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Maria Jose Marin of Colombia and Miami’s Nicholas Prieto won the their respective competitions during the 58th annual Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship conducted Jan. 2-6 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
As with previous championships, the best junior golfers in the world competed for the prestigious 2022 Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship title. A full list of scores for this championship can be found at golfstat.com.
Marin and Prieto join a roster of Junior Orange Bowl International champions with prestigious golf names such as Tiger Woods (1991), Hall of Famer Inbee Park (2002), and LPGA major winners Cristie Kerr (1994), Lexi Thompson (2009), Ariya Jutanugarn (2010), and Brooke Henderson (2013). This year’s field brought together entrants from such diverse locales as Ukraine, Jamaica, Serbia, Slovenia, Thailand, Guatemala, Bulgaria, India, Zimbabwe, Peru, Turkey, Iceland and Barbados.
Prieto became the first Miami golfer to put his name on the Junior Orange Bowl trophy since James Vargas blitzed the Biltmore field in 2001. Additionally, no Florida entrant had won since Thompson’s 2009 triumph.
“That’s pretty cool to be on that list,” said Prieto, a homeschooled student who lives 20 minutes from the Biltmore.
Capturing the girls’ division, Marin’s third-round 63 broke Paula Creamer’s 20-year girls’ scoring record.
“It is an honor that my name will be alongside all those great players,” Marin said.
“It is always exciting to see these talented players get their first title at the Biltmore and then see their professional golf careers take off from here,” Tom Prescott, executive vice president at the Biltmore, said of Prieto and Marin’s wins. The Biltmore Golf Course has hosted the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship since 1964.
“We are excited to have Prieto and Marin as part of our history of winners list. We look forward to following their success. They are certainly very deserving of this accomplishment,” said J.R. Steinbauer, tournament director for the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship. “We are also very proud of the continued partnership we have with The Biltmore that continues to make this championship event a huge success.”
The Biltmore Golf Course also is the headquarters of the University of Miami women’s golf team as well as the home to the Jim McLean Golf School, the latter of which has consistently been rated as the No. 1 Golf School in America.
To learn more about Biltmore Hotel golf visit www.biltmorehotel.com/golf or call 305-460-5364. For more information about the tournament, visit www.juniororangebowl.org. And for more information on the Biltmore Hotel, visit www.biltmorehotel.com or call 800-727-1926.
