Around the Green

Schultz, Williams Extend Lead at Texas Four-Ball

MONTGOMERY – Russell Williams of Prosper and Jason Schultz of Allen extend their lead at the Texas Four-Ball after carding an 8-under-par 64 in the second round at Bentwater Yacht & Country Club’s Weiskopf Course.

Following their brilliant 12-under-par 60 in Round 1, Williams and Schultz begin Saturday afternoon right where they left off as Schultz birdied four of his opening six holes.

He carded another birdie on the par-4 18th to turn in 5-under 31 on his own ball. On the back nine, Schultz and Williams teamed up for three more birdies to post 20-under par through two rounds and lead the field by three strokes.

“My partner played really well today,” Williams said. “He was striping the ball. I picked him up on about three holes, other than that, it was a Jason Schultz show.”

Though Williams and Schultz have played together for many years, they are teeing it up in the Texas Four-Ball as a team for the first time. The duo finds themselves atop the leaderboard with 18 holes to play; however, they plan to keep the same mentality for Sunday’s final round.

“We just look forward to having some fun,” Schultz said. “I got a good partner and that’s all you can ask for. We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.”

Chris Goodspeed of Dallas and Frisco’s Bell Steen sit three shots back of Williams and Schultz. The three-time Texas Four-Ball champions (1996, 1997, 2002) carded nine birdies and an eagle en route to a 10-under-par 62, tying the low-round of the day.

Goodpseed, 54, and Steen, 54, have been friends since the first grade. They played collegiate golf together at Abiliene Christian University and on Sunday, they’ll look to add a fourth Texas Four-Ball title to their amateur golf careers.

“He’s my best friend and I love getting to play golf with him,” Steen said.

Three teams are tied for third at 16-under par for the championship. Scott Loving and Brandon Destefano of Conroe matched their opening 64 with another round at 8-under. Rob Couture of Dallas and Tyler’s Aaron Hickman carded a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 on Friday, while Will Griffin and Coy Breen of San Antonio birdied their final hole to shoot 6-under 66. All three teams will begin the final round four shots behind Williams and Schultz.

Following play on Saturday, the Championship Division was cut to the top 27 teams for Sunday’s final round.

In the Senior Division, two teams are tied atop the leaderboard. David Ortego of Spring and Sugar Land’s Gordan Wagner followed their opening 63 with a 4-under-par 68. They are tied with Mike Peck and Steve Love of Irving who carded a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday. Kenneth Coutant of Dallas and McKinney’s Bill Jackson are solo third after consecutive rounds of 66.

John Pierce of San Antonio and Burleson’s Lewis Stephenson are tied for fourth with Kip Estep of Rockwall and Houston’s Scott Smith. They are at 12-under-par 133 overall and will begin Sunday’s final round two strokes behind the leaders. The Senior Division was cut to the top 10 teams following the second round.

In the Super Senior Division, John Kennedy and Ford Cartwright of Lufkin continued to play solid golf on Saturday. They carded three birdies and an eagle en route to a 4-under-par 68. Kennedy and Cartwright hold a three-shot lead over Tom McGraw of Montgomery and Houston’s Charles Reeve who are 9-under through two rounds.

Richard Hageman of Garden Ridge and Spring’s Dan Alpha are third at 8-under-par 135 overall. Following the second round, the Super Senior Division was cut to the top six teams and ties.

For Bentwater Yacht & Country Club, this is the fifth time it has played host to a TGA major championship. Through the years, the club has hosted the Texas Mid-Amateur, Texas Senior Amateur, Club Team and Texas Father-Son. It’s the first time Bentwater Yacht & CC has been the site for the Texas Four-Ball.

The final round of the Texas Four-Ball begins Sunday at 8 a.m. at Bentwater Yacht & Country Club’s Weiskopf Course. For more information on this championship, click here