New Year, same storylines? Ponte Vedra's wins Back to School, Tyler Mawhinney is medalist

The high school boys golf season is only one week old but some things haven't changed.

Ponte Vedra has another deep team.

Tyler Mawhinney is still on a roll.

The Sharks won the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club Back to School Tournament on Aug. 21 at the Ocean Course by six shots over Fleming Island and 15 clear of Fletcher. Mawhinney, coming off a victory in the Canadian Amateur and a spot in the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur, shot 6-under 64 to earn medalist, beat Jack Chung of Ponte Vedra by two shots and Luke Splane of St. Augustine by four.

James Nagle finished alone in fourth, Jake Mason (71) tied for sixth and Cooper Franklin (73) tied for ninth to lead the Sharks to the team title.

Sound familiar?

It's been depth that has led the Sharks to an FHSAA record nine state championships (seven in a row) and the team that won the Back to School was missing two starters who were playing AJGA golf, senior and team captain Cam Reed and junior Joey Hage. Reed, Hage and Franklin were starters on the team that won the state title last year.

Ponte Vedra will move up to 3A this year but the Sharks have won state titles in 3A (2021) and 2A.

Mawhinney, the defending 3A individual champion, was bogey-free with four birdies and an eagle at No. 6. Emmet Kuhlenkamp (73) and Dylan Frein and Carson Moore both at 74) chipped in to assure the Eagles, who won the 3A state team title last year and are moving to 2A this year, of their second place.

Jackson Runquist (72) led Fletcher to third place, Bryson Hughes (71) paced Creekside to fourth and Beachside finished fifth behind Jaspreet Kondal and Barton Abstein (both shot 74).

Paco Aleman goes on Valley run

Francisco "Paco" Aleman, the lead analyst for Golf Channel's Latin American golf coverage and a part-time Nocatee resident, had an enviable four-hole stretch recently at the TPC Sawgrass Dye's Valley while playing in the "Munchkins" game.

Beginning at the par-4 fourth hole, he went birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie, playing the holes at 5-under. The highlight was a prodigious 4-iron from 188 yards out at the 424-yard sixth hole that went into the cup for an eagle-two at the course's No. 1 handicap hole.

Aleman shot 33 on the front, then finished with a 71,

Aleman was honored in his home country last winter with the Argentina Golf Association Award, the highest honor in Argentine golf. He is a two-time winner of the Argentina Amateur Stroke Play Championship, the 1989 winner of the Argentina Amateur and a two-time member of the Argentina team that played in the World Amateur Team Championship.

He played on 10 teams that represented Argentina in the South American Team Championship, with six of them winning.

Aleman has covered more than 100 major championships, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cups and LPGA events as the lead analyst for ESPN International and Golf Channel.

Jaspreet Kondal captures second

Jaspreet Kondal of St. Augustine shot 72-71--143 to finish second in the Florida Junior Tour 13-15 Sandridge Open, at the Sandridge Golf Club in Vero Beach.

Kondal finished two shots behind winner Nathan Drummond of Tampa. Kondal had a one-shot lead through 11 holes but Drummond birdied Nos. 12 and 14 and Kondal played his final seven holes 1-over.

Ethan Grossman of Jacksonville (146) finished fifth. Grace Brefitt of Ponte Vedra (160) finished eighth and Alexia Iordanov of St. Augustine (168) finished 11th.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New Year, same storylines? Ponte Vedra's wins Back to School, Tyler Mawhinney is medalist