Reflecting on a Legacy: Celebrating 25 Years of The Journey with the South Florida PGA Junior Tour
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour celebrates 25 years of dedication to fostering growth, competition, and a lifelong love for golf among young athletes.
From its inception, the program has been committed to providing a platform where junior golfers can come together to learn the game, advance their skill, while building longtime friendships.
As the Junior Tour embarks on its 25th anniversary, the South Florida PGA looks back with pride and gratitude at the incredible journey which has defined its legacy.
"Nobody would have ever guessed how successful it would be," said Don Law, PGA Junior Golf Chairman (2000-13).
Dating back to January of 1999, Law and Bobby Brown, PGA, two former chairmen of the Junior Golf Committee, came together to address the growing need for junior golf programs in South Florida. Brown and Law established the first-ever South Florida PGA-administered Junior Tour. This tour consisted of six events extending from June to August featuring less than 100 members.
"The goal behind the tour was to keep playing costs low and travel distances to a minimum while providing top-notch junior golf tournaments," Brown stated.
From six events to the 100+ seen today, the SFPGA junior golf journey has been remarkable.
What started as a modest initiative has blossomed into a life-changing experience for kids across South Florida. Today, the South Florida PGA Junior Tour administers over 100 junior golf events for more than 1,200 junior golfers.
Outside of the events conducted year round, the SFPGA Junior Tour serves as a bridge for young golfers to advance their skills and pave the way for a future in the golf industry.
Over the past decade, more than 200 junior golfers have gone on to play golf at the collegiate level and beyond, including professional golfers Brooks Koepka, Lexi Thompson, Daniel Berger, and Jaye Marie Green.
Law explained, “when we started we just wanted to get kids interested in golf; I didn't go to college, so I wanted to help kids get there and help them get noticed and recruited to college."
In addition to collegiate golf, many players have made golf their career with close to 30 having attained PGA membership and now being employed at golf facilities throughout south Florida.
"Golf is a sport where you don't need to play for a living for it to be your living; you can still change lives and help people," Law explained.
"You affect whole generations, not just one person."
Through the support from host facilities, dedication from coaches and PGA Professionals, partners and camaraderie from players on and off the golf course, the South Florida PGA Junior Tour proudly celebrates 25 years of fostering love for the game and shaping the legacy for what is to come.
Here's to 25 years.
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WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Corinne de Nigris of Palm Beach Gardens is the 2025 Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Tour Don Law Service Award recipient for her time and dedication to the South Florida PGA Junior Tour and Foundation.
Ed Ficker embodies the true spirit of sportsmanship. His attitude, demeanor, and unwavering dedication to the game of golf reflect the exceptional character that has defined his career. As the Head Golf Professional at Tequesta Country Club for 41 years, Ficker set the gold standard for professionalism, retiring in 2006 with numerous honors. Among his achievements, he received several prestigious South Florida PGA awards, served as Vice President and Director of the PGA of America, and was inducted into the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame in 2001.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Matthew Marigliano, Jaime Baker, Lilly Parker, and William Lorberbaum, are crowned champions at the 2025 Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Tour Championship, held December 6-7 at The Park. The South Florida PGA Medalist Tour Championship is the final event of the 2025 season and is comprised of the Medalist Tour’s top players. Each spot was earned through a season-long qualifying process of Player of the Year Points. The number of qualifying spots was determined by the percentage of total Junior Members in each division. In the Boys 13-18 Division, Marigliano of Palm Beach Gardens fired a round one score of 3-under, trailing Xingrun Piao of Winter Garden by three strokes. Marigliano came back in round two with a 7-under round, and managed to seal the final championship of the 2025 season by two shots over Piao. The Girls 13-18 Division finished their final round in darkness. After round one, Parker of North Palm Beach and Jaime Baker of Lake Worth were neck-and-neck with Parker leading the event by one shot. In round two, Parker finished 1-over, while Baker finished even-par, forcing a playoff. After two playoff holes, Baker and Parker could not continue due to darkness, awarding both players the title of Champion. In the Boys 11-12 Division, Lorberbaum of Delray Beach was leading after round one with a 4-over par round, two shots over Gabriel Shabashkevich of Boca Raton. Lorberbaum managed to scrape by in round two, shooting 4-over and winning the championship by one stroke. Shabashkevich came in close for second place, winning a scorecard playoff of Simon Bustos of Cattanooga, Tennessee, both finishing with a total of 8-over. Special congratulations to the following end of season award winners:: 2025 Female Ed Ficker Sportsmanship Award: Lilly Parker 2025 Male Ed Ficker Sportsmanship Award: Ryan Toole 2025 Don Law Service Award: Corinne de Nigris Congratulations to our Division Players of the Year: Boys 13-18: Tristan Rhodenizer of Palm Beach Gardens (1,360.00 points) Girls 13-18: Lilly Parker of North Palm Beach (1,426.00 points) Boys 11-12: Simon Bustons of Chattanooga, Tennessee (1,310.00 points) The South Florida PGA Junior Tour wants to extend its thank you to Brian Conley, PGA General Manager, Cody Sinkler, PGA Director of Golf, and Clay Myers, PGA Head Golf Professional for their continued support of all levels of the Junior Tour. Without the continued support of the PGA Professionals in our section we would not be able to have 100+ event days, 6,575+ rounds played, and 1,250+ members. The SFPGA Junior Tour 2026 schedule will be released on December 9th, 2025 and 2026 membership registration will open on December 11th, 2025 at 10:00 AM EST. Thank you to all players, spectators, and PGA Professionals for a great season and we look forward to resuming in the new year. Leaderboards | Event Photos | Social Media
VERO BEACH, FL – Jeremy Castellanos and Mila Zalsman crowned champions at the Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour event, held November 22-23 at Sandridge Golf Club - Dunes Course. After 18-holes, the Boys 13–18 Division was tied as Jeremy Castellanos of Windemere and Luke Harrigan of Hobe Sound finished at 3-under after round one. Castellanos kept the momentum, firing another 3-under round in round two to secure the title at 6-under over Harrigan who finished at even-par for both days. Harrigan placed second in a scorecard playoff over Reed Abdelnour of West Palm Beach, and Navraj Suri of Miami. In the Girls 13–18 Division, Mila Zalsman of Saint Petersburg was in fourth place at 1-over after round one, four shots behind leader Lilly Parker of North Palm Beach who finished round 1 at 3-under. In round two, Zalsman fought back with an even-par round to secure the win at 1-over total, two shots better than Vanessa Georgescu of Fort Lauderdale who finished at 3-over. Georgescu shot a round two score of even-par to secure a second place finish in a scorecard playoff over Parker. The 71-player field combined for four eagles and 244 birdies throughout the weekend. The Girls 13–18 Division scoring average was 77.84, while the Boys 13–18 Division was 78.01. The South Florida PGA extends its appreciation to Bela Nagy, PGA and the entire team at Sandridge Golf Club for their continued support of the South Florida PGA Junior Tours. The Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour welcomed 49 boys and 22 girls across two divisions. The Medalist Tour is the premier membership-based junior golf program of the South Florida PGA Section, and it will continue its season on December 6-7 at the Srixon South Florida PGA Tour Championship. Even t Photos | Leaderboards | Social Media
West Palm Beach, FL - The Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Tour announced its 2025 Prep Tour Players of the Year for its six divisions, recognizing outstanding performances based on season-long point standings. This year featured 463 Prep Tour Members competing in 26 total events for ages 9-18. Players were awarded points based on their finish in the events played.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - The top 80 players on the Srixon South Florida Prep Tour Player competed at The Park for the Prep Tour Championship, November 8, 2025. The Prep Tour Championship was divided into six divisions and players were invited to the championship based on their point standings after all 25 Prep Tour events this season. In the Boys 13-18 Division, Ryan LaVoie of Port St. Lucie secured the top honor, shooting a five-under round to win by five strokes over Gabriel Rodriguez of Palm Bay. LaVoie managed only one bogey to go along with four birdies and an eagle over the 18-hole Championship During the 2025 season LaVoie placed in the top-five at four events with two victories—including the Prep Tour Championship title. The runner-up, Rodriguez, placed in the top-three at three events throughout the season. In the Girls 13-18 Division, Manuela Moreno of Doral shot a one-under round, claiming victory by five strokes over Jesera Mendez of Coral Springs. In 2025, Moreno placed in the top five at ten events. Of those ten events, Moreno claimed three wins. The runner-up, Mendez, earned four top-five finishes throughout the season. In the Boys 11-12 Division, Aiden Jim of Parkland prevailed in a scorecard playoff over Eli Widom, also of Parkland. Both players fired one-over rounds, with the tiebreaker determined by a single stroke. Jim claimed two wins along with 13 other top-five finishes throughout 2025. The runner-up, Widom, earned five victories including three other top-five performances. The Girls 11-12 Division came down to the wire, as Taylor Pedrique of West Palm Beach claimed victory by one stroke, shooting a one-under round, one shot better than Victoria Frias of Parkland. Throughout the season, Pedrique placed in the top-five in nine events, including three victories. The runner-up, Frias, tallied nine victories with 11 other top-five finishes in 2025. In the Boys 9-10 Division, Ozzy Novak of Wellington secured the win, shooting a four-over-par round to finish three strokes ahead of Julian Brandman of Delray Beach. Over the season Novak earned three victories and three other top-three performances. The runner-up, Brandman, collected five victories, including ten additional top-three finishes. The Girls 9-10 Division, Cheetah Baez of San Antonio, fired a seven-over-par round, claiming victory by a margin of five strokes over Joey Wolf of Lakewood Ranch. In 2025, Baez earned 11 wins on the Prep Tour. The runner-up, Wolf, earned four victories in seven events played. Congratulations to our Srixon Players of the Year: Boys Prep 13-18: Zachary Balfour of Delray Beach Girls Prep 13-18: Giuliana Walker of Hollywood Boys Prep 11-12: Jacob McMillan of Jupiter Girls Prep 11-12: Victoria Frias of Parkland Boys Prep 9-10: Julian Brandman of Delray Beach Girls Prep 9-10: Cheetah Baez of San Antonio This event concludes the 2025 Srixon South Florida PGA Prep Tour season. The 2026 season is scheduled to begin in February. The Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Tour will make its return to Sandridge Golf Club for the final Medalist Tour event of the season before the Tour Championship held at The Park.
STUART, FL – Kenny Klein and Mila Zalsman earned division titles at the Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour event, held November 1-2 at Mariner Sands Country Club - Gold Course.
BOCA RATON, FL. – Albright, Zalsman, and Lorberbaum earned division titles at the Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour event, held October 18-19 at Osprey Point Golf Course.
CORAL SPRINGS, FL. – Foegen, Compton, and Fleming earned division titles at the Srixon South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour event, held October 4-5 at Eagle Trace Golf Club.
NAPLES, Fl . – The Benjamin School Boys Team and Archbishop McCarthy Girls Team claimed victory at the South Florida PGA West Coast High School Championship. Starting the final round with a 3-stroke lead, the Boys team from The Benjamin School recorded another win finishing with a team score of 3-over-par in the final round. Charlie Woods (68 - 72 - 140) and Clint Lewis (72 - 68 - 140) led the charge, securing a team score of 1-over par. The Sarasota High School Boys Team followed behind, capturing second place with a total score of 5-over par. Individually, Jack Donovan of Barron Collier captured the Boys’ Individual Division title with a two-day total of 9-under par. Donovan secured the victory with a birdie on the second playoff hole over Henry Liebwein of Fort Myers High School. In the Girls' Division, Archbishop McCarthy started the final round trailing one stroke behind Barron Collier. Individual champion Abigail Lee (73 - 70 - 143) and teammate Paulina Ramirez (79 - 81 - 160) performed well enough to place the team in a tie and ultimately claiming victory thanks to Nia Bell’s 86 in the final round. The girls were victorious over Barron Collier after a scorecard playoff. Abigail Lee of Archbishop McCarthy claimed the Girls Division Individual title with a two-day total of 1-under-par. Lee had a three stroke lead going into the final round which she built upon winning by six strokes over Sophia Christy of Kings Academy. The SFPGA West Coast High School Championship featured 110 players—83 boys and 28 girls—from 21 teams across South Florida. A special thank you to General Manager, Bob Radunz, PGA, Director of Golf, Justin DeFont, PGA, Head Golf Professional, Richard Ter Haar, PGA, and the entire staff at The Club at Twin Eagles for their generosity in hosting this year's championship! Photo Album | SFPGA Junior Tour | Event Leaderboard
