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The latest golf-related news, notes, and feature stories from the TGA.

Hill’s and Houston’s Share Round 1 Lead at Father-Son

Wichita Falls — Boerne’s Chris and Price Hill and Midland’s Rick and Richman Houston are tied atop the leaderboard at the 42nd Father-Son Championship after rounds of 8-under 63. Both teams posted a 7-under on their front nine in Friday’s first round at Wichita Falls Country Club.

Leaderboard: Championship Division
T1) Hill, Chris / Hill, Price (Boerne) 63
T1) Houston, Richman / Houston, Rick (Midland) 63
3) Kelting, Kyle / Kelting, Derick (Amarillo / Dallas) 64
T4) Rougeau, Brandon / Rougeau, Charles (Round Rock / Brenham) 66
T4) Gillen, Drew / Gillen, Will (Tyler) 66
T4) Hobson, Burl / Hobson, Trip (Crockett / Wichita Falls) 66

Click here for full leaderboard | Round 2 Pairings

In Contention:  The Hill’s once again showcased their abilities as teammates in Friday’s first round in route to the shared lead. Chris and Price Hill finished 6th in last year’s championship and picked up right where they left off. It was a total team effort as Chris contributed three birdies and Price rolled in five for the team.

Starting on the par-5 10th hole, the Hill’s got off to a hot start by carding seven birdies on their front nine. Chris tacked on the eighth birdie on the back nine.

Richman and Rick Houston, who started on the short par-4 1st hole, rolled in seven birdies on the front nine but finished their round by going one under on the back nine to grab a share of the first round lead.

The Hill’s and Houston’s hold a one-shot advantage in the championship division. Kyle and Derick Kelting, the defending back-to-back champions, put together a solid first round in attempt to defend their title with an opening 7-under 64. The duo is looking to capture their third consecutive Father-Son title.

Sitting one shot back in fourth is Argyle’s Marcus and Davis Jones at 6-under. The duo rolled in six birdies on the day.

In a three-way tie for fifth at 5-under is Brandon and Charles Rougeau of Round Rock/Brenham, Tyler’s Drew and Will Gillen, and Burl and Trip Hobson of Crockett/Wichita Falls.

Net Flights Update: In the Hogan Flight, Justin Blackledge and Wes Welch of Midland/Lufkin lead after an opening round of 8-under 63. They lead the flight by one stroke over Charles and Nick Archer of Rockwall/Rowlett who won the flight last year at Crown Colony Country Club.

The low round of the day for the net divisions came in the Nelson Flight from a hometown team. Wichita Falls’ Braden and David Norris fired an 11-under 60. The duo leads the flight by 7 strokes over Garland’s Garrett and Shane Hogan. 

In the Crenshaw Flight, Mason and Thomas Cruickshank shot a round one 7-under 64. They lead Zach and William Bell of Montgomery and Carlos and Jim Fullerton of Dallas/Shavano Park by two strokes. 

McKinney’s Christian and John Herrmann shot an opening round of 8-under par 63 to grab the lead in the Kite flight by one stroke over Steve and Stephen Reid of Aledo/Gransbury.

Course: Wichita Falls Country Club is hosting the Father-Son for the second time. The course was completely renovated and redesigned in 2008 by D.A. Weibring and Steve Wolfard. The last time the Father-Son was at Wichita Falls Country Club was in 2003, which saw Tom and Will Doughtie win the event for the third year in a row. The par-71 course played at 6,650 yards for the championship division and 6,221 yards for the net division in round one.

Tournament History: The Father-Son is in its 42nd year on the TGA schedule. The tournament is a 54-hole event with players competing in net and gross divisions. Each year it is one of the most highly anticipated events on the schedule and the field fills up just minutes after opening for registration.

What’s Next:  Round 2 tee times start Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. off No. 1 & 10 tees at Wichita Falls Country Club.