Around the Green

Texas Cup Invitational Moves to Ridglea Country Club

DALLAS – Ridglea Country Club is set to host the Texas Cup Invitational on Nov. 4-5, 2017. The 78-player field will take on the North Course’s narrow fairways and small greens.

The LJT took over the Texas Cup Invitational in 2008 and has seen the tournament’s field strength grow each year. The field strength has been near the top of the Golfweek rankings each of the last five years, ranking 30^th in 2012, 34^th in 2013, 23^rd in 2014, 27^th in 2015 and 25^th last year.

Lewisville’s Ryan Grider won last year’s Texas Cup Invitational by one stroke over Carrollton’s Kyle Cox. Grider fired rounds of 67-66 to win his second LJT Major event. The University of Baylor golfer played back-to-back bogey free rounds with nine birdies scattered throughout 36 holes, including the par-4 18^th on Sunday to win the tournament. Plano’s Pierceson Coody finished third, while Trey Bosco finished fourth and Crosby Guercio, Landon Ernst and Parker Coody tied for fifth.

Winners of various state championships from around Texas were invited to compete in the invitational along with the Byron Nelson Junior Champion, Luke Dossey, The Texas State Junior Champion, Jansen Smith and the George Hannon Junior Invitational Champion, Garrett Martin. Exemptions were also handed out to winners of open LJT events as well as several Alliance Partner events.

The boys-only field will consist of 78 players, which will compete in 36 holes of stroke play competition. Along with the Golfweek ranking, the invitational will be ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and will distribute numerous AJGA PBE stars to the top finishers, including fully exempt status to the winner. Points towards the Player of the Year standings will be doubled and this is the final event of the season for players to earn points towards their Jackie Burke Cup teams.

Ridglea Country Club is hosting the Texas Cup Invitational for the first time. The event has spent the last four years at Mira Vista Country Club and the five before that at The Honors Golf Club of Dallas. The North Course was originally designed by John Bredemus in 1928 and was redesigned by Ralph Plummer in 1954 and again by Jay Morrish in 1987. The course features Tifsport fairways and Tifeagle greens and has hosted numerous events including U.S. Open and Amateur qualifiers as well as the 1990 National Big I Junior, which was won by Tiger Woods.

To see the full field or participants for the 2017 Texas Cup Invitational, click here. For more information about the Texas Cup Invitational, click here.