Hailey Jones goes wire-to-wire at Texas Junior Girls
Hailey Jones
(Texas Legends Tour Photo)
THE WOODLANDS, TX (July 27, 2016) -- Hailey Jones,
15, of Dallas went wire-to-wire to win the Girls 15-18
division in the 2016 Texas State Junior Championship
Presented by Merrill Lynch on a rain-soaked day at the
Woodlands Resort. This is now the second consecutive
year Jones has won this prestigious title.
Jones’ first two rounds on the Panther Trail Course
were nearly perfect. She had 11 birdies and only one
double bogey heading into the final round. She not only
led the field, she dominated it with a six shot lead to
begin her day. However, the forecasted storms did not
disappoint and play was forced to be suspended not
once but twice making Hailey’s final round score of a 1-
over 73 very honorable.
“The round was okay. I didn’t play as well as I did
yesterday,” Jones said. “I had a bunch of par saves that
I really needed but I hit my irons really well again.
Struggled a little bit but got it in so it’s okay.”
She had four birdies mixed with five bogeys to give
her that 1-over 73. It was an up-and-down round for
her on a very up-and-down day of intense rain and dark
clouds. The first suspension came at 10:30 a.m. and
lasted until 12:08 p.m. Even when the players made
their way out after that first delay, it was very evident
that there would be another delay as more storms
loomed in the distance. The second delay came at 1:30
p.m. and went until 3:10 p.m. Although there were no
other suspensions, thunder rolled in the background and
somehow did not deter Jones in the slightest. She said
even with the unpredictability of the weather she was
able to stay relaxed. A trait of a developing champion.
“During the delays I didn’t really think about
anything I just played games on my phone and just kind
of chilled,” Jones said with a laugh.
Jones finished with style holding a five shot lead
over runner-up Kennedy Pedigo of Fort Worth. Pedigo
was 1-under for the day and 3-under for the
tournament. Pedigo’s sister, Rylee Pedigo an Oklahoma
Univeristy junior, is currently the top seed at the WTGA
State Amateur Championship at Brook Hollow GC
making it a hectic yet exciting time for the Pedigo
family.
In third was Christine Wang of Houston who was 2-
under for the tournament and behind her was a tie for
fourth Valerie Patino of Katy and Sadie Englemann of
Austin were both 1-over.
ABOUT THE
Texas Girls' State Junior
The Texas Girls Junior Championship is a 54-hole
stroke
play championship. The 60 -player field is cut to the
low 27 and ties after the first round. All players must
be a resident of Texas and have not yet enrolled in
college.
View Complete Tournament Information