Around the Green

TGA Regional Four-Balls Set for Feb. 26-27

The Texas Golf Association’s 2022 tournament season kicks off with the North and South Regional Four-Ball Championships. Both events will be held concurrently from Feb. 26-27.

The North Four-Ball will be played at Tempest Golf Club in Gladewater. Sterling Country Club in Houston will host the South Four-Ball.

Located about 15 miles west of Longview on State Highway 135, Tempest Golf Club re-opened in 2018 following a $20 million dollar renovation overseen by Jeffrey Brauer. Sterling Country Club, set amid rolling hills in the northwest section of the city, was designed by Jeff Blume and opened for play in 2011.

First conducted in 2003, the Regional Four-Balls are open to male amateur golfers who belong to a TGA Member Club, have a World Handicap System Index of 8.4 or less and reside in the region relative to their respective championship. The TGA uses the 31st parallel in Salado as the delineation between the North and South regions.

Both events are contested using the same tournament format. The 40-team starting fields will play 36 holes of four-ball stroke play over two days with no cut. Regional performance points, which are applied to the yearlong North and South Player of the Year races, are awarded to the top five team finishers.

Live scoring updates and daily recaps, as well as tee times and pairings, will be available at txga.org once the action gets underway from Tempest Golf Club and Sterling Country Club.

At the 2021 North Four-Ball, Derek Abel of Dallas and Christopher Wheeler of Addison captured the title on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against Colby Amparan and Gary Ezmerlian, both of Fort Worth. The two teams were tied at 11-under-par 133 after 36 holes of regulation play on the Masters Course at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. Todd Albert of Katy and Kevin Liberto of Cypress carded rounds of 68-65 to win the 2021 South Four-Ball on the El Dorado Course at Quail Valley Golf Course & City Centre in Missouri City. Their 36-hole, 9-under 133 total was good for a two-shot victory over Casey Carnes of Schertz and Zan Terry of San Antonio.