Around the Green

Texas Four-Ball Set for Aug. 19-21

The Club at Comanche Trace in Kerrville will be the host site for the 47th Texas Four-Ball, the second of this year’s four men’s major amateur championships conducted by the TGA. The championship will be contested on the Hills and Creeks Courses from Aug. 19-21.

This will be the fifth Texas Four-Ball and 13th overall TGA championship held at Comanche Trace. The club previously hosted the Texas Four-Ball from 2003-2005 and then again in 2011. The most recent TGA championship played at Comanche Trace was the 2021 Women’s Stroke Play, won by Emma McMyler.

“We’re thrilled to return to Comanche Trace, which has been such an enthusiastic supporter of amateur golf through the years,” said Read Langhenry, TGA Tournament Director. “We know the membership and staff at Comanche Trace will provide a fantastic experience for the players and the challenging golf course will be an ideal stage for an exciting and competitive championship.”

Set on more than 1,300 acres overlooking the Guadalupe River in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, Comanche Trace is one of the country’s most acclaimed master-planned communities. The club boasts three nine-hole courses that wind through rolling meadows, groves of oaks trees, natural water features, and unspoiled native areas. The original 18 holes, the Hills and Valley Courses, opened for play in 1999 and were designed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Kite, along with Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell. The Creeks Course, added in 2008, was designed by the father-son team of Jay and Carter Morrish.

The Texas Four-Ball features three divisions: Championship, Senior (age 55 and older) and Super Senior (age 65 and older). The starting field limit is 80 teams, with 48 spots allotted to the Championship Division, 20 in the Senior Division and 12 for the Super Senior Division. The three divisions compete from different sets of tees and yardages, with separate champions recognized in each division.

The format for the championship is 54 holes of four-ball stroke play. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the lowest 40 team scores and ties, with a pro-rated representation from each division.

Live scoring updates, daily recaps, as well as tee times and pairings, will be available on the TGA website once the action gets underway from Comanche Trace.

At the 2021 championship, held on the Apple Rock Course at Horseshoe Bay Resort, Fort Worth’s Colby Amparan and Gary Ezmerlian posted a 54-hole total of 19-under-par 197 to win the Championship Division. The San Antonio team of Ron Finnerty and Tommy Tucker finished at 18-under 198 to win the Senior Division. Aaron Billings and Richard Koenig, both of Horseshoe Bay, won the Super Senior Division with a 24-under 192 total.