Around the Green

Scott Roden Leads Texas State Junior

2020 Texas Commit Cards 6-Under 66
 
HORSESHOE BAY – Scott Roden of Dallas never let the one hour and 40-minute suspension of play rattle him. He fired an unblemished 6-under-par 66 and leads the 91st Texas State Junior Championship by one stroke at Summit Rock Golf Club.
 
Roden, 15, glanced at the electronic leaderboard behind the 18th green as the players were escorted off the golf course due to dangerous weather at 2:50 p.m. He saw his name atop the field tied with his U.S. Four-Ball teammate Jake Kuwitzky at 5-under par. Roden spent nearly the next two hours waiting to finish his final two holes.  
 
“It is mental when you come in,” said Roden, a rising sophomore at Highland Park High School.  “Obviously, everyone is talking about the leaderboard and you see the leaderboard, but I just try not to think about it.”

When Round 1 resumed play, Roden gathered himself. He closed with an up-and-down par save on the par-4 17th hole and birdied the par-5 18th to post 6-under 66.
 
“I kind of found something in my swing the last couple of weeks and I just felt really comfortable on the course,” said Roden, a 2020 University of Texas commit. “It really made it pretty stress free.”
 
The reigning 5A UIL State Champion hit all 14 fairways and missed only two greens en route to a bogey-free round. Roden birdied the par-5 second hole and closed his opening loop with three straight birdies on seven, eight and nine to go out in 4-under 32. He said his birdie on the par-4 13th sustained his momentum throughout the closing stretch. 
 
Roden won the 2016 AJGA Junior All-Star in Lubbock as well as several times in the Boys 14 & Under division on the Legends Junior Tour. He finished outside the top-40 in last years’ Texas State Junior Championship but is now well within contention to add to his decorated junior golf career.
 
Jake Kuwitzky of McKinney held the early lead after a 5-under-par 67. The 2018 Texas Tech commit played a near flawless round himself despite a closing bogey on the par-5 18^th. Jansen Smith of San Angelo, a future Red Raider as well, carded a 4-under-par 68. He is solo third overall and just two shots back of the lead.
 
Summit Rock Golf Club at Horseshoe Bay Resort is playing host to the Texas State Junior Championship for the first time in the events history. The Jack Nicklaus design opened in 2012 and features forgiving fairways and large bent grass greens. The Nicklaus Signature and Summit Rock development spreads across 716 acres and features dramatic elevation changes. The par-72 track demands patience and stamina throughout the undulating landscape.  
 
Round 1 was suspended due to darkness with three groups left on the golf course. The second round and completion of Round 1 begins Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. For more information on the 2017 Texas State Junior Championship  click here.