Toyota Tour Cup at Carlton Oaks
SANTEE, CA | The Toyota Tour Cup traveled south to Carlton Oaks Golf Club who has hosted annually since 2013. This challenging Dye design favors the accurate tee shots over long and will force you to hit every type of shot before the round is done.
Alice Zhao’s even par opening round ended up being the low score for the tournament which goes to show just how challenging this layout is. However, 6 players were within three strokes of the lead and with bad weather looming it was anything but over. Fifteen boys posted rounds of even par or better through round one. Leading the way was Rei Harashima in with a -4, 68. Eric Lee and Dalin Piao lurked just one stroke back.
Zhao, just 11 years old handled the pressure of holding an overnight lead like a seasoned vet making par on her final 5 holes when the pressure was on. She was able to hold off recent TTC champion Anna Davis and Emily Lee who both finished just one shot shy of Zhao. This is Alice’s first TTC title.
Halfway through the final round three boys were knotted up at -4 (Harashima, Piao, Lee) and all knew where they stood playing in the same group. However, Lee separated himself from the pack with birdies on 10, 11, and 13 and seemed to be on cruise control to the finish. Piao had other plans as he made eagle on 15 and capped off his round with a birdie on 18 to keep the pressure on at -5. Even though Lee three-putted for bogey on 18, it was still enough to capture the title by a single shot. Shuqun Sun fired back-to-back 71’s to take solo third.
Congratulations Eric and Alice!