Sahana Chokshi, Sofia Rivera combine to play in U.S. Women’s Four-Ball

• High school golf rivals Sahana Chokshi and Sofia Rivera will team up for the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship.
• Cody Blick won a U.S. Open local qualifier at Marsh Creek.
• Lily Wachter won the Florida Junior Golf Tour’s Cypress Head Open.

Two junior golf and high school rivals from the First Coast will join forces May 10-14 at the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club in Nichol Hills, Okla.

Sahana Chokshi of Jacksonville and Sofia Rivera of St. Augustine will play together in the first national championship of the USGA season. The pair came out of the Johns Creek, Ga., qualifier on Aug. 19, 2024 and are two of 64 teams to compete in two rounds of stroke play May 10-11 to get down to 32 teams for match play May 12-14.

Chokshi and Rivera shot 66 in their qualifier to tie for third, then won a playoff for the first alternate. They got into the final field after another team withdrew. 

They will play at 2:07 p.m. (EDT) on May 10 in the first round and 10:47 a.m. on May 11 in the second round.

Chokshi has made the Florida Times-Union All-First Coast golf team in each of her first two years at Episcopal. Last season, she won the district and regional titles and then tied for sixth in the Class 1A state tournament. She finished the season 11th on the FHSAA iWanamaker rankings, the highest for a First Coast girls player.

Chokshi has made the top-10 in all 12 Florida Junior Tour events in which she’s played and last year tied for 14th in the Florida Junior Girls.

Rivera led Beachside to the school’s first-ever state championship at the 2A level in 2023 and also has made the Times-Union’s All First Coast team twice. Last year, with the Barracudas moving up to Class 3A, Rivera was fifth in the district tournament, second in the regional and tied for 15th in the state tournament to help Beachside finish fifth overall.

Rivera has finished among the top 10 in 15 of 19 FJT starts.

Cody Blick moves on

Cody Blick, a conditional Korn Ferry Tour member who resides in Jacksonville, won a U.S. Open local qualifier at Marsh Creek on May 5 with a 7-under-par 65.

Blick defeated former Jacksonville University player Alexandre Vandermoten by three shots. There was a six-for-three playoff for the final three qualifying positions at 3-under 69, with Andrew McLauchlan of Neptune Beach, a member of the Florida State golf team, Miles Eubanks of Aiken, S.C., and Mark Tullo, a five-time winner on the Chilean Golf Tour in his native country, surviving.

Those five players will move on to 36-hole sectional qualifying on June 2.

In a local qualifier at the Pensacola Country Club, John Augenstein of St. Simons Island shot 65 to finish second to Brent Whitehead of Atlanta (64).

Lillies of the Field

The Florida Junior Golf Tour’s Cypress Head Open was dominated by players named Lily … and Lilly.

Lily Wachter of St. Augustine shot 69-75—144 to win at the Cypress Head Golf Club by one shot over Lilly Parker of North Palm Beach. It was Wachter’s first victory in the 13-15 age group in seven starts, and her third top-10 finish.

Wachter had two victories and four top-10s in six FJT 9-12 starts last year.

The next-highest area finisher was Lily Chiang of Jacksonville at sixth (148). WenYi Xia of Ponte Vedra Beach (155) tied for 10th.

In the 16-18 FJT Providence Open in Davenport, Aspen Bikowski of St. Johns tied for seventh.

Jay Huntley prevails at the last

Jay Huntley of Jacksonville Beach birdied the 18th hole at the Shell Point Golf Club in Fort Myers to win an FJT boys 11-12 tournament by one shot over Jayden Wei of Lake Mary.

Huntley had a two-shot lead but made two late bogeys. He rallied on the final hole for a 71 and a 36-hole total of 4-under 138. He shot 67 in the first round.

U.S. Kids Summer begins

The U.S. Kids Summer Tour on the First Coast will launch on June 7-8 at the Palatka Golf.

Other tournaments will be held at Marsh Landing, Sawgrass, Laurel Island Links and Eagle Harbor.

The age groups range from 6 and under to 15-18. For information on the area summer tour or to register, visit uskidsgolf.com, click on “local tours,” and then on “find a tour.” 

Brett Schell to play Korn Ferry event

Bartram Trail and University of North Florida graduate Brett Schell of St. Augustine has received a sponsor exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open May 21-25 at the Holston Hills Country Club. Schell completed his college career at UNF this season with a 73.19 scoring average, second on the team, and two top-10 finishes. … Therese Quinn of Jacksonville shot 230 to finish solo seventh in the Florida State Golf Association Women’s Mid-Amateur at Lemon Bay in Englewood. … UNF assistant coach Tyler Gulliksen and Ty Capps shot 14-under 200 and tied for fifth in the FSGA Two-Man Shootout at the Grand Harbor Golf and Beach Club in Vero Beach. They shot 68 under an alternate-shot format, a 63 scramble and a 69 four-ball. Anthony Bodeur and Scott Smyers of Boynton Beach won at 20-under 194.