Around the Green
The latest golf-related news, notes, and feature stories from the TGA.
A. Dortch, McKay, Madden Lead at Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship
A. Dortch, McKay, Madden Lead at Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship
Briefly: Aiden Dortch of Dallas, TX, sits alone atop the Boys 15-18 Division of the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship after shooting a scorching 7-under 65 at Tangle Ridge Golf Club. Duff McKay also of Dallas holds 1 shot lead in the Boys 14 & Under division at 1-under-par 71. Finally, Jenna Madden of McKinney leads the Girls Division by four strokes after her 2-under-par 70 in round 1.
Leaders: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Aiden Dortch leads after a 7-under-par 65 first round total. Dortch birdied his first three holes of the day and kept the momentum rolling through his entire round including an eagle on the par 5 529 yard 18th hole and carding only one bogey for the round.
In the Girls 12-18 Division, McKinney’s Jenna Madden leads after posting 2-under 70 in her opening round. Madden birdied four of her last six holes on the back nine to claim the lead after day one.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division, McKay used back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13 to get off to a hot start on the back nine and came home with an even 36 on the front.
In Contention: In the Boys 15-18 division Tyler Blackwell of Austin and Brooks Harper of Dallas share a tie for second after the first round both carding 5-under par 67. Also in contention Ethan Dufresne of The Hills sits alone in fourth at 68, Reese Roberts of Dallas rounds out the top 5 at 2-under-par 70.
In the Girls 12-18 Division, two players sit 4 shots behind the leader Madden. Lauren Rios of Coppell and Sonia Hao of Dallas both finished Round 1 at 2-over-par 74.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division Asher Vargas of Spring and Hunter Grimes of Spring Branch hold a tie for second both shooting even par 72 on the day. Also in contention in the Boys 14 & Under Division is Ryan Lee of Plano sitting 3 shots back at 1-over-par 73
Golf Course: Tangle Ridge Golf Club, located in Grand Prairie, is hosting the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship for the first time in the tournament’s 14-year history. The par-72 layout opened in 1995 and was designed by Jeffrey Brauer. The course features exciting elevation changes, subtle Champion Ultra Dwarf Bermuda Grass Greens along with it’s tree lined fairways and multiple bunkers and water challenges.. The course played to 6805 yards for the boy’s 15-18 division, 6307 yards for the boy’s 12-14 division and 5939 yards for the girl’s division.
Weather: The weather for Tuesday’s First Round was extreme, reaching temperatures of up to 104 degrees at the hottest parts of the day. Winds picked up during the afternoon tee times blowing a consistent 15-20 mph.
Tournament Format: The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event for players 12-18 years old. All players in the field are required to have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance.
Texas Junior Golf Alliance: The Alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The goal of the Alliance was to allow junior golfers a clear path to the best tournaments in Texas. Each of the three tier-two organizations (STPGA, NTPGA, HGA) conduct events that serve as qualifiers into the statewide tier-one events run by the Legends Junior Tour (LJT). This allows players to compete in local events in which they can earn spots to play in statewide tournaments.
Tournament Exemptions: The top three finishers of the boy’s 15 – 18 division will earn an exemption into the upcoming Texas Junior Amateur at Horseshoe Bay Resort on July 25-27.
Next Up: The Final Round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 am off the No. 1 and 10 tees on Wednesday, July 13. The Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under Divisions will tee off in the morning wave, while the Boys 15-18 Division will tee off in the afternoon wave. To see the pairings for the Final Round, click here.
For more information on the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here. To see all the scores from Tangle Ridge Golf Course, click here.
