ORLANDO – Christina Surcey won the Girls Division of the Golfweek International Junior Invitational at Eagle Creek Golf Club with a par on the second playoff.
Surcey, a Cartersville high school junior, shot rounds 66-70-136 on the Par-73 layout. However, Surcey still had to hit a 15-foot downhiller to make birdie on regulation’s final hole to force the playoff. Surcey trailed Surcey four shots with 10 holes left. Guiser finished the round with rounds of 68–68–136. Both players failed to par the first playoff hole. Surcey won the match with rounds of 68-68-136.
Surcey confessed that she didn’t know where she stood on the 18 th green.
“I thought it might have been for second place. “I would not have made it if I had known.”
Guiser bogeyed her eighth. She fell four shots behind Surcey. Then, she made a comeback with an eagle at Par-5 ninth. After a birdie by Guiser and back-toback bogeys from Surcey, she managed a 3-shot swing in her favor at 13 the and 14 the. Guiser’s birdie on the 17 th gave her a one-stroke advantage that set up the drama for 18.
Surcey stated, “We were always back-in-forth and I just kept track (of the score in my head) all the time.”
Sabrina Kim was the only person to finish third, with rounds of 68–70–138. Hsin Tai Lin (70–70-–140) and Logan Hale (71-69-–140) tied for fourth.
Surcey is coached at Cartersville Country Club by Bill Hassell. She’s keeping her college search open, with many options she doesn’t want to disclose. “I am really trying to get as much good tournament scores as possible. However, I am interested in a few schools.
Zhengqian Li, a boy division player, followed up a round of 3-under 69 with another round of 68 to finish at 7-under and one shot ahead JP Odland at Celebration Golf Club. Li was the only one in the field to shoot both rounds in 60s.
Zhengqian won the boys section of the 2022 Golfweek International Junior Invitational. (Photo: Golfweek)
Li credited his coach for creating a winning game plan, which he was able to execute well enough to win.
“Play to the safe side and if it makes birdie, that is a birdie. It’s a par if it doesn’t. Li said that she did a good job with it.
Li is No. 49th in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings. The goal was to finish in the top three.
Li, a 2025 high-school graduate, said that her irons were “really good”, she hit a lot greens and my putting was not so great.
