Comegys, Burton and O’Rear win at Bluebonnet Championship

Briefly: Matthew Comegys won the Boys 15-18 Division of the Bluebonnet Championship at 14-under-par. Mimi Burton won the Girls 12-18 Division, while Rhett O’Rear won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 4-under-par at Brownwood Country Club.

Full Leaderboard

Winners: Matthew Comegys secured back-to-back titles at the Bluebonnet Championship. Plano’s Comegys made 5 birdies and an eagle to post a final round score of 6-under 66. Comegys totaled 13 birdies and two eagles across both rounds. In the Girls 12-18 Division, Austin’s Mimi Burton captured her second LJT victory of the season after getting to 4-under 140 overall and two strokes ahead of the field. She played two rounds of 2-under 70 over the weekend, totaling seven birdies to only three bogeys. Plano’s Rhett O’Rear won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 4-under as well, edging out Austin Hofferkamp by one stroke. The reigning Boys 14 & Under Division Player of the Year made three birdies on Sunday for a total of seven over two rounds.

In Contention: Austin’s Trevor Mierl shot a final round score of 5-under 67 to finish runner up at 11-under overall. Austin’s Keaton Vo finished third at 10-under 134. Brian Comegys of Austin, Ty Holbrook of Granbury, Connor Adams of Dallas and Ben Brogdon of Little Rock all finished tied for fourth at 9-under 135. Arlington’s Mason Lewis and San Antonio’s Lindsay Lee finished runner-up in the Girls 12-18 Division at 2-under 142. Farah O’Keefe of Austin and Grace Jin of San Antonio tied for fourth in the division at 1-under, while Mallorie Luitwieler, Jiyu Han and Caroline Dasch tied for sixth at even-par. Austin Hofferkamp of the Woodlands finished runner-up at 3-under 143. Reese Roberts of Dallas rounds out the top three after finishing at 1-under 143 overall.

Weather: Temperatures crept up to the mid-80s on Sunday at Brownwood Country Club with winds steady around 10 miles per hour. The storms moved through overnight and left the course a little wet, but conditions were ideal for golf.

Golf Course: Brownwood Country Club, which opened in 1929, has hosted the Bluebonnet Championship every year since its inception in 2001. The club sits in central Texas and features ample opportunities for players to go low and make birdies. The par-72 layout was designed by Leon Howard and stretches to 6,300 yards for the boys and 5,800 yards for the girls.

Tournament History: The Bluebonnet Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event for players ages 12-19 that have an active membership within the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The championship was started by Brownwood businessman Bart Johnson in 2001 and has an impressive list of past champions that include Patrick Reed, Cody Gribble, Scottie Scheffler, Pierceson Coody, Maddie Szeryk, Noah Goodwin, Hailey Jones and Hailee Cooper. The Legends Junior Tour took over the event in 2007 and the field has grown to 132 players from all over the state.

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.

Rankings/Exemptions: This event is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek and offers Invitational Points for the LJT Player of the Year Standings. Along with the rankings several exemptions are available including a spot in the 2021 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship to the top three boys finishers. Numerous AJGA Stars are available including 12 for the champion of the Boys and Girls Divisions. The winner of the Girls Division will also receive an exemption into the Texas Women’s Open in June, while the top finishers of their age divisions earn spots in the IMG Academy Junior World Championship this summer.

What’s Next: The Legends Junior Tour returns to Dallas and Lakewood Country Club for the Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship on June 8-10, 2021. The championship is the second Major Event for the Boys Division of the year with the top players from Texas vying to etch their name on a trophy along with Jordan Spieth, Pierceson Coody, Cody Gribble and many more.

For more information about the Bluebonnet Championship, click here. To learn more about the Legends Junior Tour, click here.

Comegys and Spaulding Lead Bluebonnet Championship at 8-Under

Briefly: Defending champion Matthew Comegys and Matthew Spaulding are tied for the lead in the Boys 15-18 Division of the Bluebonnet Championship after shooting 8-under 64 at Brownwood Country Club.  Rhett O’Rear and Austin Hofferkamp are tied atop the Boys 14 & Under Division at 3-under, while Mallorie Luitwieler leads the Girls 12-18 Division after the first round.

Full Leaderboard

Leaders: Matthew Comegys of Plano and Matthew Spaulding of Spring lead the Boys 15-18 Division after shooting 8-under 64 in the opening round. Comegys, who is the defending champion, made eight birdies and an eagle on Saturday, while Spaulding made seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 18^th hole. In the Boys 14 & Under division, Austin Hofferkamp of The Woodlands and Rhett O’Rear of Plano are tied for the lead at 3-under 69. Hofferkamp made seven birdies in his first 18 holes and played the final 12 holes at 6-under. O’Rear, who is the reigning Boys 14 & Under Player of the Year, started his day with back-to-back birdies in the first two holes and added a third on No. 7 and a fourth on No. 16. His lone bogey came on the par-3 eighth. Luitwieler of Katy made six birdies in the first round, including three in her last three holes to get to 3-under overall.

In Contention: Dallas’ Connor Adams is one stroke back of the leaders in the Boys 15-18 Division after a round of 7-under on Saturday. Martin Kemp of Dallas and Trevor Mierl of Austin are tied for fourth at 6-under, while Jacob King, Will Jordan, Braeden Hoyt and Ben Delarosa are tied for sixth at 5-under. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Eric Zhao of Canada and Reese Roberts of Dallas are tied for third at 2-under, while Yi Wen Huang of Austin is fifth at 1-under. Three players are tied for sixth in the division at even-par. Austin’s Caroline Dasch and Mimi Burton are tied for second at 2-under, while Mason Lewis of Arlington and Jasmine Do of Cypress are tied for fourth at 1-under.

Golf Course: Brownwood Country Club has hosted the Bluebonnet Championship every year since its inception in 2000. The club sits in central Texas and features ample opportunities for players to go low and make birdies. The par-72 layout stretches to 6,300 yards for the boys and 5,800 yards for the girls.

Tournament Format: The Bluebonnet Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event for players ages 12-19 that have a valid membership with a member of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The tournament field features 132 players across three divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 14 & Under and Girls 12-18.

Weather: Temperatures ranged in the 60s throughout the day with the threat of rain present until around 4:00 PM when it started to come down slowly. Winds were calm around five to eight miles per hour.

What’s Next: The final round of the Bluebonnet Championship will begin at 7:30 am on Sunday, May 2. Players will tee off the No. 1 tee throughout the day, with the Girls 12-18 Division going first, followed by the Boys 14 & Under Division and then the Boys 15-18 Division.

For more information about the Bluebonnet Championship, click here.