Around the Green

Carters Lead Father-Son after a Sizzling 61

BOERNE – Allen Carter had a front row seat on Friday to watch his son Ryne shoot the best competitive score of his life in the first round of the 43rd Texas Father-Son Championship at Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort. The father-son duo from Dallas combined to shoot 11-under-par 61. Ryne shot a 10-under 62 on his own ball.

“I took two weeks off from playing, then came back out for this tournament,” Ryne Carter said. “I didn’t expect it, but everything was working great today: putting, driving, everything.”

Carter opened with an eagle on the first hole, then proceeded to birdie six of his next 10 holes. With a smile, his dad Allen was quick to add he was more than just a cheerleader all day.

“I made one birdie today,” Allen Carter said. “Make sure that gets into the story.”

The Carters lead Jerry and Randall Searls from Van Alstyne by one shot headed into Saturday’s second round.

LEADERBOARD CHECK: The Searls combined for seven birdies and two eagles on their way to 10-under 62 and second place in the Championship Division. Jerry Searls eagled the par-5 first hole, and his son Randall eagled the par-5 10th

Three teams are tied for third place at 9-under 63. Three-time champions Matt and Will Griffin from San Antonio, Midland’s Rick and Richman Houston, and Hunter and Randy Rawls, respectively from Midland and Lubbock, are all two shots behind the Carters.

Three-time defending champions Kyle and Derick Kelting from Amarillo opened the 43rd Texas Father-Son with a 7-under 65. They’re tied for eighth place after Round 1.

Complete scoring | Round 2 pairings

NET FLIGHTS UPDATE:

Hogan Flight – There’s a three-way tie for first place after Friday’s opening round. Sharing the top spot at 6-under 66 are the teams of Randy Mattingley from Flower Mound and Trey Rowe from Argyle, along with Charles and Nick Archer, respectively from Rockwall and Rowlett, and Lufkin’s Wes Welch and Justin Blackledge from Midland.

Mattingley and Rowe combined for six total birdies. Four of those were Rowe’s natural birdies; Mattingley added a pair of net birdies, as well as a birdie-net-eagle on the uphill, par-3 11th.

Nick Archer started his team’s day with a natural eagle on the par-5 first hole. He added five more birdies on the day; three of those were natural birdies. His partner Charles added three natural birdies on his ball. Welch and Blackledge played nearly flawless ham-and-eggs partner golf. They combined for seven total birdies, and neither birdied the same hole.

Nelson Flight – Corinth’s Jeff Loch and Fort Worth’s Andrew Loch fired a 6-under 66 to grab first place after Round 1. Andrew rolled in four natural birdies and added one net birdie. Jeff contributed with one natural and one net birdie.

Marc and Mason Nelson from Rockwall finished with 5-under 67, good for second place. Patrick Pettit from Porter and Austin Pettit from Houston hold third place at 4-under 68.

Crenshaw Flight – Chad and Thomas Hampton, respectively from Cypress and College Station, staked a three-shot lead in their flight after they combined for eight birdies on their way to a 5-under 67 in Round 1. Chad rolled in four natural birdies and one net birdie; Thomas had four net birdies of his own. Only one of the Hampton’s overall birdies was negated when both Chad and Thomas scored net birdies the par-4 16th.

Chris and Paul Divis from Dallas are in second place at 2-under 70. Chris accounted for three net birdies, and Paul had two net and one natural birdie. Three teams are tied for third place in the Crenshaw Flight at 1-under 71. Chip and Mike Block, from Houston and Kingwood, along with Will and Bill Ward, from San Antonio and Sugar Land, and Chris and Jeff Mudd, from Houston and Fulshear, all will start Round 2 four shot behind the Hamptons.

Kite Flight – David Cash and David Cash Jr., respectively from Cottonwood Shores and Spicewood, combined to shoot 6-under 66 to take the Kite Flight lead by two shots after 18 holes. David Sr. made a birdie-net-eagle on the difficult par -4 fifth hole. He added another natural birdie, plus four more net birdies to help their cause. David Jr. added a pair of net birdies.

Zach and Preston Harvey from Dallas are two shots back at 4-under 68. At 9 years old, Preston is the youngest player in the field. The sweet-swinging lefty drained five net birdies on the day. His dad Zach added three natural birdies. Tyler and Robert Cloud, from San Antonio and Heath, hold third place at 2-under 70.

WEATHER: It was a gorgeous day for golf in the Hill Country, with overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-70s throughout the morning. Winds were steady in the 10-15 mph range. By 1 p.m., the sun finally peeked out, but the temperatures remained pleasant in the mid-80s.

GOLF COURSE: Nestled in a picturesque valley about 30 miles northwest of downtown San Antonio, Tapatio Springs opened in 1981 with a course originally designed by Bill Johnston. In 2015, Tripp Davis & Associates completed a wide-ranging renovation that included reshaped and rebuilt fairways, bunkers, tee boxes, and green complexes. Both challenging and fun, it’s a quintessential Hill Country-style course with plenty of elevation changes and a few blind shots.

With a variety of long and shorter holes, as well as the numerous water features sprinkled throughout the routing, Tapatio Springs Resort serves as a quality test of skill for all the participants. This is the first time Tapatio Springs has welcomed the Father-Son since back-to-back years in 1984-85.

FORMAT: The Championship Flight consists of the 40 teams with the lowest combined handicap indexes. The Championship Flight plays four-ball stroke play for the first two rounds. After 36 holes, the low 20 teams (and ties) continue on in the Championship Flight and play combined individual stroke play in the final round. Each Championship Flight team’s three-day total is their overall score for the championship. Teams not making the 36-hole cut in the Championship Flight will compete in the Presidents Flight and play a third and final round of four-ball stroke play. The format for all other flights is 54-hole net four-ball stroke play.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This is the 43rd annual playing of the Texas Father-Son Championship. Kyle and Derick Kelting from Amarillo have won the popular championship in each of the past three years. It they’re able win for a fourth straight time, they’d move into a tie for the all-time most consecutive victories with another Amarillo duo, Tom and Will Doughtie. The Doughties won the Father-Son four times in a row from 2001-04. Last summer, the Keltings rallied from two strokes back in the final round to score the threepeat at Wichita Falls Country Club with a three-day total of 10-under-par 274.

NEXT UP: Round 2 begins at 7:30 a.m. at Tapatio Springs Resort. For more information, including complete scoring, click here.