SFPGA Hosts College Seminar for Junior Players
This Saturday the South Florida PGA hosted its annual College Seminar for the SFPGA juniors at Drive Shack in West Palm Beach. In an effort to help kids along their golf journey, the SFPGA hosts this free event every year to help both players and parents learn the many options that are out there for continuing their golf careers in college. We accomplish this through a panel of college coaches, Professional Golf Management directors, college players, and parents who have been through the process.
This year's panel included:
Sara Trew- Florida Gulf Coast University Women's Coach (NCAA I)
Tara McKenna, PGA- Florida Gulf Coast University- Professional Golf Management
Shelley Jahn- Parent of Student- Athletes and Former Junior Tour Members
Judy Dwyer- Lehigh University Former Women's Coach (NCAA I)
Craig Watson, PGA- Palm Beach Atlantic Men's and Women's Coach (NCAA II)
Andy Walker- Lynn University Men's Coach (NCAA II)
Ellen Breighner- PGA Staff Member and Former Student-Athlete (NCAA I)
Rodger Knick, PGA- Junior Golf Hub
Topics that were discussed:
PGA Golf Management Program
Opportunities for PGA Members
Standing Out as a Junior Golfer
Day in the Life of a College Golfer
Class and Practice Schedule
Starting the Search Process
Parent Involvement and Responsibility
Thank you to Drive Shack for donating the space for the event and for their continued support of the South Florida PGA.
Share this story
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
STUART, Fl . – Oxbridge Academy Boys Team and Jupiter High School Girls Team claim victory at the South Florida PGA East Coast High School Championship. Starting the final round with a 13-stroke lead, the Boys team from Oxbridge Academy added to their winning margin with a 15-over final round team score. Tucker Cullinan (68 - 76 - 144) and Ajax La Nasa (73 - 74 - 147) led the charge, securing a team score of 15-over par. The Lakewood Ranch Boys Team followed behind, securing second place with a score of 31-over par. Individually, Henry Crowe of Boca Raton High School captured the Boys’ Individual Division title with a two-day total of 1-under par. Crowe edged out Cullinan and Lawson Ford of Cardinal Newman by one-shot. In the Girls' Division, Jupiter High School started the final round with an eight-shot lead over Pine Crest High School. Keala Richichi (73 - 73 - 146) and Sarah Earle (79 - 80 - 159) led the charge, securing a team total of 52-over par for the two rounds. Pine Crest followed closely behind in the final round, bringing their team total to 55-over par. Sophia Christy of the Kings Academy claimed the Girls Division Individual title with a two-day total of one over par. Christy came back in the final round, beating out Richichi by one shot. The SFPGA High School Championship featured 123 players—80 boys and 43 girls—from 25 teams across South Florida. Next week, the Junior Tour heads to the West Coast for the West Coast High School Championship, scheduled for September 26-27 at the Club Twin Eagles in Naples. A special thank you to Director of Golf, Michael Leone, PGA, Head Golf Professional, Denis Moleres, PGA, and the staff at Willoughby Golf Club for hosting this event! Photo Album | SFPGA Junior Tour
Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Margilano, Pla, and Bustos win the South Florida PGA Jim McLean Labor Day Classic, the second-to-last SFPGA Junior Major of the Year, played August 30 - September 1st at PGA National Resort - Champion and Fazio Courses. This year's title partner, Jim McLean Golf Schools, is no stranger to the South Florida PGA Junior Tour, bringing with him not only world-class instruction but also a passion for shaping young golfers. Staci Pla of West Palm Beach led the girls division at one-under-par and held a two stroke lead over Palm Beach Gardens native, Olivia Hartman after two rounds. Pla had 12 pars during her final round to successfully defend her 2024 title, going back to back to secure a two-shot victory over Hartman who finished at 5-over total. The boys 13-18 leaderboard was stacked up following the conclusion of round two. Jake Valentine of Palm Beach Gardens held the lead at four-under-par closely followed by 2024 Labor Day Classic Boys Division Champion Matthew Marigliano (Palm Beach Gardens) at three-under-par. Marigilano stayed consistent with three birdies and fifteen pars in his final round to secure the victory. Tristan Rhodenzier of Palm Beach Gardens holed out from the fairway on the 18th hole to take home second place. Joshua Fleming of Deerfield Beach held a strong lead in the boys 11-12 division at three-over-par after two rounds of play. Simon Bustos of Chattanooga, Tennessee sat at eight-over-par heading into the final day of play. Bustos emerged as the champion with a final round of one-over-par, including five birdies and finishing nine-over-par total on the weekend. This year’s Jim McLean Labor Day Classic welcomed 156 boys and girls aged 11-18, competing in three different age divisions. Among the field were 23 players outside of the South Florida territory, including two international players from Puerto Rico and Brazil. The South Florida PGA extends its appreciation to PGA National Resort, Paul Gallo (Director of Tournament Operations), Michael Williams (Tournament Coordinator), and their entire team for their outstanding hospitality and continued support of junior golf in South Florida. The junior major season will wrap up December 6-7 as the Junior Tour heads to The Park for the Tour Championship. Event Leaderboard Event Photos Jim McLean Story
