Around the Green

Lee, Shah and Sherwood Win North Texas Classic

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Jun Min Lee’s final round of the North Texas Classic was more of a victory lap than a final round. Lee started the day two shots ahead of the closest competitor, but that was quickly became six when Lee birdied four of his first six holes, getting him to 9-under for the tournament through 23 holes. He finished at 9-under 135 for the tournament, winning by five shots at Tangle Ridge Golf Club.

Austin’s Cole Sherwood carded a final round, 1-under 71 to win the Boys 14 & Under division at even-par 144 for the tournament. Carrollton’s Serena Shah captured the Girls 12-18 division by one shot at 1-over par 145 for the tournament.

Conducted by the Legends Junior Tour, the second annual North Texas Classic was held at Tangle Ridge Golf Club in Grand Prairie, Texas for the second consecutive year. The Legends Junior Tour’s last ‘open’ event of the 2016 season, the North Texas Classic provided one of the last chances for players to earn valuable points towards the LJT Player of the Year, which is how players are chosen for the year-end Jackie Burke Cup.

Lee continued his momentum from Saturday’s first round, where he didn’t have a bogey on his scorecard. He played his first 13 holes on Sunday bogey-free before failing to get up and down on the short par-4 14^th hole. His first bogey of the day was quickly covered up with a birdie on the par-4 16^th hole. He failed to get up-and-down again on the par-3 17^th hole, but by then, it did not matter.

Lee won by five shots over Mansfield’s Landon Ernst. Ernst carded a final round 3-under 69 to climb into second place, moving up four spots. Defending Texas Cup Invitational Champion Brendan Powers, Granbury’s Tucker Allen, and Austin’s Hanseung Chang finished in a tie for third place. Powers and Chang carded 4-under 68s in the final round while Allen carded a 3-under 69.

In the Boys 14 & Under division, Sherwood was tied with Lucas Borrero after the first round. The division started on the 10^th hole, and both players bogeyed the opening hole. Sherwood birdied the ensuing hole, the short par-4 11^th. Sherwood’s day was back-and-forth, carding five bogeys against four birdies. He won by two shots over Borrero. San Antonio’s Shoichiro Kato finished in third place five shots back of Sherwood.

In the Girls 12-18 division, Shah captured her first Legends Junior Tour victory. She outlasted Austin’s Kaylee Vesely coming down to the last few holes. Both players bogeyed the difficult par-4 seventh hole, their 16^th of the day. Shah maintained her two shot lead heading into the par-5 eighth hole. Vesely birdied the hole to get to one shot back heading to the final hole. Vesely was unable to birdie the hole and they both walked away with par, Shah winning by one shot. 

Fort Worth’s Kennedy Pedigo finished in third place after a final round, 2-over 74. Plano’s Melena Barrientos finished in fourth place, four shots back of Shah. Gabriella Tomanka, the Girls 14 & Under Texas State Junior Champion finished in a fifth place.

The Legends Junior Tour’s final individual stroke-play tournament of the year is the Texas Cup Invitational, Nov. 5-6 at Mira Vista Country Club. The following weekend, Nov. 12-13 Escondido Golf & Lake Club will host the year-end Jackie Burke Cup matches.

For more information on the Legends Junior Tour or the second annual North Texas Classic, please visit www.TXGA.org.

For final results, please click here.