Jan 12
22
Alex Wrenn, Hunter Rappleye, Marissa Hinchman
While the weather on the West Coast for the FCWT junior golf tournament at Bayonet and Black Horse, was not “on par” with the weather at the Reunion tournament, the competition was just as competitive. Bayonet and Black Horse, sometimes called the best 36 holes on Monterey Bay, is a challenge to even a seasoned golfer. In the Boys 16-19 division, the scores for Round Two dropped for the most part compared to Round One as the players had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the layout. While 75 was the best round posted on Saturday, 71 (-1) earned Low Round honors on Sunday. Three players achieved this score: Ben Corfee of El Macero (2012), Scott Munger of Danville, CA (2013), and Joshua Seiple of Castle Rock, CO (2014). They finished T19, T23, and T26 respectively. Two players posted a final round of even par: Clayton Madey of West Linn, OR (2013) and Hunter Rappleye of Elk Grove, CA (2013). Madey‘s even par earned him 3rd place, his second top 3 finish of the season. Seventeen year old Hunter earned his first FCWT tournament win, finishing at 149. Rappleye led this division in pars for the 36 hole tournament with 24. Munger led in birdies with 6. Local player Sebastian Crampton of Pacific Grove (2014) finshed in 2nd place with rounds of 75-76. Matthew Ashley of San Jose (2013) and Khalid Attieh of Jeddah (2013) finished tied for fourth place at 154, five strokes back of the winner, Rappleye.
In the Boys 11-13 division, Scott Mitchell of Santa Rosa (2016) and Charles Osborne of Reno, NV (2018) went almost stroke-for-stroke on Sunday with both posting a final round of 81. Mitchell won the competition by virtue of his opening round of 80. Mitchell led in both birdies with 2 and pars with 18 for the tournament.
Over in the Girls competition, Marissa Hinchman, in her fourth season on the FCWT Junior Golf Tour, earned her first FCWT win. Bayonet was her 23rd FCWT tournament in those four seasons, and one she will not soon forget. After finishing 3rd at the FCWT Mission Hills junior golf tournament in December, Marissa started the final round on Sunday tied with Monique Riley of Pleasanton (2012) for second place. Marissa carded a solid round of 75 on Sunday to earn both the Low Round honors and the Champion’s title, edging out Monique by one shot. Overnight leader Brittany Whatley of Las Vegas, NV (2012) finished tied for third with Annie Yang of Delta, BC (2013) at 165. Marissa led this division in birdies with 4, while Brittany and Annie co-led in pars with 19 for the 36 holes.
If Bayonet was memorable for Marissa, it will probably leave an indelible impression on fourteen-year-old Alex Wrenn of Lake Oswego, OR (2015). Alex was playing in his fourth FCWT tournament of the season. In his previous tournaments, Alex has found himself in the middle of the stringent competition of the Boys 13-15 division with players like Aaron Whalen and Connor Chesky, not to mention David Snyder who has moved to the 16-19 division. On Sunday, Wrenn had his opportunity to shine by posting the two best consecutive rounds in the Boys 13-15 division at Bayonet. His 74-75 allowed him to pull away from the field and join the others who have earned a Champion’s Title this season in the Boys 13-15 division. A quick glance at the flags in the Boys 13-15 standings will show how deep this division is this year. Well done, Mr. Wrenn – you find yourself in good company! Stephen Osborne of Reno, NV (2015) earned second place at 153, followed by Jacob Solomon of Dublin, CA (2015). Both of these young men are well-poised to follow in Wrenn’s footsteps and find themselves in the winner’s circle in the near future.
