Sienna Mosquera has plenty to be proud of after securing a podium finish on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour in Florida at the weekend.

The Mike Bender Golf Academy student placed third in the Reunion Junior Open, which was held on the Watson Course at Reunion Resort, after finishing the 36-hole tournament at eight over.

“I felt I played solid and I’m really proud of my third-place finish,” Mosquera told The Royal Gazette.

“It was a highly competitive field of players from several countries and across the US.

“My tee shots were very good both days. I had a few drives reach between 270 and 280 yards, so I was proud of that.

“My approach shots were very consistent. I was hitting a lot of greens both days and made a few birdies.”

The 18-year-old was tied for seventh at five over at the midway stage of the event after carding an opening round 77, which contained two birdies and seven bogeys.

“Going into the second day I had a goal of playing my best for round two,” she added. “I didn’t set a particular score target but I just wanted to focus on one shot at a time.

“After the front nine, I was even par and had moved up a few spots but the leaderboard still remained tight.”

Mosquera grabbed a share of third after two-putting for birdie at the par-five 14th but she made the podium outright after getting up and down to save par on the last hole, signing off at two-over for the round, with her combined score her lowest in a 36-hole event to date

“I tied for third until hole 18 when I saved par,” she said. “That secured my position into finishing third place overall and I was very happy with my score over the two days, shooting 77, 75.”

The highlight of Mosquera’s round was reaching a long par-5 in two to give herself a chance for eagle at the 14th green.

“I hit a 256-yard drive and had 210 yards to the green against the wind and I decided to just go for it, reaching the green on my second shot and leaving me with a 15ft putt for eagle,” she said.

“I ended up making birdie and received great applause from a group of spectators at this hole.”

The podium finish was Mosquera’s second in three months after she placed runner-up in the girls’ 14-18 division on her debut at the Canada Junior Championship in Montreal in August.

Also competing in the Reunion Junior Open was fellow Mike Bender Golf Academy student Dylan Muso, who finished tied for eleventh among the boys’ 16-18 division.