Braden Duvall wins second GPJGA tournament of season, Gabrielle Hultstrand takes girls division
Drive for show, putt for dough.
Utilizing a strong short game, in at least the first round, Pace’s Braden Duvall picked up his second tournament victory of the Greater Pensacola Junior Golf Association Summer Tour at the Pensacola City Championship on Tuesday.
Duvall carded a two-round score of 136 at the Osceola Municipal Golf Course to take the Junior Masters Boys Open Division overall title, shooting a seven-under 63 on Monday, followed by a 73 on Tuesday.
During Monday’s round, the incoming senior at Pace said he felt like he couldn’t miss on the back nine holes. That stretch of the round included a chip-in for eagle on the par-5 15th hole.
“My short game was really good yesterday,” Duvall said. “I chipped in for eagle and birdie, and I made a couple long putts.”
Previous Success: Junior Golf: Braden Duvall and Elizabeth Palmer kick off triumphantly, take home Cook Family Classic
2022 PNJ Fall Area-Area: Duvall, Hultstrand named 2022 Golfers of the Years
Duvall led by nine strokes after the first round – a round where Duvall went bogey-free for the first time in a tournament, he added.
But it was putting that was the struggle during the second round, Duvall said. There were a few short putts that he missed for birdie during the day and a couple other “mental mistakes,” but he said he was still hitting the ball solid.
“The putting (Tuesday) was a little struggle,” Duvall said. “I was hitting them right where I wanted to, so I can’t get mad. I’m hitting the right line, they’re just not going in.”
Tate’s Jack Wallace finished second overall with a two-round 143, followed closely behind by Niceville’s Braydon Moye, who won the tournament last week at the Sugar Sands Showdown in Navarre.
In the hunt
With just three tournaments completed for the GPJGA’s Summer Tour, Duvall has been in the hunt for all three.
He wound up winning the Cook Family Classic earlier this month in Milton in a playoff against Moye. Duvall took second last week in Navarre, falling to Moye.
Duvall mentioned he likes the competition.
“I like being somewhat in it, and knowing that every day that I have a chance to be in the hunt. That keeps me going,” Duvall said. “This is, so far, one of my best summers. We’ll see how it goes at the ending.”
Duvall noted that he’s playing in the Future Masters tournament at the Highland Oaks golf course in Dothan, Alabama, which is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The tournament is set to start Wednesday with a practice round before three days of competition from Thursday to Saturday.
“This is a good feeling going into (the Future Masters tournament) – having some confidence for that one,” Duvall said. “
Gabrielle Hultstrand wins girls title
In her first GPJGA Summer Tour tournament of this summer, Pensacola’s Gabrielle Hultstrand secured the Junior Masters Girls Open Division overall title, plus the 16-18 division title.
Hultstrand, an incoming junior at Pensacola High School, said the championship victory felt “really good” after carding a two-round 147, with a 74 on Monday and a 73 on Tuesday.
“I always get nervous around the last few holes that I’m playing, kind of finishing up nerves,” she said. “But I just told myself it’s like any of the other holes out here – you’ve just got to finish strong.”
Michelle Burt, from Santa Rosa Beach, finished second overall with a 165 and won the 15 and Under division. Elizabeth Palmer took third overall and second in the 15 and Under division, also scoring a 165. Burt won the division due to a better score on the back nine holes of the second round.
“I’m struggling with my driver a bit, so I had to really think about which holes I needed to use driver or not,” Hultstrand said. “Other than that, I think my play was all right.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on Twitter (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Braden Duvall, Gabrielle Hultstrand win GPJGA's Pensacola City Championship
