Dossey, Ahn and O’Rear Claim North Texas Classic Titles

Briefly: Sam Dossey shot a 4-under final round on Sunday to win the Boys Division of the North Texas Classic by two shots. Adrienne Ahn captured the Girls Division Title with a second round 3-under 69, while Rhett O’Rear closed out a one shot victory in the Boys 14 & Under Division at 9-under overall.

Tournament Leaderboard

Champions: Austin’s Sam Dossey went wire to wire to claim the North Texas Classic Victory. He finished an impressive weekend with a final round 68 to win at 12-under 132. Dossey accumulated 12 birdies & 1 eagle over both tournament rounds, with only two bogeys.  Dallas’s Adrienne Ahn completed a second round come back to win the Girls Division. Starting the day five shots back, she completely swung the deficit and closed her round with four straight birdies to win by five shots. Plano’s Rhett O’Rear held onto his first round lead, thanks to a final round of 5-under 67. O’Rear finished the event with 12 birdies, 10 of which came on different holes over both rounds

Top Finishers: In the Boys Division, Waco’s Brayden Bare couldn’t quite catch Sam Dossey and finished second at 10-under 134. Bare finished strong with bogey free final round of 5-under 67. Houston’s Preston Rouse finished third after a final round of 4-under 68. Rouse took advantage of the back nine par five’s and birdied each both rounds to finish at 9-under 135 overall. Irving’s Joe Magnani finished in fourth at 6-under 138. Katy’s Treed Huang and Austin’s Ethan Parker rounded out the top five, as they both tied for fifth at 4-under 140.

In the Girls Division, McKinney’s Kate Bennett and Tyler’s Sidney Robertson finished tied for second at 6-over 150. Katy’s Maye Huang finished fourth at 7-over 151, and Sunnyale’s Alexandra Hileman finished in fifth place at 8-over 152.

In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Frisco’s Luke Colton shot a bogey free final round of 7-under 65 to finish one shot back in second place at 8-under 136. Corinth’s Nathan Zmolik matched Colton’s round of the day of 7-under 65, thanks to back to back birdies on his closing two holes. Zmolik finished in third place at 7-under 137 overall. Selma’s Shiv Parmar and Austin’s Nicholas Logis round out the top five at 1-under 143 and even par 144 respectively.

Golf Course: Tangle Ridge Golf Club has hosted the North Texas Classic six of the seven years the Legends Junior Tour has hosted the event, including the last three years. Located in Grand Prairie, the course offers a great challenge to the field, stretching out to 6,800 yards in the Boys Division, 6,300 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 6,000 yards in the Girls Division.

Weather: The weather continued to be great for the second round with temperatures starting in the high 60’s and reaching the low 90’s by mid afternoon. The winds remained calm below five miles per hour out of the southeast.

Tournament Format: The North Texas Classic is a 36-hole stroke play event for players 12-18 years old. All players in the field are required to have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The North Texas Classic kicks off the Fall Swing of the Legends Junior Tour schedule.

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.

Next Up: The LJT travels to The Rawls Course in Lubbock on Sept. 25-26 for the 2021 Fall Challenge. For more information on the Fall Challenge, click here.

For more information on the North Texas Classic, click here. To see all the scores from Tangle Ridge Golf Club, click here.

Preston Stout, Matthew Comegys, Trenton Mierl, Ryann Honea and MacKenzie Moore Win Divisions at North Texas Classic

GRAND PRAIRIE – Preston Stout of Richardson and Matthew Comegys of Plano win a share of the North Texas Classic after firing a total of 11-under-par 133 through 36 holes to become co-champions of the Boys 15-18 Division. MacKenzie Moore of Trophy Club shot a final round 1-under-par 71 to tie Ryann Honea of San Angelo who carded a closing 4-over 75. They both posted 2-under-par 142 for the championship and were crowned co-champions of the Girls 12-18 Division. Austin’s Trenton Mierl fired a 6-under-par 66 to the run away with the Boys 14 & Under Division title by four strokes.

Boys 15-18 Division

1. Preston Stout               65 – 68 | 133
   2. Matthew Comegys       66 – 67 | 133
   3. Connor Adams            71 – 69 | 140

Girls 12-18 Division

1. Ryann Honea              67 – 75 | 142
   2. MacKenzie Moore      71 – 71 | 142
   3. Lauren Rios                74 – 69 | 143

Boys 14 & Under Division

1. Trenton Mierl              68 – 66 | 134
   2. Connor Cassano             71 – 67 | 138
   T3. Rhett O’Rear               71 – 70 | 141
   T3. Nicholas Logis            69 – 72 | 141

Contention:

As the Boys 15-18 Division came down to the wire, co-champions were crowned. Richardson’s Stout shot an impressive 4-under-par front 9 in Sunday’s final round but it was not enough to hold off Plano’s Comegys. A bogey by Stout on the 16th gave Comegys an opportunity to capitalize, and he did just that with a birdie on the 16th hole. He closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th to card a 5-under-par 67 and become a co-champion of the North Texas Classic. Finishing solo third, Connor Adams of Dallas carded a 3-under-par 69 to post 4-under 140 for the championship.

In the Girls 12-18 Division, MacKenzie Moore was impressively consistent both days carding back-to-back rounds in red figures and claim a co-champion title. The 18-hole leader, Ryann Honea, struggled on Sunday. However, a clutch birdie on the difficult par-3 17th gave her a share of the lead heading into 18. Moore and Honea closed out the championship with pars to win by one stroke. Lauren Rios of Coppell bounced back with a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday to finish one stroke behind Honea and Moore and round out the top three.

In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Trenton Mierl captured his third LJT victory of the season. His impressive rounds of 68 and a bogey-free 66 to post 10-under-par 134 was enough to win by four shots. With the victory, Mierl will extend his lead in the Player of the Year Standings. Connor Cassano of Shreveport shot a final round 67 to finish second, while Rhett O’Rear of Plano finished with a 2-under-par 70 to tie for third with Nicholas Logis of Austin who shot a final round even-par 72.

Tournament Format: The North Texas Classic is a 36-hole stroke play event for golfers ages 12-18 that have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The event is split into three divisions: Boy 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under. Players earned their way into the field by playing in Alliance Partner Events and attaining status with the Legends Junior Tour.

Weather:  Clear skies, slightly breezy with a high of 89 degrees.

Tournament History: This is the sixth year of the North Texas Classic and the fifth year hosted by Tangle Ridge Golf Club. In 2015 the Legends Junior Tour added the event to the fall schedule to better accommodate the growing demand for more events for junior golfers. The event has seen signups grow each year and the North Texas Classic has quickly become one of the top-ranked Open Events on the LJT schedule.

At Stake: Along with an LJT victory, players are also jockeying for position to earn valuable Player of the Year points as well as exemptions into future LJT Invitational and Major events and AJGA PBE Stars. The Player of the Year Standings are used to determine player of the year along with entry into the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and set the teams for the Jackie Burke Cup matches later this year.

For more information on the North Texas Classic, click here. To see all the scores from the first round, click here.

Stout, Honea and Mierl Lead Divisions at North Texas Classic

GRAND PRAIRIE –

Boys 15-18 Division

1. Preston Stout 65
   2. Matthew Comegys 66
   3. Ben Gregg                  68

Girls 12-18 Division

1. Ryann Honea 67
   2. MacKenzie Moore 71
   3. Jenna Madden          72

Boys 14 & Under Division

1. Trenton Mierl 68
   T2. Corbin Null            69
   T2. Nicholas Logis          69

Leaders: Preston Stout of Richardson fired an opening round 7-under-par 65 to lead the Boys 15-18 Division by one stroke heading into the final round of the North Texas Classic. Ryann Honea of San Angelo shot an impressive 5-under-par 67 and leads the charge in the Girls 12-18 Division. Austin’s Trenton Mierl shot a 4-under-par 68 to the lead the Boys 14 and Under Division by one stroke.

Contention: Richardson’s Stout carded a bogey-free round while closing out the day with a birdie on the par-3 17th and an eagle on the par-5 18th. In the Girls 12-18 Division, Honea recorded a total of six birdies (three on the front and three on the back), with a closing birdie on hole 18. Mierl, who leads the Boys 14 & Under Division, carded back-to-back birdies on the par-4 third and par-5 fourth and again on the par-5 eighth and par-3 ninth to turn at 2-under. He closed with a bogey-free 2-under 34 on the back nine to post 68.

Matthew Comegys of Plano sits in solo second after a 6-under-par 66. He drained an eagle putt from off the green on 18 to leave him just one shot off the lead heading into Sunday. Ben Gregg of Dallas is only three strokes back after carding a 4-under-par 68. In the Girls 12-18 Division, MacKenzie Moore of Trophy Club carded 4 birdies en route to a 71 and is four strokes behind Honea. McKinney’s Jenna oneHonMadden is third and five back at even par. Corbin Null of Woodway and Nicholas Logis of Austin are tied second in the Boys 14 & Under Division and currently one-stroke back of Mierl with 18 holes to play.

Tournament Format: The North Texas Classic is a 36-hole stroke play event for golfers ages 12-18 that have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The event is split into three divisions: Boy 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under. Players earned their way into the field by playing in Alliance Partner Events and attaining status with the Legends Junior Tour.

Weather:  Clear skies with a high of 88 degrees.

Tournament History: This is the sixth year of the North Texas Classic and the fifth year hosted by Tangle Ridge Golf Club. In 2015 the Legends Junior Tour added the event to the fall schedule to better accommodate the growing demand for more events for junior golfers. The event has seen signups grow each year and the North Texas Classic has quickly become one of the top-ranked Open Events on the LJT schedule.

Next Up: The final round of the North Texas Classic is scheduled for an 8:00 am start on Sunday with players going off No. 1. Once all the scores are in, awards will be handed out to the top five finishers in the Boys 15-18 Division and the top three finishers in the Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under Divisions.

What’s at Stake: Along with an LJT victory, players are also jockeying for position to earn valuable Player of the Year points as well as exemptions into future LJT Invitational and Major events and AJGA PBE Stars. The Player of the Year Standings are used to determine player of the year along with entry into the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and set the teams for the Jackie Burke Cup matches later this year.

For more information on the North Texas Classic, click here. To see all the scores from the first round, click here.

North Texas Classic Returns to Tangle Ridge Golf Club

GRAND PRAIRIE – The North Texas Classic is set to kick off the LJT Fall Schedule on Sept. 12-13. The 120-player field returns to Tangle Ridge Golf Club as the race for LJT Player of the Year ramps up.

Tangle Ridge was designed by Jeff Brauer and is nestled between Joe Pool Lake and Mountain Creek Escarpment. The public championship golf course has hosted the North Texas Classic five of the last six years. The gently rolling hills create magnificent panoramic views of the DFW area to the north and it features a layout with elevation changes of more than 50 feet.  The course can stretch out to 6,835 yards.

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, 2021 Texas Cup Invitational, 2021 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship and 2021 Texas Junior Amateur. The champion of the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and 2021 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. Sam Dossey of Austin leads the Boys 15-18 Division. Lauren Nguyen leads the Girls Division while Trenton Mierl leads the Boys 14 & Under Division.

Temple’s Dallas Hankamer outlasted a crowded leaderboard to win last year’s North Texas Classic in a sudden-death playoff over Matthew Spaulding of Spring. He carded rounds of 69-66 to post 9-under-par 135 for the championship and will look to defend his title this year.

In the Girls Division, Tillie Claggett of The Woodlands began the final round five shots behind the leader. She fired a closing 4-under-par 68 to get into a sudden-death playoff with Lauren Nguyen of Katy and Summer Lee of Plano. Claggett birdie the second playoff hole to claim the title.

Andrew Petruzzelli of Dallas won the Boys 14 & Under Division following rounds of 69-67. He carded six birdies in his final round to post the lowest 18-hole score of the championship and win by three strokes.

Hankamer, Claggett and Petruzzelli 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. 12 with tee times starting at 8 a.m. off No. 1. The final round pairings will be redrawn according to scores from the first round and will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13.

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