34th Women’s Senior Stroke Play Heads to San Angelo 

SAN ANGELO– Bentwood Country Club will be the host site for the 34th Women’s Senior Stroke Play, the second to last event of the year on the Women’s schedule conducted by the Texas Golf Association. The 54-hole championship, which features the state’s top amateur golfers aged 50 and older, will be held Sept. 18-20. 

“We are so excited to bring this event to Bentwood Country Club,” said Amy Worthington, TGA’s Director of Women’s Operations. “It’s a fantastic venue for our ladies to come compete at and allows them to see one of the premiere TGA Member Clubs in West Texas.” 

This championship has seen many highly accomplished players come away victorious. The 2023 field is no different as a multitude of players with impressive resumes will look to add to their illustrious careers. 

The following player profiles have been created as a preview of some of the top storylines coming into this year’s championship. 

►Anna Schultz, 68, of Heath, is one of the most accomplished golfers in the state and a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame since 2013. A three-time winner of this event, Schultz captured the USGA’s 2007 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur title. Her resume would put any golfer in awe as it features incredible success at the local, state, and national level. Last year, Schultz earned co-honors for being the low Super Senior in the field. 

►Mina Hardin, 63, of Fort Worth, is a two-time winner of this event. Most notably, Hardin’s resume includes a win at the USGA’s 2010 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur. A five-time Women’s Texas Amateur champion and a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012, Hardin’s career also features a runner-up finish at the USGA’s 2001 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. 

►Marian Barker, 69, of Lubbock, is back in the field this year after earning Super Senior co-honors last year. The four-time winner of this event will look to capture the title for a fifth time. Her most recent victory was in 2020. A highlight of Barker’s impressive career is advancing to the match play rounds of the USGA’s U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur in 2004, ’09, and ’16. 

►Kelley Nittoli, 60, of San Antonio, finished runner up in last year’s championship at 11-under total. Nittoli, who played for a short stint on the LPGA Tour right after college, is married to Jim Nittoli, Director of Golf at San Antonio Country Club. Nittoli’s impressive playing history also features advancing to match play at the USGA’s U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur in 2022. 

In 2022, Magnolia’s Marilyn Hardy became a two-time champion of this event as she finished the championship at 9-over 225 total. She bested Nittoli by two strokes at Arlington’s Shady Valley Country Club. 

Bentwood Country Club, host of this year’s championship, has been expertly designed by William P. Martindale, (noted golf architect and former touring professional). Penalty areas and numerous bunkers are strategically placed to give the 6,932 yard course a challenging unique character. The par-72 West Texas gem first opened in 1979. 

The 16 players with the lowest Handicap Indexes® at the Women’s Senior Stroke Play will be required to play from the Championship Tees (approx. 5500-5700 yards). All other players may select which tees they wish to play from – the Championship Tees or the Flights Tees (approx. 5100-5300 yards). Upon completion of Round 2, the field will be broken into flights based on 36-hole scores. 

Live scoring updates, daily recaps, as well as tee-times and pairings, will be available on the TGA website once the action is underway from Bentwood Country Club. 

For more information on the 34th Women’s Senior Stroke Play, click here. 

North Texas Classic Heads to Indian Creek Golf Club

ADDISON – The North Texas Classic is set to kick off the LJT Fall Schedule on Sept. 9-10. The 120-player field will take on Indian Creek Golf Club’s Lakes Course as the race for LJT Player of the Year ramps up. 

Fully renovated in 2019, the Lakes Course has new greens, fairways and cart paths. This nature lined course is a sanctuary for birds and golfers alike. A strategic approach here starts with proper club selection off the tee and players who can shape their shots will have an advantage. Tipping out at 7,000 yards, it’s a great course for players of all skill levels.  

The North Texas Classic is split into three divisions: Boys 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under. The champion of the Boys 15-18 Division will earn exemptions into the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational, 2024 Texas Cup Invitational, 2024 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship and 2024 Texas Junior Amateur. The champion of the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and 2024 Texas Girls’ Invitational. The Boys 14 & Under champion will also earn an exemption into the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational. 

Including the North Texas Classic, only four LJT tournaments remain before the Player of the Year Points List will determine the teams for the Jackie Burke Cup, as well as the overall Players of the Year for each division. Garrett McMellon of Garland leads the Boys 15-18 Division. Joshua’s Kaylee Yuan leads the Girls Division while Henry Jackson of Lantana leads the Boys 14 & Under Division. 

Waco’s Corbin Null scored a four-shot victory in last year’s North Texas Classic with rounds of 66-67 to post 9-under for the championship.  

In the Girls Division, Sidney Robertson of Tyler won by two strokes after carding rounds of 69-70 and finishing at 3-under for the tournament. Robertson finished two shots ahead of Austin’s Darrelyn Webster. 

 Spring’s Asher Vargas won the Boy 14 & Under Division by an astounding 14 shots. Vargas fired rounds of 65-67 and finished at 10-under for the tournament. He had two of the three total rounds under par from the Boys 14 & Under Division in route to the record setting win. 

Null, Robertson, and Vargas add to the list of North Texas Classic past champions. It includes 2017 Texas Junior Amateur Champion Jansen Smith, 2019 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Champion Gaven Lane, three-time LJT Player of the Year Hailey Jones as well as Zach Kingsland, Kaylee Vesely, Mark Reppe, Dawson Ovard, Jennie Park, Jun Min Lee, Cole Sherwood and Serena Shah. 

The first round of the North Texas Classic is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 with tee times starting at 8 a.m. off No. 1 and No. 10. The final round pairings will be redrawn according to scores from the first round and will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10. 

For more information on the North Texas Classic, click here. 

Hickman and Smith Win Texas Four-Ball 

LONGVIEW – Aaron Hickman and Rory Smith of Tyler won the 48th Texas Four-Ball on Sunday at Pinecrest Country Club. The local natives, who finished at 17-under 193 total, defeated Anthony Estorga and Jake Istnick in a three-hole playoff. This is Hickman’s fourth Texas Four-Ball title and Smith’s first. 

Hickman and Smith came into Sunday’s final round six shots back of Istnick and Estorga but vaulted up the leaderboard with a scorching 8-under 62 to force the playoff. Smith had an impressive seven birdies to pace the team. 

On the third playoff hole, the par-4 12th, Hickman threw a dart to four feet on his approach shot. It was a similar length putt to the one he had to win on the first playoff hole. This time however, Hickman calmly sank it and capped it off with a fist pump. 

“We played spectacular and made a ton of birdies all three days, especially on Saturday and Sunday,” Hickman said. “We birdied the last three holes in regulation, so it was a lot of pats on the back for Rory.” 

Of Smith’s impressive seven birdies on Sunday, three of them came on the final three holes of regulation. 

“We stayed mentally ready and knew we had a chance,” Smith said. “Aaron’s won a bunch of TGA events. This will be my first victory and I’ll forever be in the annals of the TGA as a champion so I’m pretty pleased.” 

Even after four Texas Four-Ball titles (2011, 2012, 2015), Hickman still understands what it means to win a state championship in Texas. 

“It’s always hard to win so when you do win, it’s great,” Hickman said. “I’m glad Rory got his first win. He can win a lot of these if he chooses to. Winning is hard so anytime you get to do that, it’s good.” 

The TCU product has been having a fantastic year as he recently captured the Mid-Am Match Play title back in July. 

Finishing runner-up, it was a valiant effort from 36-hole leaders Istnick and Estorga. The duo carded a final round 2-under 68 to finish at 17-under for the tournament. They had steadily maintained their lead throughout the final round until the par-4 16th where they made bogey to drop back into a tie with Hickman and Smith. 

At 15-under 195 total for the tournament, there was a three-way tie between Casey Carnes of Shertz and Michael Carnes of New Braunfels, Addison’s Chris Wheeler and Derek Abel of Dallas, and Tyler’s Seth Murphy and Dallas’ Scott Maurer. 

Georgetown’s Doug Northcutt and Brent Barclay of Santa Fe captured the Senior Division win behind a final round 3-under 67. The team finished at 14-under 196 total and were thrilled to capture the title. 

“It’s a big deal to win a state title,” Barclay said. 

Despite starting their final round 2-over through six holes, Northcutt and Barclay knew if they hung in there, they’d have a chance.  

“We’ve been looking forward to this for ten years,” Northcutt explained. “Neither of us have ever competed in a statewide event with the TGA. It means a lot.” 

New Braunfels’ Terrence Miskell and Titus Harris of Houston earned runners-up honors after finishing at 13-under 197 total for the tournament. A final round 5-under 65 left them one shot shy of forcing a playoff. 

Pinecrest Country Club’s own Bruce Smith and his partner Rob Willbanks of Kilgore shared third place with Montgomery’s Scott Smith and William Shock of Houston. 

In the Super Senior Division, Irving’s Michael Puls and Houston’s Tom Burns repeated as Super Senior Division Champions of the Texas Four-Ball after finishing at 10-under for the tournament. The back-to-back winners won in a playoff over Wichita Falls’ Bill Holstead and John Grace of Fort Worth. 

“We had a really fun time,” Puls said. “You guys do a great job. We appreciate everything the TGA does. It makes it easy for us to just show up and play and everything’s taken care of.” 

This was the first TGA championship held at Pinecrest Country Club, which recently marked its 100th anniversary. The Texas Golf Association would like to extend a big thank you to their entire staff and membership for allowing us to host this year’s championship at their facilities.  

For more information on the 48th Texas Four-Ball, click here. 

Estorga and Istnick’s Lead Grows at Texas Four-Ball

LONGVIEW – Anthony Estorga and Jake Istnick of Dallas maintained their lead of the 48th Texas Four-Ball by carding a superb 6-under-par 64 at Pinecrest Country Club in round two. Estorga and Istnick, who sit at 15-under for the tournament, will take a four shot lead into Sunday’s final round. 

It was another shared effort from Estorga and Istnick on Saturday. Estorga, a product of UT Arlington, had four birdies on his own ball, while Istnick, a product of Kansas University, had two birdies and an eagle on the day. 

“We started out hot,” Estorga said. “That was nice to get the round going and survive the middle part of the round. We saved some good pars and minimized the damage.” 

Temperatures reached 108 degrees in Longview on Saturday and the duo certainly felt it. 

“It’s hard to stay mentally in it,” Istnick said of the heat. “We had some pep talks each way. Like ‘come on man, we need this one’. The middle of the round was tough. It was a grind.” 

The Dallas natives are four shots clear of the field and will look to cap off the wire-to-wire victory on Sunday. Plenty of other good rounds were had today as a solid contingent of teams sit behind Estorga and Istnick.  

In solo second at 11-under for the Championship is the team of Dallas’ Scott Maurer and Seth Murphy of Tyler. They matched the leaders with a 6-under 64 and are feeling confident heading into the final round. 

“It was a fun day,” Maurer said. “Hopefully tomorrow we can avoid the two bogeys we had.” 

In a tie for third at 10-under and five shots back of the lead is Fort Worth’s Colby Amparan and Gary Ezmerlian, and Chris Wheeler of Addison and Dallas’ Derek Abel. 

Amparan and Ezmerlian fired their second consecutive round of 5-under 65. Wheeler and Abel got in on the 64 party by matching them with a 6-under round as well. Wheeler had six birdies on his own ball on Saturday. 

Another four teams are tied for fifth at 9-under par and six back of the lead. It’s shaping up to be a riveting final round in Longview. 

In the Senior Division, William Shock of Houston and Montgomery’s Scott Smith have taken the lead at 13-under overall. A second round 7-under 63 has them sitting two shots clear of the rest of the division.  

“We’ve not made a bogey yet, which is pretty good,” Smith said. “We plan on doing more of the same tomorrow. Not changing anything.” 

Doug Northcutt of Georgetown and Brent Barclay of Santa Fe sit one shot back at 11-under for the Championship. Richmond’s Mike Padilla and Andy Hydorn of Houston are tied with three-time champions Chris Goodspeed of Farmers Branch and Frisco’s Bill Steen at 10-under. 

In the Super Senior Division, Irving’s Michael Puls and Houston’s Tom Burns will take the lead into Sunday’s final round. The duo put together a second round 3-under 67 and sit at 7-under total. Sitting one shot behind in second at 6-under for the tournament is Fort Worth’s John Grace and Bill Holstead of Wichita Falls. 

The 48th Texas Four-Ball features three divisions: Championship, Senior (age 55 and older), and Super Senior (age 65 and older). The three divisions are competing 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 Saturday’s second round, the field was cut to the lowest 40 team scores and ties. 

This is the first TGA championship held at the historic East Texas club, which recently marked its 100th anniversary. 

Founded in 1921, Pinecrest Country Club began as a nine-hole course with sand greens. The club expanded to 18 holes in 1958 and was designed by Press Maxwell, son of famed golf course architect Perry Maxwell. Although not long by today’s standards, the 6,541-yard, par-70 layout offers up plenty of challenges with narrow fairways lined by towering pine trees, contoured greens guarded by deep bunkers, and water coming into play on many holes. 

The final round of the Texas Four-Ball will begin Sunday at 7:30 a.m. For more information, click here. 

Estorga and Istnick Lead at Texas Four-Ball 

LONGVIEW – Anthony Estorga and Jake Istnick of Dallas lead the 48th Texas Four-Ball after turning in a magnificent 9-under-par 61 at Pinecrest Country Club in round one. The mid-amateur duo, teeing it up in this event for the third time, will take a three shot lead into Saturday’s second round. 

It was an equal effort from Estorga and Istnick on Friday. Estorga who played collegiately at UT Arlington, had three birdies and an eagle on his own ball, while Istnick, who played for the Kansas Jayhawks, had five birdies as well.  

“We got a lot of looks early,” Istnick said. “And then we played steady and both of us started to play really well the last ten holes.” 

The Dallas natives were 6-under on their back nine to cap off the superb opening round. Outside of playing nine holes during the practice round, neither Estorga nor Istnick had played Pinecrest before. You wouldn’t have known it by their play in Friday’s first round though.  

“I holed out on our second hole of the day (par-4 No. 11) for eagle,” Estorga said. “It kind of caught us off guard a little bit but then we just got comfortable into the round after six or seven holes.”  

Sitting three shots back of the lead in solo second is the team of Jess Bonneau of Houston and Robinson’s Chase Chapman. Another equal effort was key to success as Bonneau and Chapman each had three birdies of their own in route to 6-under 64.  

In a log jam tied for third there are five teams who carded rounds of 5-under 65. Included in the bunch is Dallas’ Rhett Anderson and Paul McNamara, Fort Worth’s Colby Amparan and Gary Ezmerlian, Casey Carnes of Schertz and Michael Carnes of New Braunfels, Dallas’ Scott Maurer and Seth Murphy of Tyler, and Austin’s Hudson Ross and Josh Swanson.  

Another four teams are tied for eighth at 4-under par and five back of the lead. It’s a tightly stacked leaderboard heading into the weekend in Longview. 

In the Senior Division, three-time Texas Four-Ball Champions (1996, 1997, 2002), Chris Goodspeed of Farmers Branch and Frisco’s Bill Steen lead by one after an opening 7-under 63.  

“We’ve played in this event pretty much every year since 1990,” Goodspeed said. “We love playing golf together. Whether we play bad or good, we enjoy playing together.” 

Three teams sit one shot back in a tie for second including Richmond’s Mike Padilla and Andy Hydorn of Houston, Irving’s Mike Peck and Mike Lohner of Southlake, and William Shock of Houston and Montgomery’s Scott Smith. 

In the Super Senior Division, Odessa’s Luke Groves and Mark Jones share the lead with Irving’s Michael Puls and Houston’s Tom Burns. Both teams carded rounds of 4-under 66.  

“We’re comfortable playing together,” Jones said. “We know we’re both trying as hard as we can. We’re each other’s caddies so it works really well. It does help to have somebody say ‘hey, that’s a good club’.” 

The 48th Texas Four-Ball features three divisions: Championship, Senior (age 55 and older), and Super Senior (age 65 and older). The three divisions are competing 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. 

This is the first TGA championship held at the historic East Texas club, which recently marked its 100th anniversary. 

Founded in 1921, Pinecrest Country Club began as a nine-hole course with sand greens. The club expanded to 18 holes in 1958 and was designed by Press Maxwell, son of famed golf course architect Perry Maxwell. Although not long by today’s standards, the 6,541-yard, par-70 layout offers up plenty of challenges with narrow fairways lined by towering pine trees, contoured greens guarded by deep bunkers, and water coming into play on many holes. 

Round two of the Texas Four-Ball will begin Saturday at 7:30 a.m. Once play of the second round concludes the field will be cut to the low 24 teams and ties in the Championship Division, low 10 teams and ties in the Senior Division and low six teams and ties in the Super Senior Division. For more information, click here. 

Women’s Four-Ball Set for July 31 – Aug. 1 

FAIR OAKS RANCH – The 2023 Women’s Four-Ball will be played July 31 – Aug. 1 at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club’s Blackjack Course just outside of Boerne.  

“The TGA is very excited to go to Fair Oaks Ranch,” TGA Director of Women’s Operations Amy Worthington said. “Since the event first started in 2007, the field has continued to get stronger and stronger and showcase some of the most talented players in the state. It’s always fun to watch the comradery between the partners at this event.” 

The rolling terrain, oak trees, wildlife and wildflowers of Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club exemplify nature’s best work, enhanced by the truly exquisite golf environment at our Club. The Club opened its doors in 1978, using the original 14,000-square-foot ranch home of Ralph E. Fair Sr., an internationally known oilman and rancher, as the center of the Club. The club, built in the 1930s, is constructed with native Texas Hill Country river rock. Fair Oaks features town 18-hole championship style golf courses in Live Oak and Blackjack. For this championship, the field will be playing the Blackjack course. 

 Designed by golf legend Gary Player, the Blackjack Course at Fair Oaks is an 18-hole championship golf course. It starts within the community before opening up to a 9-hole stretch through the former hay field of the ranch. Holes 6 through 14 provide players a quiet reprieve from the noise of the surrounding area. The wind on this stretch of holes can provide a stiff challenge for golfers of all skill levels. 

Scheduled for 36 holes of four-ball stroke play, the Women’s Four-Ball will feature two sets of tees for the fifth consecutive year. The TGA wants to encourage women’s participation at every stage, from juniors to collegiate players to senior amateurs of all skill levels. The 10 teams with the lowest combined WHS handicap indexes will be required to play in the Championship Flight. All other teams have the choice to select which flight they would prefer to compete in. 

“The separate tees allow for a better playing experience for all of our players and makes this championship even more competitive,” Worthington said. 

The first Women’s Four-Ball was held in 2007 at Redstone Golf Club. Now in its 17th playing, the Women’s Four-Ball continues to attract some of the state’s most elite female amateur golfers. 

Last year, Jacqueline Nguyen and Elise Parel won at Riverbend Country Club at 16-under 128 total. They beat the field by an impressive eight strokes.  

For more information about the Women’s Four-Ball, click here. 

Price Hill and Kaylee Yuan Win 97th Texas Junior Amateur 

Mierl and Yuan Lead at 97th Texas Junior Amateur

Hill, Yuan, and Vollmer Lead 97th Texas Junior Amateur

Madison Le Wins 102nd Women’s Texas Amateur

BULLARD – Mansfield’s Madison Le defeated Sydney Givens of Austin 5&4 to claim the 102nd Women’s Texas Amateur at Eagle’s Bluff Country Club on Friday. Le joins an elite list of past champions and solidifies her place in Texas golf history.

Le, a junior at the University of Texas at Arlington, earned 26th seed in the Championship Match Play Bracket after recording 7-over-par 78 in Tuesday’s Qualifying Round. As the 26th out of 32 total seeds, Le played spoiler for much of her journey to the title.

“It’s super unreal,” Le said. “I didn’t think I was going to get this far. This was my first year playing the tournament and I came to play well, obviously, but I didn’t think I was going to make it here and win this whole thing. I’ve been playing really good recently so I’m glad I broke through and got the win.”

Le came into the week fresh off a top-20 finish at the Women’s Stroke Play Championship in June and put together a string of match victories to remember this week.

The Final Match was tight throughout the front nine. Givens held a 2-up lead through two holes before Le turned her game on. Le won the next three holes to take a 1-up lead after five. She won the par-4 eighth hole to take a 2-up lead she would carry to the back nine.

On the back nine, Le continued her momentum by winning holes No. 10 and 11 to take a commanding 4-up lead. She capped off the victory with a 15 foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th hole to win 5&4.

After narrowly making it into the Championship Match Play Bracket, Le felt she had a chance to do something special this week.

“I knew it was going to be special on the first day of match play,” Le said. “I barely made it into match play for the Championship Flight and I felt really good. I was hitting it really good and cruised through my first match.”

In the Round of 32, she defeated No. 7 seed Tristan Gabbard, 3&2. Le then took down 10th-seed Madison Brown, 4&3, in the Round of 16.

In the Quarterfinals, Le beat No. 31 seed Amari Smith of McKinney, 3&1 in her only non-upset of the week. The UT-Arlington standout then toppled No. 19-seeded Raleygh Simpson of Kerrville in the Semis, 1 up.

When ranking this win among the others she’s had in her career, Le didn’t hesitate to put it at the top.

“Oh, absolutely at the top of the list,” Le said. “This is my second Texas Golf Association tournament ever so to come here and win and everyone here is super good, there’s a lot of good college golfers and it’s just super cool.”

In addition to the Le-Givens showdown, six other flights in the tournament held their final matches Friday.

The Texas Golf Association extends its gratitude to the Eagle’s Bluff Country Club, including its staff and membership, for their support, hospitality, and generosity during the 102nd Women’s Texas Amateur. We greatly appreciate the efforts from the club, as well as the TGA volunteers, for helping us create a memorable championship week. For more information on the 102nd Women’s Texas Amateur, click here.