Around the Green

Harper, McKay, and Madden Win at Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship

Harper, McKay, and Madden Win at Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship

 Briefly:  Dallas Brooks Harper wins the Boys 15-18 Division of the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship at Tangle Ridge Golf Club shooting an 8-under-par 136 to claim a one shot victory. McKinney’s Jenna Madden won the Girls 12-18 Division at even par , while Dallas’ Duff McKay won the Boys 14 & Under Division also shooting an 8-under-par 136.

Champions: Brooks Harper entered Wednesday’s final round in the leading group two shots back on the lead after a first round 67.  Harper started the day off strong with a birdie on hole 3 that would have him tied for first early in the round.  The back nine Harper came alive birdying 4 of the 9 holes. 18 saw Harper and Dortch tied at -7 both Harper and Dortch sent their drives into the same fairway bunker.  Harper put his bunker shot to 3 feet and a tap in birdie claimed him the Boys 15-18 title.

McKinney’s Jenna Madden won the Girls 12-18 Division after shooting rounds of 70-74 to finish the championship at even par and five strokes ahead of the field. She posted the only under par round of the tournament in the girls division with a 2 under par score of 70 in the first round.

Dallas’ Duff McKay won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 8-under overall after rounds of 71-65 at Tangle Ridge Golf Club. His final round was one he will forever remember as Duff holed his tee shot on the 316 yard par 4 3^rd hole to record his third career hole in one.  Duff put the tournament out of reach from his competitors with a run of four straight birdies on holes 10 through 13.

 Top Finishers: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Ethan Dufresne of The Hills finished T-2 with Dortch and claimed the trophy by way of a scorecard playoff by shooting a 34 on the back nine.  Dallas Aiden Dortch finished T-2 with Dufresne losing scorecard playoff with his 36 on the back nine for the final round. Luke Colton of Frisco finished fourth firing a second round low total of 66 to climb up the leaderboard after entering the day at even par.

In the Girls 12-18 Division, two girls tied for second at 5 over par. Coppell’s Lauren Rios and Kate Strickland from Lincoln, Nebraska fought hard but could not catch Jenna Madden on the scoreboard.  Dallas’ Sonia Hao finished alone in fourth place at 6 over par respectably.

In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Spring Branch’s Hunter Grimes finished runner up at 4 under par 140 for the championship.  Jack Clancey fired a 67 on Wednesday to secure third place with a 2 under par 36 hole total.  Highland Village’s Tyson Embry finished fourth at even par, followed by the trio of Plano’s Ryan Lee, Spring’s Asher Vargas and Houston’s Austin Le who all finished in a tie for fifth place at 1 over par for the championship.

 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 6788 yards for the boy’s 15-18 division, 6335 yards for the boy’s 12-14 division and 5870 yards for the girl’s division.

 

Weather: Wednesday’s weather was similar to Tuesday’s with the sun out and temperatures approaching 105 Degrees. The 5 – 10 mph winds did offer a little relief to the players battle with the course and the heat.

 

Tournament Format: The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event for players ages 12-18 years old. Membership with a Texas Junior Golf Alliance Partner is required to play in Legends Junior Tour events.

 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.

 Next Up: The Legends Junior Tour heads to Horseshoe Bay Resort on July 25-27 for the 96^th Texas Junior Amateur. The 240-player field is split between four division: Boys, Girls, Boys 14 & Under and Girls 14 & Under. The Boys Division will play the Ram Rock Course, while the Girls Division and both 14 & Under Divisions will play the Apple Rock Course.