Oscar Crowe, Zoe Pinillos Win Brendan Cunningham Junior Open
By CRAIG DOLCH
Special to South Florida PGA
NAPLES (July 16, 2021) – Oscar Crowe played his last five holes in 2-under Friday at Hammock Bay to win the Brendan Cunningham Junior Open for his first South Florida PGA junior major title.
Crowe, a 14-year-old who will be a freshman at Boca High, birdied the 14th and 15th holes and finished with three pars to shoot 1-under 71 and win by a stroke at 3-over 219 over Lorenzo Rodriguez (72) of Miami and Aiden Miller (71) of Palm Beach Gardens.
“I birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th holes the previous day, so I knew I liked those holes,” Crowe said. “I feel kind of in shock. I didn’t think I had the confidence to win up until this point. I wasn’t paired with the leaders, so I just had to stick with my game.”
Zoe Pinillos of Kissimmee shot 71 and won the girls title by nine shots at 1-under 215. The Peru native never trailed after opening with a 2-under 34 on the front nine Wednesday. She made 10 birdies.
“It was difficult at first because I was thinking the worst things: ‘What if someone shoots 7-under?’ But then I just concentrated on my game and I stayed calm,” Pinillos said. “I just tried to hit fairway, green and two putts, no more. One putt, perfect.”
Valentina Hurtado had a 73 and finished second at 8-over 224. Sydney Young (73) of Naples and Zoe Shamy (73) of Jupiter tied for third place at 225.
Formerly known as the South Florida Junior Open, the Brendan Cunningham Junior Open was named after Cunningham, a popular supporter and volunteer of the SFPGA. He died last September. It’s one of eight junior majors on the SFPGA Junior Tour.
The Brendan Cunningham Junior Open is run by the South Florida PGA. Supporting partners are Don Law Golf Academy, Titleist, The Fun Group at Mirasol, Junior Golf Hub, Tee Times News, Loyal Auto Broker, OGIO, TimberTech Championship, Biolyte, FGCU, ASM Scholarships and First Tee-Florida Gold Coast.
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