16 year-old Ray Filter of Crown Point posted a two-day total of 2-over-par, 146 to capture the Hoosier Junior Championship title in the boy’s division at Otter Creek GC in Columbus. Filter finished the tournament strong, carding a 1-under-par, 71 today to finish in a tie for first and force a playoff with Connor McNeely of Noblesville.
“Today, my only goal was to play the best that I could,” said Filter, a sophomore at Crown Point High School. “You just have to go out there and try to put up a good number and hope it holds up at the end of the day.”
Filter and McNeely headed to the reachable par-5, 1st and proved they were both in-it to win, both going for the green in two, despite having to cross a greenside pond.
Both players crossed the pond with ease and left their second shots in the same greenside bunker. With tremendous bunker shots, both players gave themselves close birdie looks and went on to convert their putts.
They headed to the par-4, 2nd. Filter hit two textbook shots, leaving himself with twenty feet for birdie. McNeely’s tee shot found the trees right of the fairway, and his punch shot ended up, once again, in the greenside bunker. This time, he wasn’t able to get up-and-down and Filter made an easy two-putt par and took home the title.
“I’ve been really working on my short game lately and that really paid off this week,” said Filter. “This win means a lot to me because it shows me that my hard work in paying off. I hope to keep getting better and keep getting wins.
In the girl’s division, Yanah Rolston of Fortville posted rounds of 78-83 to grab the title by one shot.
“I played well the first day and only had a couple of hiccups,” said Rolston, a junior at Hamilton Southeastern. “Today, I played really well on the front nine, and even though I struggled a little bit on the back nine I had a good finish.”
With four players finishing in second place, it came down to the wire, but Rolston was able to hold off the field but one stroke. Finishing second was Michaela Headlee, Carmel, Keara Eden, Madison, Christina Pfefferkorn, Carmel, and Gwendolyn Anderson, Columbus.
“I haven’t won a tournament in a while, so it feels really good,” said Rolston.