Around the Green

Condon, Tyner win at Tournament of Champions

Briefly: Luke Condon of Kaufman fired rounds of 70-68 for a total 138, four-under-par to capture the Tournament of Champions Open Division,  Trey Tyner of Kerville ran away from the competition to capture the Senior Division title at the Tournament of Champions with the only two rounds under par 70-70-140.

Final Results

Golf Course: Champions Golf Club was created and opened by World Golf Hall of Famers and Masters Champions Jack Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demeret.  Opened in 1956 the Cypress Creek designed by famed golf course architect Ralph Plummer.  The Jackrabbit course followed closely behind, opened in 1959 and designed by George Fazio and renovated in 2002 by Tom Fazio.  Champions Golf Club has hosted some of golfs biggest events including the Ryder Cup, U.S. Open and Women’s Open, the U.S. Amateur, and many more.

Weather: Saturday’s first round saw players tee off at a temperature of 98 degrees, temperatures reached up to 104 degrees, humidity was at 37%.  Sunday’s final round was equally hot with the temperature again reaching 103 degrees.

Top Finishers: Luke Condon, Open Division champion, qualified for the Tournament of Champions through the Medalist North Series in 2023, came into the final round tied with three other players after Saturdays’ first round play on Champions Golf Clubs Jackrabbit course.  Condons first round consisted of four birdies and three bogeys.  Condon said of the Jackrabbit course “the course is sneaky hard, you don’t have to hit a bad shot and you can still get penalized.”  His second round on the Cypress Creek course saw him shoot the second lowest score of the day three-under-par 68 which was just enough to claim the championship.  Condon shot a tournament high six birdies on Cypress Creek including hole 17 which would be the deciding birdie in the Tournament of Champions.

Trey Tyner, qualified for the Tournament of Champions through the Medalist Hill Country in 2023, used a stellar first round on Jackrabbit to put distance between himself and the other senior division competitors.  Tyner fired the only round under par for the Senior Division in the tournament and he did so on both Jackrabbit and Cypress Creek.  Tyner only carded bogey or worse on two holes for the entire tournament, finishing with five birdies across both courses.

Finishing in second place in the Open Division was Conroe’s Clay Fullick.  Fullick entered the final round two shots behind the leaders after a one-over-par 72. Fullick used the lowest round of the tournament to make a furious run at the championship shooting 67 in the final round and going three-under-par for his final nine holes.  His comeback attempt would fall one stroke short after Condon made birdie on 17 to move to four-under-par for the championship.  Tied for third place for the tournament Joey Gullion and Carson Cooper both from Spring.  Gullion and Cooper were both co-leaders after round one firing one-under-par 70 on Jackrabbit.  Gullion and Cooper then fired the same score on Cypress Creek two-over-par 73.

Finishing second in the Senior Division Steven Trafton of Jonestown, Trafton fired rounds of 76-77 for a total 153 for the Tournament.  Rounding out the top three in the Senior Division were Duncan Burch of Marble Falls and John Vidales of Deer Park who both shot 155 for the event.

Medalist POY: The 2023 Medalist Season has officially concluded, to view final player of the year point standings click here.

What’s Next: With the conclusion of the TGA Regional series and Tournament of Champions, next on the state championship schedule is the Texas Four-Ball.  The Four-Ball will be contested August 18-20 at Pinecrest Country Club in Longview. Texas Mid-Amateur qualifying is underway for the TGA with sites scattered across the state for the next two months. The 40^th Texas Mid-Amateur will be hosted by Midland Country Club September 29-October 1.

More Info: The Texas Golf Association extends its sincere appreciation to the staff, members of Champions Golf Club their time and effort made the Tournament of Champions a memorable and successful event. For more information on the Tournament of Champions, click here.