Spotlight: Hollis Eckols Takes Third at the Shingle Creek Junior Open
by Keith Bach · PGA Member, President and Director of Instruction JPGA (Also called JRPGA)
Eight JPGA golfers made the trip to Shingle Creek Golf Club in Orlando this weekend for the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s Shingle Creek Junior Open, and Hollis Eckols came home with a podium finish. Hollis shot 75 in round one and a 71 in round two for a 146 (+2) and third place in Boys 16-18. In a field of 48, only one golfer finished under par.
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Eckols Makes the Podium
Hollis opened with a 75, then came back on Sunday and carded a 71, one of only four rounds under par in the entire field on the final day. That second round is what got him to 146, the same total posted by four other golfers at the top of the board. In a division where the gap between third and eighth was just two strokes, every shot mattered, and Hollis made the ones he needed.
JPGA Fills Out the Leaderboard
Owen Murphy also cracked the top ten. He shot back-to-back rounds of 75 for a 150 (+6) and a tie for tenth, a steady, no-drama weekend from start to finish.
The story of the weekend after that belongs to Vic Witlox. He opened with an 83, then went out in round two and shot a 72, even par and 11 strokes better than the day before. His 155 (+11) put him in a tie for 17th. Julien Kocatas also trimmed his score on day two, going from an 80 to a 76 for a 156 (+12) and a tie for 21st.
Further down the board, Keegan Smith improved by five strokes, posting 83 and 78 for a 161 (+17) in a tie for 29th, alongside Jagger Yates, who matched that total with rounds of 79 and 82. Mike Gallina finished at 168 (+24) in a tie for 38th, and Murk Oechies posted a 170 (+26) for 41st
Eight golfers started, eight finished, and two landed in the top ten. Four finished inside the top 21 in a field that came from across the United States and more than a dozen countries.
Two Rounds at Shingle Creek
Shingle Creek Golf Club played to a par 72 and 6,653 yards, and it asked for patience. Ryan Hass of Roseau, Minnesota won the division at 142 (-2), the only total under par in the division. Will Hacker of Owatonna, Minnesota finished second at even par, 144. After that, the board bunched up fast: five golfers tied at 146, including Hollis, and just two more strokes separated that group from the next pair at 148.
Looking Ahead
Congratulations to Hollis Eckols on a well-earned podium finish, and to every JPGA golfer who competed at Shingle Creek this weekend. Several of our players shaved strokes off their second rounds, and that is exactly the kind of progress we build toward. The group will be back in action as the HJGT schedule continues. This is not Hollis’s first podium this season. He finished second in Boys 16-18 at the Hilton Head Junior Open, with Owen Murphy right behind him in third. JPGA golfers also tied for third at the Jekyll Island Fall Junior Open and took over the leaderboard at the Low Country Junior Open at Cat Island.
[…] routines, reset after tough holes, and stay calm in big events. You can see it in results like the Shingle Creek Junior Open, where one JPGA golfer shot an 83 and came back with a 72 the next […]
[…] to see more? Hollis Eckols took third at the Shingle Creek Junior Open and second at the Hilton Head Junior Open. JPGA golfers also tied for third at the Jekyll Island […]