Follmer, Lobner, De Marco Win Winter Classic
Dallas – The Hills’ Andre Follmer captures his first LJT title at the 2024 Winter Classic at three-under 69. Grant Lobner of Dallas had a tremendous round in the tough conditions to claim the Boys 14 & Under division after a final round 72, even-par. Southlake’s Stephanie De Marco claims the Girls 12-18 Division title with a three-over 75 in Saturday’s first and final round.
Division Leaders: Andre Follmer of The Hills claims his first LJT title with a 69 going three-under in the final round. Follmer showed dominance with five birdies on the day. Dallas’ Grant Lobner also claims his first ever title finishing at even-par 72 including three birdies in the first and final round. After a final score of 75, Stephanie De Marco from Southlake took home the Girls 12-18 Division title. De Marco had an incredible birdie on her final hole, to vault her into the lead and claim her second LJT title.
In Contention: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Lantana’s Caden Clark finishes tied for second with a 73. Our other second place finisher is Dallas’ Duff Mckay shooting an impressive 73 as well in the tough conditions. Finishing in fourth was Gable Roach of Keller with a score of 74. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Dallas’ Jack Lyssy finishes in second at 76 in the final round. Prosper’s Joseph Taylor, Lincoln Rubis of Farmers Branch, and Prosper’s Owen Layton all finish tied for third after rounds of six-over 78. In the Girls 12-18 Division, Austin’s Kanak Yadav secures a tie for second with Plano’s Eileen Lee after a final round of 77.
Weather: Temperatures for the first and final round at Dallas Athletic Club started in the low 40’s and only climbed to 50 degrees in the afternoon. Players braved these cool conditions while facing sustained winds of 15 mph winds that gusted to 30 mph.
Course: Dallas Athletic Club is hosting the Winter Classic for the 15th time and will be conducted on The Gold Course which was originally designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1984. Nicklaus won the 1963 PGA Championship, which was held at Dallas Athletic Club. The Gold Course was renovated in 2022 under the leadership of Chet Williams and Sanders Golf. The course now stretches out to 7,000 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,400 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and close to 5,800 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division. DAC was the host of the 2024 U.S. Open Final Stage qualifier, held on both their Blue and Gold Courses.
Tournament Format: The Winter Classic is a 36-hole stroke play event for players with an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. Players ages 12-18 are split into three different divisions. The event is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard, Golfweek and has AJGA Performance Stars that will be handed out to the top finishers.
Player of the Year Points: Eileen Lee, Grant Lobner and Andre Follmer all earned 1000 points in the Player of the Year Point Race. Points are awarded at each tournament to the top half of each age division.
What’s Next: The LJT travels to the hill country for the Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic at Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville on February 1-2. You can find more information on the tournament homepage here.
About the LJT: The Legends Junior Tour is part of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance, which is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The Tour operates as part of the Texas Golf Association and its Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Since its inception in 2005, the Tour has provided more than $250,000 to promote junior golf initiatives and exposure to the game to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity across the state. To learn more about the Winter Classic, click here.