Wind is the word of the day as Alejandro Fierro, Yoko Tai lead Golfweek International Junior
PALM COAST, Fla. – With Atlantic winds roaring over the Conservatory on Saturday afternoon, Alejandro Fierro didn’t imagine there would be much room under par in the first round of the Golfweek International Junior.
He proved himself wrong.
Fierro kept the ball low, strung together seven birdies and only gave one shot back at the par-5 fifth. After all that, he was sitting at the top of the leaderboard with a 6-under 66: one of only five players to get under par on a challenging day in the elements.
“The course was a really difficult and the greens were really tough,” he said. “The hills and the wind also. I think I played pretty good.”
Fierro once shot a 63 in a Toyota Junior World qualifier at his home course in Merida, Mexico, but the International Junior Golf Academy student left many marveling at his feat on Saturday. He’s only been at the IJGA, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, for three months, but the sophomore already feels the difference.
Scores: Golfweek International Junior
“I learned a lot there,” he said. “I think my golf level is going up, so pretty good.”
Fierro’s compatriot did well on Saturday, too. Rodrigo Barahona is a student across the state at the IMG Academy. He has been there two years. But the Monterrey, Mexico product has spent the past few weeks working on flighting shots in anticipation of a tournament that would be played right beside the ocean. It was time well spent.
“Especially with the weather here in Florida, it’s pretty useful,” Barahona said. “I kind of got a grip to it and I used it today. It turned out today pretty good. I hit some good shots, I made some good putts and I scrambled the shots I missed. I’m pretty happy today.”
Weeks like this are what Barahona uses as a barometer for how far his game has come. He spent a couple of weeks gearing up and he’ll spend a week reflecting with his mental coach. Competition is also an exercise in teamwork when you attend an academy, as Barahona does.
The IMG van, which brought a dozen men to the Conservatory, was full of energy on the drive across the state. Barahona’s teammate Nick Estrada, who fired a first-round 77, is the one in charge of the speaker. Estrada will play everything from Indian music to Latin music to rap.
“He turns all of us up so when we come here, we’re all energized,” Barahona said. “Most of us play good.”
Behind Fierro and Barahona on the leaderboard is Filip Jakubcik of the Czech Republic, who carded a 2-under 70 to land in solo third.
Two players were at 1 under, including Andrew Propes of Charleston. The Conservatory worked to his strengths. Propes is used to playing in coastal breezes in Charleston and is plenty adept at shaping the ball. On Saturday, his baby draw turned into more of a punch draw.
“In order to score out here and keep it low in the wind, you have to be able to flight the golf ball,” he said. “That was the key to my round, I would say. Keeping it low. Especially off the tee, you get it high and the wind just spin takes over and you have no control.”
Propes is a high school senior committed to East Tennessee State. After the Golfweek event, he will return home for a tournament in Hilton Head before taking a month off to work on his game. One of his goals is to tighten up his short game. Propes hit 15 greens on Saturday and acknowledged that given such a stat, he could have gotten lower than 1 under.
In the women’s division, a few miles away at the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach, the field met similarly windy conditions right next to the Atlantic.
Only one player, Yoko Tai, managed a round under par. The player from Singapore brought in a 1-under 71 that included four birdies and three bogeys.
Toa Yokoyama, Ellen Dong and Kennedy Noe were all tied for second at 1 over.
Noe has been working specifically on improving her wedge play and controlling her distance, two things that came into play on Saturday.
“When it comes to wind, I just had to try and trust myself and know that the club that I had in my hand was the right club,” Noe said. “I kind of just clubbed up on everything and then kind of took the line and let the wind take it whenever it needed to.”
