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. 

48th Texas Four-Ball Set for Aug. 18-20

The 48th Texas Four-Ball, the second of this year’s four men’s major amateur championships, will be played Aug. 18-20 at Pinecrest Country Club in Longview.

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

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to conduct one of our premier championships at Pinecrest Country Club,” said Chris Untiedt, TGA Senior Tournament Director. “We know the membership and staff will provide a fantastic championship experience and the players will enjoy competing on this wonderful course.”

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.

“Pinecrest is a very strategic course with numerous risk-reward opportunities throughout the round,” Untiedt said. “It encourages teams to play aggressively and is certain to make for an exciting championship.”

The 48th Texas Four-Ball will feature three divisions: Championship, Senior (age 55 and older), and Super Senior (age 65 and older). The starting field limit is 80 teams, with 48 spots allotted to the Championship Division, 20 to the Senior Division, and 12 to the Super Senior Division. The three divisions compete 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, with a pro-rated representation from each division.

Starting times and pairings for the first and second rounds will be posted on the TGA website no later than Aug. 16. Live scoring updates and daily recaps will also be available online once the action gets underway from Pinecrest Country Club.

At the 2022 championship held at Comanche Trace in Kerrville, the San Antonio team of Chase Clayton and Josh Logan posted a 54-hole total of 21-under-par 195 to win the Championship Division by three shots over Chris Donahoe of Austin and Will Dusenbury of Bulverde. Mike Booker of Houston and Pat Youngs of San Antonio finished at 23-under 193 to claim a two-stroke victory in the Senior Division over Chris Goodspeed of Farmers Branch and Bill Steen of Frisco. Tom Burns of Houston and Michael Puls of Irving also carded a three-day total of 23-under 193 to win the Super Senior Division by seven over Hollis Sullivan of Westworth Village and Steve Whiteside of Midland.

Three Teams Share Lead at Texas Four-Ball

KERRVILLE – San Antonio’s Chase Clayton and Josh Logan, Spring’s Randy Lance and Scayne Driver of Nacogdoches, and Fort Worth’s Chris Headen and Kevin Doskocil of Benbrook all share the clubhouse lead of the Texas Four-Ball after turning in magnificent rounds of 8-under-par 64 at The Club at Comanche Trace.

Play was suspended for a total of 1 hour and 39 minutes in the late afternoon due to lightning in the area during Friday’s first round.

Clayton carded three birdies on his own ball, while Logan tallied five birdies of his own en route to the low first round. The San Antonio natives went 4-under on each nine to grab a share of the round one lead.

Lance and Driver finished scorching hot by going 6-under on their back nine. It was an equal effort from the partnership as both Lance and Driver each poured in four birdies of their own to share the round one lead.

Headen and Doskocil were the last ones to grab a share of the round one lead after finishing late Friday evening because of the weather delay. The duo started on the tenth hole rolled in four birdies in their last six holes including one on the par-5 ninth hole.

Despite the weather delay each of these leading teams were able to keep their rhythm and composure.

Six teams sit two shots back of the leaders in a tie for fourth after posting rounds of 6-under 66. The teams include Colleyville’s Jordan Frye and Tyler Frye of North Richland Hills, Trey Todd of Abilene and Kris Devlin of Austin, Keith Lundquist of Austin and Jerry Achilles of Round Rock, New Braunfels’ Terrence Miskell and Casey Carnes of Schertz, Austin’s Cole Moreland and Sean Bralley, and lastly Addison’s Chris Wheeler and Derek Abel of Dallas.

Eight teams are tied for tenth at 5-under par and three back of the lead. It’s a tightly stacked leaderboard heading into the weekend in Kerrville.

In the Senior Division, the duo of McKinney’s Donald O’Connor and Plano’s Eddie Bell sit tied atop the leaderboard with Frisco’s Bill Steen and Farmers Branch’s Chris Goodspeed after firing opening rounds of 9-under par 63. The team of San Antonio’s Pat Youngs and Houston’s Mike Booker are one stroke back in third after putting together a fantastic first round 8-under 64. They’ll head into Saturday’s second round with a one-stroke advantage over two teams at 7-under.

In the Super Senior Division, Rockwall’s Rick Lindsay and Heath’s Thomas Bishop share the lead with Michael Puls of Irving and Tom Burns of Houston after firing first rounds of 7-under 65 to take a one shot lead into Saturday’s second round. The team of Hollis Sullivan of Westworth Village and Steve Whiteside of Midland sit one behind in solo third after a first round 6-under 66.

With its spectacular setting in the rolling hill country of Kerrville, The Club at Comanche Trace is one of the state’s most scenic golf courses in Texas. The Club at Comanche Trace features a 27-hole layout that is as challenging as it is fun to play.

For this Championship, the two nines that will be utilized are The Hills and The Creeks. The Hills nine was designed by Tom Kite, along with Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell. The second nine being utilized, The Creeks, opened in 2008 and was designed by Jay and Carter Morrish. It’s the newest nine hole track on the property. Both sets of designers took full advantage of the hill country land – rolling hills, water features, and rocky terrain – to create holes that are challenging, exciting and picturesque. The course offers plenty of risk-reward shots for players of all skill levels.

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.

Texas Four-Ball Set for Aug. 19-21

The Club at Comanche Trace in Kerrville will be the host site for the 47th Texas Four-Ball, the second of this year’s four men’s major amateur championships conducted by the TGA. The championship will be contested on the Hills and Creeks Courses from Aug. 19-21.

This will be the fifth Texas Four-Ball and 13th overall TGA championship held at Comanche Trace. The club previously hosted the Texas Four-Ball from 2003-2005 and then again in 2011. The most recent TGA championship played at Comanche Trace was the 2021 Women’s Stroke Play, won by Emma McMyler.

“We’re thrilled to return to Comanche Trace, which has been such an enthusiastic supporter of amateur golf through the years,” said Read Langhenry, TGA Tournament Director. “We know the membership and staff at Comanche Trace will provide a fantastic experience for the players and the challenging golf course will be an ideal stage for an exciting and competitive championship.”

Set on more than 1,300 acres overlooking the Guadalupe River in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, Comanche Trace is one of the country’s most acclaimed master-planned communities. The club boasts three nine-hole courses that wind through rolling meadows, groves of oaks trees, natural water features, and unspoiled native areas. The original 18 holes, the Hills and Valley Courses, opened for play in 1999 and were designed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Kite, along with Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell. The Creeks Course, added in 2008, was designed by the father-son team of Jay and Carter Morrish.

The Texas Four-Ball features three divisions: Championship, Senior (age 55 and older) and Super Senior (age 65 and older). The starting field limit is 80 teams, with 48 spots allotted to the Championship Division, 20 in the Senior Division and 12 for the Super Senior Division. The three divisions compete 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, with a pro-rated representation from each division.

Live scoring updates, daily recaps, as well as tee times and pairings, will be available on the TGA website once the action gets underway from Comanche Trace.

At the 2021 championship, held on the Apple Rock Course at Horseshoe Bay Resort, Fort Worth’s Colby Amparan and Gary Ezmerlian posted a 54-hole total of 19-under-par 197 to win the Championship Division. The San Antonio team of Ron Finnerty and Tommy Tucker finished at 18-under 198 to win the Senior Division. Aaron Billings and Richard Koenig, both of Horseshoe Bay, won the Super Senior Division with a 24-under 192 total.