Bluffton’s Bridget Wilkie kept the hardware close to home this weekend, rallying in the final round to claim the girls title at the 26th annual Jimmy Self Invitational played on the Arthur Hills Course at Palmetto Dunes.
Wilkie entered the final round two shots off the lead, but the Hilton Head Prep standout fired a 3-under-par 69 to surge to a five-shot victory on a day when no other player in the field shot better than 74. A rising sophomore at HHP, Wilkie finished the three-day event at 3-over-par 219, edging Columbia’s Caroline Hawkins by five shots. Wilkie is the second straight HHP player to win the event, following 2020 champion Camila Burnett.
“My round today was a little bit up and down,” Wilkie told the S.C. Junior Golf Association. “I started out really well with a couple of birdies and then had three birdies on 15, 16 and 17 which really helped me out. I’m younger in this field, so this win shows me that I can play with older girls and still compete. It feels amazing to be the champion. This is my first time playing in this event and I am really proud that I won it.”
Bluffton’s Anne Fernandez tied for fourth, while fellow Bluffton residents Olivia Wilkie and Kylie Bowes placed seventh and eighth.
Simpsonville’s Major Lenning defended his boys title, finishing at 2-under 214 and holding off Mount Pleasant’s Walker Felton by one shot to claim his second straight title.
Bluffton’s Luke Block tied for third at 4-over, while the Lowco trio of Jones Saylor (Bluffton), Nolan Hawkins (Hilton Head Island), and Jerry Bruns (Beaufort) all tied for 22nd.
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