Ropietski Cruises to Victory
Cael Ropietski fired back-to-back sub-70 rounds at Hueston Woods Golf Course to earn his first Golfweek Junior Tour victory in only his second start. Cael started the weekend off with 5 birdies on his way to a front nine 31 on Saturday. He added one more birdie on the back for a bogey-free 66. Armed with a 4 stroke overnight lead, he came back with 5 more birdies en route to a 69 on Sunday and a six shot win. Cael two sub-70 rounds were the only ones all weekend. Gavin Augenstein wound up in second place with a two-day total of 141 (71-70). Kyle Smith claimed third place with rounds of 72-73 for a 145 total.
After four previous top 5 finishes on tour this season, Harrison Zipfel broke through and snagged his first Golfweek Junior Tour win at Hueston Woods. Harrison had the low round of the tournament on Saturday with a 71 that included four birdies. He came out and eagled the first hole of the day on Sunday and never looked back. He finished Saturday's round with a 74 for a 145 total for the weekend. Finishing two strokes back of Harrison were two competitors tied for second. Nick Vilela (73-74) and Cole Eger (74-73) both ended the tournament at 147.
At Indian Ridge Golf Club, Kylee Heidemann birdied three of the final four holes, including the 18th to pick up her second Golfweek Junior Tour win and first since last June. After a string of four straight bogies on back nine on Sunday, Kylee found herself in third place. However, she righted the ship with her late birdies and needed each of them as she secured a one stroke win. Kylee ended the weekend at 150 (73-77). Second place was a tie between Sydney Deal (76-75) and Morgan Rodgers (77-74) at 151.
In the Boys 13 and Under division, Brycen Tisch continued his amazing season. Brycen shot his lowest 36 hole score on the Golfweek Junior Tour, which helped guide him to his fourth win of the season. He had the two lowest rounds of the tournament at Indian Ridge with scores of 70 on Saturday and then 72 on Sunday. In just ten starts this season, Brycen has now recorded nine top-5 finishes. Ben Fauver ended the weekend five stokes behind and in second place at 147 (74-73). Patrick Paquette was one back of that at 73-75, for a 148 total.
Eva Lim posted the lowest round of the tournament on Sunday with a 76 to complete a comeback win. The win was the third of the season for Eva. She started Sunday morning three strokes back of the lead. After 35 holes, she had drawn into a tie for the lead. Eva then birdied the final hole of the tournament at Indian Ridge to capture the win at 161. This continues an excellent season for Eva, who has four other top-5 finishes in addition to her wins. Olivia Donovan finished the weekend in second place with a 163 total (83-80). Eliza Mercer came in third with score of 82-84 for a 166 total.
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