards, started it at the pin and watched it draw into a slope on the green and trickle down to 8 feet from the hole. He made the uphill eagle putt and that was that.

“That was a big confidence booster because that led me to go 5 under in the last four holes,” he said of his front-nine 30.

After an opening 64, his best competitive round ever, Gimenez kept it together to come back with 68 on Sunday and finish nine shots ahead of runners-up Michael Gavin of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Sol Richmond of Windermere, Florida.

Photos: Golfweek International Junior Invitational, Boys

“For me, it was just kind of sticking to my game. Sticking to who I am and how I play,” Gimenez said of that mind game. “Not getting out of my head, focusing on each hole, shot by shot. That helped me quite a bit today. A lot. Just kind of focusing on every shot, shot after shot, keeping my head down, keep grinding.”

On a weekend like the one Gimenez produced, a player has to be accurate off the tee. He was. What happens around the greens matters too, of course, and Gimenez attributes his performance there to work he’s been doing with short-game coach Mike Shannon. He recently had his first lesson with Shannon.

“He got me straightened out a little bit and then the first round everything just kind of clicked,” Gimenez said.

Gimenez’s opening round of 64 at Celebration may have been his lowest in competition, but it wasn’t his best round ever. Three years ago, as he was getting ready for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, he was out playing Windsor Park Golf Course in Jacksonville with his coach and shot that most famous number: 59.

The AJGA Performance Stars Gimenez earned from his Golfweek win will be a big boost for the coming year, but he was just as pleased with the new friends he’d collected as the performance stars. Gimenez, a late entry into the field, arrived on the range at Celebration expecting to find a field of the best juniors from Florida. He looked around to see so many more cultures and nationalities than he was expecting, and relished meeting and playing with new opponents.

“This is not just a small tournament,” Gimenez said, “it’s a very big tournament.”

And Gimenez delivered a very big performance indeed.

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Photos: Golfweek International Junior Invitational, Boys

Check out images from the boys competition at the Golfweek International Junior Invitational at Celebration Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

The Golfweek International Junior Invitational, which has been played for more than 20 years, wrapped up at Celebration Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.

Lucas Gimenez ran away with the boys competition, going 12 under to win by nine shots. Ann Sophie Bourgault won the girls division by four shots after finishing 36 holes at 4 under.

Golfweek International Junior: Scores

Check out photos from the boys competition at Celebration:

Preview: Golfweek International Junior Invitational

The Golfweek International Junior Invitational is celebrating its 20th playing this week, and the history is piling up.

Past champions have begun to chart college and professional careers – in fact, many are deep into those careers. Perhaps most notable are Peter Uihlein, Morgan Hoffman, Annie Park, Bailey Tardy and Stephanie Meadow.

Among the more recent champions of the event, typically played in the late fall near Orlando, Florida, is 2018 champion Nicholas Gabrelcik, who had a stellar breakout college season at the University of North Florida last year and won the Phil Mickelson Award as the top freshman in college golf.

This year’s Golfweek International Junior will be played at a new venue, Eagle Landing Golf Club in Orange Park, Florida. With neither Alejandro Fierro nor Toa Yokoyama, last year’s winners, in the field at Eagle Landing, a new winner is guaranteed.

Pairings and full field list can be found here.

Past champions of the Golfweek International Junior Invitational

2001 — Chanin Puntawong and Nicole Perrott

(Champions Gate, Orlando, Florida)

2003 — Jon McLean and Tiffany Chuda

(Sea Trail, Sunset Beach, North Carolina)

2004 — Peter Uihlein and Jenny Arseneault

(Sea Trail, Sunset Beach, North Carolina)

2005 — Rafael Lee and Isabel Lendl

(Sea Trail, Sunset Beach, North Carolina)

2006 — Morgan Hoffmann and Elisa Aoki

(Ocean Plantation, Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina)

2007 — Julian Suri and Stephanie Kim

(Grand Cypress, Orlando, Florida)

2008 — Josh Eure and Stephanie Meadow

(Longleaf, Pinehurst, North Carolina)

2009 — Mike Miller and Stephanie Meadow

(Reunion Legacy, Orlando, Florida)

2010 — Sam Chun and Doris Chen

(Reunion Independence, Orlando, Florida)

2011 — James Yoon and Annie Park

(Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida)

2012 — Zachary Healy and Yueer Cindy Feng

(Celebration, Orlando, Florida)

2013 — Luis Garza and Bailey Tardy

(Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida)

2014 — Marcos Montenegro and Ana Paula Valdes

(Champions Gate, Orlando, Florida)

2015 — Robin Wang and Ya Chun Chang

(Lake Buena Vista and Tranquilo, Orlando, Florida)

2016 — Jan Schneider and Chin Tzu Chen

(Disney Magnolia and Palm, Orlando, Florida)

2017 — Jeremy Sisson and Chin Tzu Chen

(Innisbrook, Palm Harbor, Florida)

2018 — Nick Gabrelcik and Meiyi Yan

(Mission Inn, Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida)

2019 — Tony Chen and Jenny Kwok

(Champions Gate, Orlando, Florida)

2020 —Alejandro Fierro and Toa Yokoyama

(Hammock Beach Conservatory and Ocean Courses, Palm Coast, Florida)

Josh Duangmanee climbs the junior-golf ladder with an eye on older brother George

Josh Duangmanee is hardly short on tournament starts. The Virginia-based junior golfer has sought out reps and experience to grow his game.

Josh Duangmanee is not at all short on tournament reps. The 16-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, is not afraid to travel to find competition – or to find conditions that will test his game.

Near the end of the 2020 season, that meant Florida. Duangmanee found himself on the Atlantic coast, flighting shots in a stiff sea breeze to contend at the Golfweek International Junior, where he ultimately scored a top-20 finish. It transported him back to a trip he’d taken with older brother George this summer.

When George, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia, qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Oregon, Josh went along as his caddie. Golf is a family affair for the Duangmanees and Josh soaked up everything that week.

Bandon marked the first time that Josh had ever caddied for George. Their mom Joanne came, too, but because of COVID, that was as many family members as the USGA would allow on site. The Duangmanee brothers, three years apart in age, have chased their own competition growing up. Keeping up with that is a full-time job for Joanne.

Josh has caddied for big bro so infrequently because he’s usually competing in his own events. Still, he has studied George’s journey closely. In late July, when George played his way to the semifinals at the notoriously grueling Western Amateur, Josh was “refreshing the page every minute” from Newport News, Virginia, where he was playing the Virginia State Golf Association Stroke Play.

George is No. 213 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, but has been inside the top 50. Most recently he made match play at the Maridoe Amateur but fell in the first round. He transitioned out of junior golf before the COVID pandemic set in, finishing sixth at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. Starts at the North & South Amateur and Palmetto Amateur followed, leading up to what should have been a freshman season of competition at Virginia.

The Cavaliers, along with the rest of the ACC conference, didn’t compete in golf.

“They’re very close,” Joanne said said. “Since George has gone to UVA, it’s been difficult I think. They’ve played together since he could walk and so I think having him not home, I think that’s a big change. For him but for all of us.”

These days there is competition between the two in a different way. Both are interested in finance and since COVID began, have been trading stocks online. As of November, Josh was winning that game – up $300 on an original $1,000 investment.

If pro golf doesn’t work out, Josh would work on Wall Street. His dad Thanakorn, who played college tennis at South Alabama, also had a career in finance.

“I read a lot of Yahoo Finance and the Motley Fool,” Josh said of the research he does to trade.

On Josh’s golf bucket list, after seeing it through George’s eyes, is the U.S. Amateur.

“One, I would play with older kids and I would know how they play,” he said, “and then also winning. There’s so much that comes with winning.”

Josh, ranked in the top 20 in Golfweek’s Junior Rankings for the class of 2023, started the year by winning the Junior Honda Classic at PGA National’s Champions Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. After the American Junior Golf Association restarted its tournament schedule in June post-COVID lockdown, he finished fourth at the AJGA’s Harold Varner III Junior All-Star.

In 2019, Josh won the 13-14 age division at the Scott Robertson Memorial, a long-running junior event in his native Virginia. But Josh also has his eye on new territory, hence the U.S. Amateur dreams. It’s time to transition to amateur events.

Josh played the Orlando International Amateur in December 2018 and was the youngest player in the field. He played the South Beach International Amateur in 2019 and plans to play that event again to end 2020. He loves gaining experience that way.

“I think their short game is much better,” he said in judging the experience gap between that level of player and himself. “They always get up and down.”

The Duangmanee brothers share an instructor in Stephen Moskal, who teaches out of Belmont Country Club back home in Virginia. Josh’s lessons are mostly about mental game. Sometimes his mind wanders over the ball.

“It’s more about where to start the ball and where I want the ball to finish so I can get a good look at birdie,” he said.

A mind that’s always working? That’s a sign of a player who’s always getting better.

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Wind is the word of the day as Alejandro Fierro, Yoko Tai lead Golfweek International Junior

It was more than windy on the opening day of the Golfweek International Junior, but Alejandro Fierro and Yoko Tai handled it best.

PALM COAST, Fla. – With Atlantic winds roaring over the Conservatory on Saturday afternoon, Alejandro Fierro didn’t imagine there would be much room under par in the first round of the Golfweek International Junior.

He proved himself wrong.

Fierro kept the ball low, strung together seven birdies and only gave one shot back at the par-5 fifth. After all that, he was sitting at the top of the leaderboard with a 6-under 66: one of only five players to get under par on a challenging day in the elements.

“The course was a really difficult and the greens were really tough,” he said. “The hills and the wind also. I think I played pretty good.”

Fierro once shot a 63 in a Toyota Junior World qualifier at his home course in Merida, Mexico, but the International Junior Golf Academy student left many marveling at his feat on Saturday. He’s only been at the IJGA, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, for three months, but the sophomore already feels the difference.

Scores: Golfweek International Junior

“I learned a lot there,” he said. “I think my golf level is going up, so pretty good.”

Fierro’s compatriot did well on Saturday, too. Rodrigo Barahona is a student across the state at the IMG Academy. He has been there two years. But the Monterrey, Mexico product has spent the past few weeks working on flighting shots in anticipation of a tournament that would be played right beside the ocean. It was time well spent.

“Especially with the weather here in Florida, it’s pretty useful,” Barahona said. “I kind of got a grip to it and I used it today. It turned out today pretty good. I hit some good shots, I made some good putts and I scrambled the shots I missed. I’m pretty happy today.”

Weeks like this are what Barahona uses as a barometer for how far his game has come. He spent a couple of weeks gearing up and he’ll spend a week reflecting with his mental coach. Competition is also an exercise in teamwork when you attend an academy, as Barahona does.

The IMG van, which brought a dozen men to the Conservatory, was full of energy on the drive across the state. Barahona’s teammate Nick Estrada, who fired a first-round 77, is the one in charge of the speaker. Estrada will play everything from Indian music to Latin music to rap.

“He turns all of us up so when we come here, we’re all energized,” Barahona said. “Most of us play good.”

Behind Fierro and Barahona on the leaderboard is Filip Jakubcik of the Czech Republic, who carded a 2-under 70 to land in solo third.

Two players were at 1 under, including Andrew Propes of Charleston. The Conservatory worked to his strengths. Propes is used to playing in coastal breezes in Charleston and is plenty adept at shaping the ball. On Saturday, his baby draw turned into more of a punch draw.

“In order to score out here and keep it low in the wind, you have to be able to flight the golf ball,” he said. “That was the key to my round, I would say. Keeping it low. Especially off the tee, you get it high and the wind just spin takes over and you have no control.”

Propes is a high school senior committed to East Tennessee State. After the Golfweek event, he will return home for a tournament in Hilton Head before taking a month off to work on his game. One of his goals is to tighten up his short game. Propes hit 15 greens on Saturday and acknowledged that given such a stat, he could have gotten lower than 1 under.

In the women’s division, a few miles away at the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach, the field met similarly windy conditions right next to the Atlantic.

Only one player, Yoko Tai, managed a round under par. The player from Singapore brought in a 1-under 71 that included four birdies and three bogeys.

Toa Yokoyama, Ellen Dong and Kennedy Noe were all tied for second at 1 over.

Noe has been working specifically on improving her wedge play and controlling her distance, two things that came into play on Saturday.

“When it comes to wind, I just had to try and trust myself and know that the club that I had in my hand was the right club,” Noe said. “I kind of just clubbed up on everything and then kind of took the line and let the wind take it whenever it needed to.”

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Golfweek International Junior Invitational moves to Hammock Beach for 2020

The Golfweek International Junior Invitational will be played at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Palm Coast, Florida, for the first time.

The Golfweek International Junior Invitational will be played for the 19th time this fall. Over the past two decades, the final Golfweek junior event of the year has identified up-and-coming talent, like PGA Tour players Peter Uihlein (2004) and Morgan Hoffmann (2006) and LPGA players Stephanie Meadow (2008 and 2009) and Annie Park (2011).

The event will be played at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Palm Coast, Florida, for the first time this year. The 36-hole event will take place Nov. 7-8 with the boys field competing on the Conservatory Course and the girls field playing the Ocean Course.

Fields are limited to 90 boys and 60 girls. Players who are ranked inside the top 200 in the Golfweek/Sagarin, Junior Golf Scoreboard and WAGR rankings will be automatically accepted into the field.

Register: Golfweek International Junior Invitational

Any player who has finished in the top five in his or her state junior championship should submit a playing resume to be considered for a special invitation.

The AJGA has awarded the “International” with the following PBE status:

Boys and Girls Champions: 12 Stars

Boys top 5 and Girls top 3: 8 Stars

Boys top 10 and Girls top 5: 4 Stars

Boys top 15 and Girls top 10: 1 star

Past champions of the Golfweek International Junior Invitational

2001 — Chanin Puntawong and Nicole Perrott

(Champions Gate, Orlando, FL)

2003 — Jon McLean and Tiffany Chuda

(Sea Trail, Sunset Beach, N.C.)

2004 — Peter Uihlein and Jenny Arseneault

(Sea Trail, Sunset Beach, N.C.)

2005 — Rafael Lee and Isabel Lendl

(Sea Trail, Sunset Beach, N.C.)

2006 — Morgan Hoffmann and Elisa Aoki

(Ocean Plantation, Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.)

2007 — Julian Suri and Stephanie Kim

(Grand Cypress, Orlando, FL)

2008 — Josh Eure and Stephanie Meadow

(Longleaf, Pinehurst, N.C.)

2009 — Mike Miller and Stephanie Meadow

(Reunion Legacy, Orlando, FL)

2010 — Sam Chun and Doris Chen

(Reunion Independence, Orlando, FL)

2011 — James Yoon and Annie Park

(Shingle Creek, Orlando, Fla.)

2012 — Zachary Healy and Yueer Cindy Feng

(Celebration, Orlando, FL)

2013 — Luis Garza and Bailey Tardy

(Shingle Creek, Orlando, FL.)

2014 — Marcos Montenegro and Ana Paula Valdes

(Champions Gate, Orlando, FL.)

2015 — Robin Wang and Ya Chun Chang

(Lake Buena Vista and Tranquilo, Orlando, FL.)

2016 — Jan Schneider and Chin Tzu Chen

(Disney Magnolia and Palm, Orlando, FL.)

2017 — Jeremy Sisson and Chin Tzu Chen

(Innisbrook, Palm Harbor, FL.)

2018 — Nick Gabrelcik and Meiyi Yan

(Mission Inn, Howey-in-the-Hills, FL.)

2019 — Tony Chen and Jenny Kwok

(Champions Gate, Orlando, FL.)