Around the Green

Trevor Algya Leads Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship

DALLAS – Trevor Algya from Highland Village birdied his final hole Tuesday at Lakewood Country Club to take a one-shot lead after one round at the 2022 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship. Algya, a recent graduate and incoming freshman at Loyola Marymount University, shot a 5-under-par 66 that included a bogey-free scorecard.

“I’m feeling pretty awesome,” Algya said of his first round. “A bogey-free round today and my caddie was great. We had a plan to every hole and stuck to it.”

Plan executed through 18 holes at Lakewood Country Club. Algya began his round on the back nine and immediately birdied his first hole, the par-4 10th. Algya tacked on a birdie on the par-4 18th and made the turn bogey-free and 2-under par. He made three more birdies on his second nine.

“I’ve played in this tournament the past two years,” said Algya, who finished T9 in the 2021 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship. “The course is great and in great condition, so I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Sitting one shot back in solo second is defending champion Preston Stout. The incoming senior from Richardson put together another great round at Lakewood Country Club with a 4-under 67.

“I hit it really well and wedged it well too,” Stout said of beginning his title defense. “I could’ve made a few more putts, but 4-under is still a solid round.”

Stout sits a stroke ahead of a trio of players. Brooks Simmons of Dallas, Jaivir Pande of Houston, and Austin Hofferkamp of The Woodlands all shot 3-under 68 on Tuesday.

Two players share sixth place at 2-under 69. Brayden Bare from Waco and Noah Holtzman of Wichita, Kansas are all just three shots behind Algya headed into Wednesday’s second round of the prestigious 54-hole championship.

Seven players sit tied for eighth at 1-under par as the rest of the field chases a piece of Texas golf history.

For the second time in tournament history, the LJT conducted a Monday Qualifier for the final four spots into the 84-player field. Price Hill from Boerne won the Qualifier with an even-par 71. Luke D’Alise from Lubbock (+1), Logan Zurn from Grapevine (+2) and Parker Heath from Dallas (+3) also qualified for the championship on Monday.

The Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship has received registration entries from more than 350 juniors from across the state in each of the past few years.

“We decided to continue the Monday Qualifier this year because of the demand for entries,” said Kevin Porter, the TGA’s Director of Competitions for North Texas. “We also had a lot of positive feedback regarding the qualifier last year.”

Hill, who won the Qualifier, put himself in solid position heading into the rest of the event. In Tuesday’s first round he shot a 2-over 73 and sits in a tie for 37^th.

Round 2 of the Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship starts Wednesday at 8 a.m. For more information, including complete scoring, click here.