Around the Green

Manor Claims 104th Texas Amateur Championship

Manor Claims 104th Texas Amateur Championship

(Houston, TX) The final round of the 104^th Texas
Amateur Championship got underway Sunday morning at Lakeside Country Club as
players arrived to stake their claim at capturing the title of Texas Amateur
Champion and hoisting the H.L. Edwards trophy. Fifty-seven players endured the
cut to enter weekend play and heading into the final round it truly was anyone’s
championship to win. In an event that has been dominated by collegiate players
over the past eleven years, several Mid-Amateurs found themselves in the mix
heading into today’s final round. Enduring the high humidity, Lakeside Country
Club was full of spectators who had arrived to watch the state’s best amateur
golfers compete at the highest level.

Thursday and Friday leader, Doug Manor, entered the final
round trailing Texas Wesleyan’s Nathan Anderson by two strokes. Manor, 32, was one of only a few Mid-Amateurs
who found themselves in the mix against a handful of current collegiate players
heading into Sunday’s final round. Once again it was a back and forth round
with Anderson as the two players traded birdies. On the long par 3, fourth
hole, both players found themselves within fifteen feet of the hole both
starring at their first birdies of the day. After Manor rolled in his putt,
Anderson confidently stepped up and rolled his in as well, maintaining his two
stroke lead. Manor got one shot back on the par 5, sixth, after executing a
perfect approach to twelve feet. His birdie there closed the gap to just one
shot with the difficult 7,8, & 9 finish to close the opening nine. After
trading pars on seven and eight, Anderson regained his two stroke lead rolling
in the improbable twenty-five footer. Heading into the back nine it looked as if
it was all Nathan Anderson but after a double bogey on the eleventh hole
followed by two consecutive bogeys on twelve and thirteen, momentum had quickly
changed. Within three holes Manor found himself going from two down to now
sitting on fourteen tee two up. After adding another birdie on the on the
fourteenth, Manor found himself three up on Anderson with four to play. Even
with a birdie on the par 4, sixteenth, Anderson could not catch the steady play
of Manor. With an approach that came up short on the eighteenth, Manor was
faced with a twenty foot putt to save par and claim the title. As he had done
all week, Manor buried the putt center cut and his journey to the H.L. Edwards
trophy was complete.

“This is just a tremendous honor”, Manor stated. “Heading
into the week my main goal was to make the cut and just have a good time. I
putted great all week and I really just can’t believe that this is happening.” Manor was the epitome of steady golf all
week. Not a tremendously long hitter off the tee, Manor’s game was all about
execution and placement. “Nathan (Anderson) is a tremendous player and hits the
ball a long way which really gave him an advantage on the par fives. I just
tried to stay within myself and play my game all week making sure I was
mentally aggressive through the back nine.”
That he was, with a final round of three under par, 69, which had no
trace of bogeys on the card. Manor’s tournament total of twelve under par, 276,
gave him a three shot victory over Anderson and crowned him 2013 Texas Amateur
Champion. His victory earns him an
automatic exemption into the 2013 Texas Mid-Amateur Championship to be held at
Cordillera Ranch later this year and next year’s Texas Amateur which is
scheduled to be held at Brook Hollow in Dallas. Manor, who recently got his
Master’s at the University of Texas and plans on starting work within the next
few weeks hopes he can make both events. “My competitiveness is there. I just
really hope my boss lets me schedule those days off now!”

Three collegiate golfers found themselves rounding out the
top five of the Championship. University of Texas starter Kramer Hickok
finished with a tournament total of seven under par, 281, which included a
final round of even par 72. Claiming fourth was Wesley McClain of the
University of Houston. McClain who had only made one bogey through his first
thirty-six holes struggled to find the same rhythm over the weekend and
finished with a closing round of two over par, 74, giving him a championship
total of five under par, 283. SFA golfer, Luke Sheehan also struggled on Sunday
but found himself in fifth with a four day total of four under par, 284. In
all, seventeen players finished under par for the championship including 2012
Texas Amateur Champion, Thomas Birdsey, who finished in a tie for sixth at
three under par, 285.