USGA Exemptions on the line at TGA Championships in 2024 

ADDISON – Beginning in 2024, the United States Golf Association (USGA) will be making significant changes to qualifying for four of their most prestigious championships: the U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the U.S. Junior Amateur, and the U.S. Girls’ Junior.  

Included in those changes are exemptions for future champions of some notable TGA and LJT tournaments next year. The Texas Amateur and Women’s Texas Amateur champions will earn exemptions into the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur.  On the Legends Junior Tour, the winners of the Texas Junior Amateur Boys 15-18 Division and Girls 15-18 Division will earn exemptions into the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior.  

The aforementioned TGA and LJT Championships have long been considered some of the most elite amateur tournaments in the nation. Adding USGA exemptions is only going to make them even better.  

“Champions of TGA events have historically had success on the national stage,” said John Cochran IV, TGA Director of Competition, South Texas. “For our champions to now earn an exemption into some of the USGA’s most historic championships is exciting.” 

Along with the addition of new exemption categories, the USGA is making a significant revision to U.S. Amateur Qualifying for next year. It will change from a one-stage, 36-holes-in-a-day to two stages of qualifying at 18 holes each, with 45 Local Qualifying sites feeding 19 Final Qualifying sites. 

Two of the U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying sites will be in Texas with one taking place at Deerwood Club in Houston and the other at a to-be-announced site in Dallas. 

According to the USGA, all events will be evaluated each fall for the following year, utilizing the three-year rolling average of their World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR) power ranking. Thus, events which become WAGR ranked in 2024 will have the option to meet the respective threshold for an exemption into 2025 USGA championships. 

Over the past three years, the TGA proudly boasts the third highest WAGR-ranked state amateur, third highest women’s state amateur, fourth highest boys junior state amateur, and the highest ranked girls junior state amateur in the nation. 

“This new change will add another layer of intensity to our championships,” Cochran said. “Now, players will not only be competing to etch their name in Texas golf history, but also for a chance to represent the state on a national level. It will make winning one of these four championships that much sweeter.” 

This year, two of our past three Texas Amateur champions qualified for the U.S. Amateur. Reigning champion Bret Gray nearly made it three for three but ultimately lost in a playoff and earned first alternate. 2020 Women’s Texas Amateur champion Bentley Cotton qualified and advanced to match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. 2021 Texas Junior Amateur Boy’s champion Aaron Pounds qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur. 

These are just a few recent examples of how our champions were already earning their way to USGA Championships. 

By winning the 2023 Texas Amateur, Gray is exempt from local qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Amateur. The winner of the 2024 Texas Amateur will not only earn an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Amateur but will also be exempt from local qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Amateur as well. 

With the newly announced exemptions, it’s a surefire way that our TGA champions will be represented on the biggest stages in amateur golf. We also anticipate our field strength in these already strong events to increase due to the elevated reward that will come with winning them. 

For more information on the USGA’s changes to qualifying, 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

Jaivir Pande and Kate Pickrell Win 96th Texas Junior Amateur

HORSESHOE BAY – Austin’s Kate Pickrell fended off a stacked leaderboard in Wednesday’s final round of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur to be crowned champion. The rising senior at Lake Travis High School carded a finishing 2-under 70 to win the girls title by one stroke. Houston’s Jaivir Pande sunk a 10-foot birdie putt on the eighteenth hole of Ram Rock to win the boys title. Pande capped off his week with a 5-over 76 to finish at 1-over par and win by one.

Pickrell battled eventual runner-up Grace Jin of Hunstville all day, but it was a birdie on the par-3 seventeenth hole of Apple Rock that sealed the deal for the Austinite. The Lake Travis senior has been playing well of late as she recently won the AJGA Patrick Reed Invitational earlier this summer.

“After the first round I was sitting a little further back,” Pickrell said of her play early in the championship. “I kind of knew I needed to pick it up the next few days.”

Pickrell did just that. After beginning with a 1-over 73, she posted back to back rounds of 2-under par.

“I know this is going to be my last year (of high school) so I am happy to get a win near the end of summer. I am glad I was able to win it at home,” Pickrell said.

Jin shot a final round 2-under 70 to earn the runner-up honors of the Girls 15-18 Division. Her scorecard included six birdies in Wednesday’s final round. Rounding out the top three was Cedar Park’s Jiyu Han who finished at even-par for the week.

Pande, winner of the boys’ title, didn’t have his best stuff in the final round but showed toughness in still finding a way to win. The rising senior at Kinkaid High School emphatically fist pumped as he rolled in the winning birdie putt on the final hole to finish 1-over for the championship.

“I got off to a less than ideal start today,” Pande said of his final round. “I had a couple mistakes out there, but it was playing tough for everyone, and I knew I had to just keep making pars.”

Pande’s final round 5-over 76 was a bit of a roller coaster ride on Wednesday. He had six holes of bogey or worse but was able to limit the damage with four birdies including one on the last hole.

“Not every day you’re going to play well,” Pande said. “Just being able to have the ability to with adversity is something I’m very proud of in my game.”

Pande enters his senior year of high school with great confidence and will look to build upon the win this fall.

“It’s going to give me a lot of confidence knowing I came here to the Texas Junior Amateur and came out on top. I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum going,” Pande said of his victory.

The low round of the day came from runner-up Luke Colton of Frisco with a 3-under 68 as Ram Rock played well over par for the day. Colton’s final round included six birdies as he finished 2-over for the week and one back of Pande.

Rounding out the top three was Montgomery’s Eyan Edsall who posted a final round 5-over 76 to finish 3-over for the week.

The Legends Junior Tour extends its sincere appreciation to the staff and members of Horseshoe Bay as well as our volunteers for their integral part in making the 96th Texas Junior Amateur a memorable and successful event.

For more information on the 96th Texas Junior Amateur, click here.

To view the final results, click here.

One Round Remains at 96th Texas Junior Amateur

HORSESHOE BAY – Houston’s Jaivir Pande fired a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round of the Texas Junior Amateur to take a two shot lead in the Boys Division. Pande, a rising senior at Kinkaid High School, recorded an eagle on the par-5 fourteenth hole on Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock course to vault into the 36-hole lead. In the Girls Division, two are tied atop the leaderboard at 1-under par 143 total. Bellaire’s Kenna Lee and Austin’s Kate Pickrell lead a slew of competitors bunched at the top headed into Wednesday’s final round at Horeshoe Bay’s Apple Rock course.

Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock and Apple Rock courses again proved to be a stern test for the state’s best in round two. The Boys 15-18 Division are playing the Ram Rock course while the Girls 15-18, Girls 14 & Under, and Boys 14 & Under Division’s are playing the Apple Rock course.

In the Boy’s 15-18 Division, Pande tallied three birdies and an eagle in route to the solid second round score. Pande leads by two and will look to continue his strategies in Wednesday’s final round.

“Today, I did the same thing as yesterday,” Pande said. “I was able to just limit the mistakes. I only had two bogeys on the card.”

Pande is set to begin his senior year of high school in a few weeks and likes where his game is at.

“The Texas Junior Amateur is one of the biggest tournaments we have here in Texas, so to be able to be on the top of the leaderboard is very motivating and makes me want to work harder for the rest of my tournaments,” Pande said.

Eyan Edsall of Montgomery joined Pande as the only two players to post consecutive rounds under par. The incoming freshman at Stephen F Austin University sits in second and two shots back of the lead heading into Wednesday’s final round on Horeshoe Bay’s Ram Rock course. Edsall made the turn at three under in Tuesday’s second round before suffering a couple bogeys down the stretch.

Trevor Algya of Highland Village and Tyler Blackwell of Austin sit in a tie for third at 3-over for the championship and seven shots back of the lead.

The division has been cut to the low 45 players and ties heading into Wednesday’s final round.

In the Girl’s 15-18 Division, co-leaders Kenna Lee of Bellaire and Austin’s Kate Pickrell will look to battle off a stacked leaderboard headed into Wednesday’s final round. They lead by one shot over three girls sitting even-par for the championship.

“Today, I just told myself I was going to play smart golf,” Lee said. “I wasn’t going to be too aggressive. I was going to focus on shooting a good score.

Pickrell fired the low round of the day in the Girls 15-18 division with a score of 2-under 70.

“Tomorrow I am going to try and be patient and take advantage of those putts that are pretty close to the hole,” Pickrell said.

Huntsville’s Grace Jin, Cedar Park’s Jiyu Han, and San Antonio’s Marissa Loya sit one shot back of the lead in a tie for third at even-par 144 total. All three girls posted second rounds under par to position themselves nicely with eighteen holes remaining.

The division has been cut to the low 27 players and ties heading into Wednesday’s final round.

Jack Clancy of Dallas defeated Luciano Follmer of Austin in a three-hole playoff to earn the title of Boys 14 & Under Division Champion. Clancy posted a final round 3-over 75 that included two birdies on the back nine. Aiden Tiet of Garland, Dylan Ma of The Woodlands, and Asher Vargas of Spring all finished at 1-under for the championship to share third place.

Katy’s Yixin (Emily) Zhang shot her second consecutive round of 2-under 70 to claim the Girls 14 & Under Division title at 4-under total. Zhang finished five shots ahead of runner-up Kaylee Yuan of Joshua, who finished at 1-under for the championship. Rounding out the top three was Austin’s Isabel Emanuels at 8-over par for the tournament.

Round 3 of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur begins Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.

For more information, including leaderboard and pairings, click here.

Horseshoe Bay Plays Tough in Round 1 of 96th Texas Junior Amateur

HORSESHOE BAY – Frisco’s Luke Colton grabbed the lead in Monday’s first round of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur with a 2-under 69 on Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock course. Colton’s round was the only sub-70 score as he leads the Boys Division by one. In the Girls Division, there are three tied atop the leaderboard at 2-under par 70. Bellaire’s Kenna Lee, Camille Pazouki of San Antonio, and Huntsville’s Grace Jin all share the lead headed into Tuesday’s second round at Horeshoe Bay’s Apple Rock course.

A round under-par was hard to come by as Horseshoe Bay’s Ram Rock and Apple Rock courses proved to be a stern test for the state’s best juniors. The Boys 15-18 Division played the Ram Rock course while the Girls 15-18, Girls 14 & Under, and Boys 14 & Under Division’s played the Apple Rock course.

In the Boy’s 15-18 Division, Colton carded three birdies on the back nine to finish out a strong first round. Colton is one of the younger players in the division but showed no youth on Monday as he leads by one.

“I managed to roll in a few putts around the turn,” Colton said. “That kind of set me up for the rest of the round. The course has a lot of doglegs and it’s pretty tight, so you have to be specific off the tee on your lines. I think that works to my advantage. Usually, my driver is pretty straight.”

Carding rounds of 1-under 70 to sit in a tie for second were Houston’s Jaivir Pande and Eyan Edsall of Montgomery. Edsall tallied up three birdies on the day while Pande had six.

Austin’s Tyler Blackwell and Kyle Doolittle of New Braunfels sit two shots back of the lead after rounds of even-par 71. A stacked leaderboard will look to make moves in Tuesday’s second round on Ram Rock.

The division will cut to the low 45 players and ties after Tuesday’s second round.

In the Girl’s 15-18 Division, each of the three co-leaders took advantage of Apple Rock’s front nine. Lee made the turn at three under, while Pazouki and Jin turned at 2-under.

“The round was pretty good,” said Pazouki, a rising senior from San Antonio. “The front nine went well. Putting was just automatic on the front. The back nine started off with two bogeys but I got it under control to finish off strong.”

Sitting just one shot back of the lead at 1-under par are San Antonio’s Marissa Loya and Cedar Park’s Jiyu Han. San Antonio’s Julia Vollmer carded an even-par round of 72 to put herself in sole possession of sixth heading into the second round. Four girls sit tied for seventh at 1-over par.

The division will cut to the low 27 players and ties after Tuesday’s second round.

Jack Clancy of Dallas carded the low round of the tournament thus far with a 5-under 67 to take control of the Boys 14 & Under Division. Clancy’s solid round included an eagle on Apple Rock’s par-5 tenth hole. Clancy leads the division by two shots over Allen’s Elijah Estonilo who carded a first round 3-under 69. Sitting in sole possession of third at 2-under par is The Woodlands’ Dylan Ma.

Katy’s Yixin (Emily) Zhang shot a first round 2-under 70 to take the lead in the Girls 14 & Under Division. She will look to claim the division title tomorrow as she leads by four strokes over Joshua’s Kaylee Yuan who carded a respectable round of 2-over 74.

Both the Boys and Girls 14 & Under Divisions are playing 36 holes and will crown champions on Tuesday. The Boys and Girls 15-18 Divisions are playing 54 holes and will conclude play on Wednesday.

Round 2 of the 96th Texas Junior Amateur kicks off Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.

For more information on the 96th Texas Junior Amateur, click here. For the full leaderboard, click here.