Around the Green

Jeffrey Zatorski and Symran Shah Win Alamo Shootout

Briefly: Jeffrey Zatorski of Houston carded a final round 2-under 70 to win the Alamo Shootout by one stroke at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club’s Live Oak Course. Symran Shah of Carrollton clinched the Girls Division in a sudden-death playoff against the overnight-leader, Tille Claggett of The Woodlands.

Leaderboard:

Boys Division
1) Jeffrey Zatorski            Houston                    69-70
2) Andrew Spaulding        Spring                      73-67
3) Zach Heffernan            Fair Oaks Ranch      69-72               
4) Colin Slater                   Austin                      72-71
5) Blake Moreno               Austin                       72-72

Girls Division
1) Symran Shah                 Carrollton                 72-75* (won on first playoff hole)
2) Tillie Claggett                 The Woodlands        71-76       
3) Eubin Shim                     Waco                       79-69
4) Nicole Vivier                   Austin                       72-77

Final Results

Golf Course: Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club’s Live Oak Course was designed by Gary Player and Ron Kirby in 1993. It was redesigned by D.A. Weibring/Golf Resources Group in 2006. The 18-hole championship golf course features tree-lined fairways, as the rolling terrain of the Hill Country creates a scenic test of golf for players of all skill levels.
 
Weather: The temperature reached a high of 77 degrees with a gentle breeze at around 5 mph.

In Contention: Jeffrey Zatorski began the final round tied with Fair Oaks Ranch native and Texas Junior Amateur Champion Zach Heffernan. The junior at Memorial High School had birdied four of his closing five holes in Round 1 and he carried the momentum into Sunday. Zatorski’s bogey-free 2-under 34 on the front nine gave him a one-shot lead with nine holes to play.

“I birdied holes nine, 10 and 11,” Zatorski said. “It just got me going and my putter started getting a little hot.”

Zatorksi dropped shots on the par-4 12th and par-5 15th. He remained poised and regained the lead with a 36-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th and closed out his first LJT victory with a par on par-5 18th.

Zatorski’s 5-under par total was one better than Andrew Spaulding, who carded the lowest round of the tournament. Spaulding fired a bogey-free 5-under 67 to post 4-under-par and finish runner-up.

Heffernan finished at 3-under-par and solo third, Colin Slater of Austin finished fourth at 1-under-par and Austin’s Blake Moreno rounded out the top-5 at even par.

Symran Shah and Tille Claggett battled back and forth throughout Sunday’s round in the Girls Division. Claggett held a one-shot lead heading into the par-4 ninth, which was their final hole of the round. Shah and Claggett both found the left greenside bunker and Shah managed to get up and down to extend the tournament into a sudden-death playoff.

The playoff was played on the par-5 18th. Once again, Shah displayed her touch around the greens as she clinched the victory with an up-and-down par-save from the bunker.

“I was really really nervous on the first hole of the playoff,” said Symran, who won the 2018 Girls 14 & Under Texas Junior Amateur. “I was shaking on my putt but it means a lot to know that my family and friends were rooting for me.”

Eubin Shim of Waco finished solo third at 4-over-par and Nicole Vivier of Austin finished fourth at 5-over-par. Ryann Honea of San Angelo and Cypress’s Maggie Ni tied for fifth.

What’s Next: The 2020 Legends Junior Tour season begins Jan. 18-19 at the Winter Classic at Dallas Athletic Club’s Blue Course in Dallas.

More Info: For more information on the Alamo Shootout, click here.