Around the Green

Texas State Junior Championship Returns to Horseshoe Bay Resort

DALLAS — The Legends Junior Tour returns to Horseshoe Bay Resort for the 91^st playing of the Texas State Junior Championship on July 24-28. The tournament features some of the top players in the state competing in four divisions: Boys 15-18, Girls 15-18, Boys 14 & Under and Girls 14 & Under.

Horseshoe Bay Resort has hosted the Texas State Junior Championship in six of the last seven years. After spending 2016 at The Woodlands Country Club, the event returns to compete on the Summit Rock and Slick Rock golf courses at Horseshoe Bay. This will be the first year that Summit Rock has hosted the Boys 15-18 Division, while the other three divisions return to the renovated Slick Rock.

Summit Rock is a Jack Nicklaus signature course and opened in October 2012. The Hill Country style venue features a rocky terrain surrounded by native grass on each hole. The course has Bermuda fairways and bent grass greens, which will challenge all the golfers in the Boys 15-18 field.

“Horseshoe Bay Resort is a great venue to host one of the oldest state championships,” Kellen Kubasak, LJT Director of Operations, said. “Moving the Boys 15-18 division to Summit Rock, which is one of the best courses in the state, was a no-brainer and will challenge the best players in Texas.”

Slick Rock was built in 1971 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. The course is known as a “hard par, easy bogey” course and features 71 bunkers throughout the 18-hole layout with a dozen water hazards.  The par-4 14^th at Slick Rock is a picturesque hole that has golfers tee off over a stunning waterfall and onto the fairway. The course was renovated in 2016 and updated with bent grass greens.

Richmond’s Logan Pate won the weather shortened Boys 15-18 Division last year in a playoff. Pate posted rounds of 68-72 to get to 140 overall and won the tournament with a par of the first playoff hole. Heavy rain and lightning in the area caused the final round to get canceled.

Dallas’ Hailey Jones won the Girls 15-18 Division by five strokes in 2016. Jones got to 8-under overall for the championship with rounds of 67-68-73 over 54 holes. Kennedy Pedigo finished runner-up, while Christine Wang finished third.

Austin’s Evan Vo won the Boys 14 & Under Division after shooting 4-under 68 in the final round. Vo made five birdies in his final round to win by two strokes. Gabriella Tomanka of Grapevine won the Girls 14 & Under Division by three strokes after shooting rounds of 70-75 to get to 1-over 145 overall.

Other past champions of this event include Ben Crenshaw, Bruce Lietzke, Jeff Maggert, Stratton Nolen, Will Griffin, Angela Stanford, Annika Clark, Courtney Dow, Kaitlyn Papp and Jordan Spieth.

The Boys 15-18 Division and the Girls 15-18 Division will each play 54 holes with a cut after the first 36 holes. The Boys 15-18 Division’s first round will begin on Monday, July 24, while the Girls 15-18 Division’s first round will begin on Wednesday, July 26. The Boys and Girls 14 & Under Divisions will play 36 holes starting on Wednesday, July 26.

The Texas State Junior Championship is Golfweek and Junior Golf Scoreboard ranked, while the older Boys and Girls Divisions are recognized by the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Exemptions into future LJT Invitational Tournaments will be up for grabs along with AJGA Performance Stars.

For more information on the 91^st Texas State Junior Championship, click here.