Record-Breaking Second Round Propels Sobel to Heritage Junior Championship Title

BLUFFTON - Clearwater Beach Florida's Zachery Sobel blistered Berkeley Hall's South Course in the second round of the Heritage Junior Championship, carding 10 birdies opposite zero bogies, and held on to an eight-shot lead during the final round to win his first ever American Junior Golf Association event.

Sobel finished with a score of 15-under-par 201 to capture the Boys Division title over Birmingham, Alabama's Smylie Kaufman who finished in second place with an 11-under-par 205. Sobel was pleased with the way he followed up his competitive course record of 62. 

"Today, there were tougher conditions to play in," he said. "I'm very proud of myself for staying patient and focused. I did what I had to do."

In the Girls Division, Luz Alejandra Cangrejo of Bogota, Columbia, finished at 4-under-par 212 for a five-stroke victory.

The tournament field consisted of 59 boys and 21 girls, ages 12-18, from 18 states, Northern Ireland, Canada and Columbia. The Boys Division played the par-72 course at 7,059, while the Girls Division played at 6,187 yards.

A second round to remember

Zachery Sobel had to qualify Monday just to make the field of the 15^th annual Heritage Junior Championship held at Berkeley Hall Golf Club. He shot a 72, which was good enough to make the field but woke up with horrible pain in his back and seriously spoke of withdrawing. He stayed in the tournament and won it going away.

Wednesday Sobel fired a competitive course record of 10-under-par 62 to give himself an eight shot cushion heading into Thursday's final round.

He said he struck his irons well, gave himself plenty of birdie opportunities and stayed focused and intent on going low over the course of the entire round. But he insisted that score of 62 could have been lower.

"Yes it could've been," Sobel said. "I missed some opportunities and a few 10 foot putts. But no matter how hard you strive, you're not gonna achieve perfection in this game. I had my eyes set on the absolute best. It's easy to lose focus and settle but I didn't do that."

For the 17-year-old Sobel, the Heritage Junior was his first ever American Junior Golf Association event and he was coming off a long layoff from golf after spending seven months playing baseball in Florida.

"Baseball was great and is strengthened me stamina wise," Sobel said. "But I was intense about getting back to practicing golf. Golf is my future."