Lantana, Texas — June 7 2016 – Ninety-two players teed it up in Round One of the Lantana Jr Championship. The juniors were ready to take on the challenge and were greeted with warm sunny skies and a lush green golf course. Lantana Golf Club has hosted numerous professional golf tournaments, such as WEB.COM Qualifying school and it remains one of the main sites for the Texas State Open Qualifier. A fair but difficult test was placed in front of the players.
In the Boys 15-18 division, Steven Fabik (2017) of Lewisville, Texas came out firing, finishing the day three shots clear of Michael Rome (2017) of Austin, Texas by firing an opening round of 70 (-2 under). In the Boys 11-14 division, Brody Hanley (2020) of Lantana, Texas opened up with a first round 82 to give him the lead heading into the final round.
In the Girls 15-18 division, Paula Cortes (2016) of Allen, Texas and Stephen F. Austin State University commit fired a solid first round 73 to give herself a 4 shot lead over Quinn Barber (2018) of Grapevine, Texas. In the Girls 11-14 division, Melena Barrientos (2021) of Plano, Texas, had a slim 1 shot lead over Ellie Roth (2020) of Plano, Texas. Barrientos shot a first round 76, that bettered Roth’s first round 77, making it a tight race to the final round of the Lantana Jr. Championship.
The final round began at 7:30 a.m. local time, and 90 players came back for the final round to try and better their first round scores. The Boys 15-18 division saw some fantastic scores on day two. The eventual champion Michael Rome, who is also a new UNT commit, fired a final round of 67 to capture the victory by 5 shots. In total, there were five under par rounds on the last day from the boys 15-18 division. First round leader Paola Cortes, fired another solid 73 to capture the girls 15-18 title over second place finisher Michelle Zhou. In the boys 11-14 Brady Hanley bettered his first round by two strokes shooting a final round of 80 to capture the victory. In the girls 11-14 division, Melena Barrientos fired a second round of 74 to win her division by two shots over Ellie Roth. Quinn Barber bested Madison Goldberg (2018) of Austin, Texas in a sudden death playoff for third place. Barber scored a bogey on the first playoff hole number 18.
Boys 15-18 Division
1. Michael Rome (2017) – Austin, Texas – 73, 67 = 140 / 4 AJGA PBE Stars
2. Cole Fisher (2018) – Southlake, Texas – 77,68 = 145 / 1 AJGA PBE Star
3. Steven Fabik (2017) – Lewisville, Texas – 70, 76 = 146 / 1 AJGA PBE Star
Boys 11-14 Division
1. Brody Hanley (2020) – Lantana, Texas – 82, 80 = 162
2. Matthew Stover (2020) – Lantana, Texas – 96, 87 = 183
Girls 11-14 Division
1. Melena Barrientos (2021) – Plano, Texas – 76, 74 = 150 / 4 AJGA PBE Stars
2. Ellie Roth (2020) – Plano, Texas – 77, 75 = 152
3. Mackenzie Moore (2021) – Trophy Club, Texas – 81, 74 = 155
Girls 15-18 Division *pictured first*
1. Paola Cortes (2016) – Allen, Texas – 73, 73 = 146 / 4 AJGA PBE Stars
2. Michelle Zhou (2020) – Southlake, Texas – 77, 73 = 150 / 1 AJGA PBE Star
T3. Quinn Barber (2018) – Grapevine, Texas – 77, 79 = 156
T3. Madison Goldberg (2018) – Austin, Texas – 82, 74 = 156
Like ‘TJGT’ Facebook. Follow @tjgt on Twitter and @txjrgolf on Instagram!