Around the Green

Golf Club of Houston Wins Texas League Play Playoffs

Golf Club of Houston Wins Texas League Play Playoffs

Horseshoe Bay, TX – Golf Club of Houston outlast Tierra Verde Golf Club to win the 2017 Texas League Play Playoffs. The Team from Houston secured the title with six and half to five and half victory. The title was Golf Club of Houston’s first in the 13 year history of Texas League Play.

The Texas League Play Final was set after thrilling semi-final matches between Spanish Oaks  Golf Club from Bee Cave and Golf Club of Houston as well as DeCordova Bend Country Club in Granbury and Tierra Verde Golf Club in Arlington.
Golf Club of Houston was first to punch their ticket into the final followed by three time champion Tierra Verde Golf Club. The match was set to take place on Horseshoe Bay Resort’s Apple Rock Course.

The final match was scheduled to begin at 8:00 am until there was brief fog delay and tee times were pushed 30 minutes back. Following the delay matches began with the players in the fourth team match leading off.

Each match was tight as they began to make the turn and earn the first set of points. In the first match to turn, Golf Club of Houston’s Derek Delach and Doug Deaver earned a full point with a one up victory on the front nine. Tierra Verde wasn’t kept off the board for long when Doug Foster and Bret Maison also claimed a one up victory on front side.  Ben Hicks III and Sam Saxton claimed other point for Tierra Verde with a one victory on the front only to see Ross Prachar and Michael Parker of Golf Club of Houston claim a two-up victory and tie the overall score at two points apiece.

The first 18 hole match points were awarded when Doug Deaver and Derek Delach claimed a two-up victory on the back side and three-up victory overall for a full three points for The Golf Club of Houston.

The score now four to two in Houston’s favor saw it tied once again as Ben Hicks III and Sam Saxton caught fire on the back side and closed their match on the 15^th hole to earn all three points. The Score now tied again at four points to both clubs.
The second match out saw Tierra Verde’s Doug Foster and Bret Maison dormie as they approached the 17^th tee. Golf Club of Houston’s Captain Nick Festino and Brian Truby battled tough and won the next two holes to earn a hard fought half point on the back side. Tierra Verde though claimed the other two and half points.

The score was five and half to four and half in favor of Tierra Verde with two points still available. Ross Prachar and Michael Parker halved the 16^th hole with Zee Siddiqui and Carson Gooch to make Golf Club of Houston dormie headed to the 17^th. Siddiqui made an incredible sand save on the par three to win the hole and push the match to the 18^th hole.

Needing the half point on back nine, Tierra Verde Golf Club needed to win the last to push the match to a playoff. Siddiqui’s drive bounced just out of bounds while the three other players found the fairway. The three players then all went long on the putting green.

Putting first, Michael Parker missed about seven feet long only to be followed up by Carson Gooch’s chip ending in the same spot. Knowing that a par would seal the victory for Golf Club of Houston, Ross Prachar lagged his putt to about two feet from the hole. Gooch drained his par putt to put the pressure on Houston. Parker missed the similar putt leaving Prachar with a short putt to close the match.  The putt dropped as Golf Club of Houston’s team members celebrated on the green winning their first Texas League Play title.

The Texas Golf Association would like to thank everyone at Horseshoe Bay Resort for their outside staff that made the event a true success. The event featured two golf courses and multiple tees which made it a challenge for everyone but the hard working staff performed perfectly to execute the tournament. For complete results from the Texas League Play Playoffs, click here