Nip and Newton Win SFPGA Junior Tour Championship

The SFPGA Junior Tour completed the final event of the season this Sunday at Banyan Cay Golf Club and Resort. The Junior Tour Championship, presented by The Honda Classic featured 105 of south Florida's top junior golfers.


James Newton of Palm City secured the boy's overall 13-18 division title with a four-under-par 68 today for a two-day total of 140. Newton finished three strokes ahead of fellow competitor Noah Kent of Naples (143).


In the girl's 13-18 division, Gloria Nip of Port St. Lucie won the overall division title after a sudden-death playoff with Ariana Silva of Fort Lauderdale. Nip and Silva were tied at two-over-par (146) going into the playoff. Ultimately, Nip secured a par after the first playoff hole to win the division title.

Tristan Rhodenizer of West Palm Beach carded an impressive first-round score of 64 on Saturday. After a two-day total of 10-under-par, Rhodenizer won the boy's 11-12 division title by one stroke over Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie.


The SFPGA Player of the Year recipients were also announced following Sunday's round. After a season-long points race, these awards were given to the top-scoring player in each division for both the Challenge and Championship tours.

Tyler Mistretta of North Palm Beach secured the Championship Tour Boy's 13-18 Player of the Year award with 1,489 points. Mistretta competed in six events this season and won the Doral Junior Open in August. In addition, Mistretta was also awarded the 2020 Honda Classic Most Improved Player award on Saturday.

Jordan Fischer of North Fort Myers won the Championship Tour Girl's 13-18 Player of the Year award with 1,152.5 points. Fischer competed in five events this season, winning four and finishing second in another.

Brett Moore of Hollywood is the 2020 Challenge Tour Boy's 13-18 Player of the Year. Moore earned himself 1,950.5 points throughout the season. Moore's strongest finish was his first-place win at the Monarch Country Club Challenge Tour event.

Gabriella DeGasperis of Jupiter secured the Challenge Tour Girl's 13-18 Player of the Year award with 1,495 points. DeGasperis played in eight events this season and had three wins along with two-second place finishes.

In addition to his win, Rhodenizer secured the Challenge Tour Boy's 11-12 Player of the Year award with 1,893 points. Rhodenizer competed in 11 events this season and finished first in three of those events.

Abigail Halpern of Palm City is the 2020 Challenge Tour Girl's 11-12 Player of the Year. Halpern competed in five events this season. Her two wins and two-second place finishes earned her 880 points.

The SFPGA would like to thank Jared Chipley and the staff at Banyan Cay for hosting the Junior Tour Championship this year. In addition, the season would not be possible without the support of our sponsors at Don Law Golf Academy, Florida Gulf Coast University PGM Program, Junior Golf Hub, Loyal Auto Brokers, Nike Junior Golf Camps, OGIO, The Mirasol Fun Group, The Tee Times, TimberTech Championship, Titleist and most importantly our presenting sponsor, The Honda Classic.

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