Around the Green

Niblett Set to Defend at Texas Girls' Invitational

DALLAS – Makenzie Niblett of Austin will attempt to become the first multi-winner of the Texas Girls’ Invitational on Sept. 29-30 at Sugar Creek Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas.

Conducted by the Legends Junior Tour, the Texas Girls’ Invitational was modeled after the Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the Texas Cup Invitational. The tournament has taken on its own identity and quickly become a favorite among girls on the LJT schedule. The tournament began in 2010 with only 12 participants and has now grown into an invitation-only field of 72 girls that was chosen from 24 different exemption categories.
 
Niblett won the 2017 invitational at Crown Colony Country Club with scores of 76-72 two win by one stroke over Richardson’s Libby Winans. She made six birdies on the week and played the final seven holes of the tournament in 2-under to win.
The championship moved to Crown Colony CC after spending the previous last five years at Bentwater Yacht & Country Club. Before that it was at Glenloch Pines in 2011 and High Meadow Ranch in 2010.

Sugar Creek Country Club is hosting the Texas Girls’ Invitational for the first time in the tournament’s nine-year history. The course opened in 1972 and features 27 holes. The tournament will be competed on the Trent and Jones courses on property and will stretch out to 6,093 yards for competitors. The par-72 layout features tight fairways surrounded by heavy rough and tall pine trees. The course is littered with numerous bunkers and several water hazards that come into play multiple times throughout the round.

The Texas Girls’ Invitational is scheduled for 36 holes of stroke play competition on Sept. 29-30. Tee times will start at 8:00 am off the No. 1 tee each morning. Players will be paired according to first round scores for Sunday’s Final Round and a champion will be crowned once all the scores are in.

The champion will have her name engraved on the ‘Nez Muhleman trophy. Inez “Nez” Muhleman of Houston is known for her dedication to junior golf. Muhleman never missed a Girls national championship until she retired in 2010. In 2011, she received the USGA Joe Dey Award, which is the organization’s highest honor for volunteerism, for her service to the game and for establishing the Junior Girls’ Travel Fund to help young Texans afford travel expenses to the U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Past champions of this girls-only event include Kaci McCartan, Lakareber Abe, Maddie McCrary, Vanessa Ha, Jaravee Boonchant, Anne Chen, Hailey Jones and defending champion Niblett. This is the final “Major” tournament for the girls on the Legends Junior Tour.

The championship is Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek ranked and offers numerous AJGA Performance Stars to the top finishers. The winner will earn an invitation into the 2018 Kathy Whitworth Invitational.

For more information on the Texas Girls’ Invitational, please click here.