SAVANNAH, GA — The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) headed north to hold the Wilmington Island Junior Open at the Wilmington Island Club in the beautiful and historic town of Savannah, Georgia.

The tournament featured 45 of the best young golfers from the southeast and these young men and women had a lot to compete for during the two days of fierce competition.

* There were four (4) automatic bids for the 2012 Tour Championship up for grabs to the winners of each division;

* The players had the ability to earn South Carolina Junior Golf Association Heritage Points (SCJGA);

* And the tournament was ranked by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS).

Needless to say, there was plenty at stake to make the competition quite intense.

The Boys 11-to-14 Division was won by Josh Lewis of Lake Mary.

Lewis grabbed this narrow one-stroke victory by posting a two-day total score of 145 (71-74). The two driving forces behind this great victory were the 10 birdies Lewis recorded and his par or better average of 80.6-percent. Lewis also played consistently on the longest holes on the course, recording a par five average of 4.67.

The second-place finisher, by a narrow margin of one stroke, was Alec Weary of Bluffton, S.C.

Weary finished the two-day tournament with a 146 (71-75). Weary led the field in both par three average with a 3.12 average and par five average with an impressive 4.33 average. These two statistical categories really helped separate Weary from the rest of the competitors.

Rounding out the top three is Vijay Mishra of North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Mishra finished seven shots off the lead with a two-day total of 152 (75-77). Mishra’s excellent finish can be traced back to his perfect par five average of 5.00 and the 22 pars he recorded over the two days of competition.

In the Boys 15-to-18 Division the top spot was taken home by Savannah’s own Chris Sells.

Sells finished three shots in front of the rest of the field with a two-day total of 146 (+4). Sells played exceptionally well in the first round, when he shot even par (71) to take an early one stroke lead. Consistency was the most valuable asset for Sells during the duration of this tournament. Sells had the most pars in the division (25) and had by far the best par or better percentage (80.6-percent). Lastly, Sells really had it going on the par fives, posting a par five average of 4.67.

Billy Freeman of Jesup, GA and Howard Hickley of Savannah, GA both shot a two-day score of +7 (149), earning them a share of second place honors.

Freeman carded a 77 the first day and followed it up with a 72 on the second day. Freeman recorded a score of par or better on 75-percent of the holes played this week, including five birdies.

Hickley started out with a 72 the first day and then closed out the tournament with a 77. Hickley can be found at the top of three different statistical categories. Hickley recorded more birdies (7) than any other player; he led the field in par breaking percentage (19.4-percent) and was perfect on the par threes, recording a par three average of 3.00.

In the Girls 15-to-18 Division Taylor Allen of Lawrenceville, GA was crowned the champion.

Allen finished the tournament with a score of +14 (156). Allen’s first round of 70 was the best round recorded by any player, in any of the divisions, throughout the course of the tournament. In addition to this stellar first round, Allen swept the statistical categories in her division. Most notably, Allen recorded 5 birdies throughout the course of this event and also had a perfect par five average of 5.00.

Runner up in this division was Taylor Gaskins of Irmo, S.C.

Gaskins recorded scores of 82 and 87 to finish the tournament +27. Gaskins used an impressive 17 pars and a par or better average of 41.7-percent to earn second-place honors.

The Girls 11-to-14 Division first-place finisher was Rylie Marchman of Waynesboro, Ga.

Marchman shot a 94 and an 87 to take home the trophy with a two-day total of 181. Marchman used her par of better average of 27.8-percent and her par five (5) average of 5.83 to propel her to victory.

Coming in second place and just one-shot off the lead is Layne-Marie Carter of Lyons, GA.

Carter also had an impressive showing, recording the most pars (9) of any competitor in the division and also leading the division in par four performance with an average score of 5.09.

The third-place spot goes to Renia Milledge of Savannah, GA. Milledge finished the tournament with a two-day total of 296.

TOURNAMENT AWARDS:

BOYS 15-18 DIVISION

* EFX Birdie Challenge: Howard Hickley.

* Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Jacob Price.

* Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Billy Freeman, Howard Hickley, Bryce Miley.

BOYS 11-14 DIVISION

* EFX Birdie Challenge: Josh Lewis, Alec Weary.

* Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Josh Lewis, Alec Weary.

* Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Alec Weary.

GIRLS 15-18 DIVISION

* EFX Birdie Challenge: Taylor Allen.

* Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Taylor Allen.

* Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Taylor Allen.

GIRLS 11-14 DIVISION

* EFX Birdie Challenge: Rylie Marchman.

* Seaforth Par 4 Performance: Layne-Marie Carter.

* Coolheads Par 5 Performance: Rylie Marchman.

GOLF PRIDE COMEBACK AWARD WINNERS

* Boys 15-18 Division: Sam Love.

* Boys 11-14 Division: Nikola Bojanovic.

* Girls 11-14 Division: Rylie Marchman.