The weather conditions the past two days at Stonehenge Golf Course were a test for many players competing in the Northern Junior Masters. Even with hot and humid conditions and a 30-minute rain delay yesterday, to chilly and windy weather today, two players were able to overcome the obstacles and end up on top.
Delaney Wade went into the final round of tournament today four shots ahead of Madison Keil after shooting an even-par, 71, which is a career low for Wade.
“Yesterday was a great round for me,” Wade said. “I was draining putts and almost every shot I hit went straight.”
Wade was just four-over-par going into her last three holes, but she started to feel a little pressure knowing she was close to winning the tournament.
“Today, I was playing really well until the last three holes when I definitely got a little nervous, but I managed to pull through,” Wade said. “I was still hitting a lot of good shots and making a lot of good four-foot putts, which is normally my weakness.”
Even with a triple-bogey on the par-4, 16th Wade fired a final round of 7-over-par, 78, to finish at 7-over-par for the tournament and defeat Madison Keil by five shots. Not only is this Wade’s first Masters Tour win, but it is also her first career win ever.
“It’s so exciting to finally win a tournament,” Wade said. “It shows that my hard work is paying off.”
Another player who came out on top was Alec Cesare, who went into the final round five shots behind the leader at the time after shooting a first-round score of even-par, 71.
“Yesterday’s conditions were a lot easier, and I played pretty steady all day,” Cesare said. “Today, the wind started picking up to 20-25mph gusts and it started getting a lot tougher out there.”
Despite these tough conditions, Cesare played solid with 11 pars, three birdies, and just four bogeys to shoot a final round score of one-over-par, 72. Cesare, however, did not think a tournament score of one-over-par was good enough to win.
“I could tell based on looking at the group’s faces behind us that they were struggling, so I knew if I birdied the last hole, I definitely would have a chance, but I made par and didn’t think that one-over-par would win, but it did, and I’m honestly shocked it did.”
Cesare’s tournament total of one-over-par forced a playoff against Callen Hoskins. Cesare defeated Hoskins with a birdie on the par-5, 18th to secure the victory. This is Cesare’s first ever Masters Tour win, and also his first win since the Age Group Championship in 2020 at French Lick’s Pete Dye Golf Course.
“Winning this tournament is a huge confidence booster, and hopefully I can win some more this season,” Cesare said.
Results: https://igf.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/igf21/event/igf2129/contest/1/leaderboard.htm