West Texas Amateur

Abilene Country Club (South Course)
July 16-18

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Updated COVID-19 Guidelines


General Information

Date: July 16-18, 2021
Host Club: Abilene Country Club (South Course)
Address: 34 Fairway Oaks Blvd., Abilene, TX 79606
Phone: (325) 695-1800
TGA Staff Contact: Tournament Manager, Andrea Daly

Entry & Eligibility Information

Entries Open: May 19, 2021 @ 9:00 a.m.
Entries Close: July 9, 2021 @ 5:00 p.m.
Exempt Deadline: June 9, 2021 @ 5:00 p.m.

Entry Fee: $290

Eligibility: Entries are open to male amateur golfers who reside in the northern and southern regions of the state of Texas who have a WHS Handicap index of 10.0 or less. To be eligible for the Senior Division, golfers must be age 55 or older as of the first round of tournament play. To be eligible for the Super Senior Division, golfers must be age 65 or older as of the first round of tournament play. Please reference TGA Policies and Procedures for further details, including Policies and Procedures, and Terms of Competition.

Exemptions: Provided players are otherwise eligible, exemptions are given to the following:

a) Top five (5) finishers and ties in current year’s North & South Mid-Amateur;

b) Top five (5) finishers and ties in previous year’s North & South Amateur;

c) Last five (5) West Texas Amateur Champions;

d) Last five (5) West Texas Amateur Senior Division Champions;

e) Last five (5) West Texas Amateur Super Senior Division Champions;

f) Top ten (10) finishers and ties in previous year’s West Texas Amateur;

g) Top five (5) finishers and ties in previous year’s West Texas Amateur Senior Division;

h) Top three (3) finishers and ties in previous year’s West Texas Amateur Super Senior Division;

i) Three (3) Host Club exemptions

Entry Procedure: The field will be established in the order in which entries are received with a priority for exempt players in each division until the published exemption deadline of Wednesday, June 9 at 5:00 PM. Once the exemption deadline has passed, and if the field or a division is not full, the TGA will fill the remaining spots in the field with waitlisted entries, which may affect the size of each division. For additional information regarding the wait list and when the number of applicants exceeds the field capacity, please refer to the TGA Policies and Procedures.

Waitlist Procedure/Priority: When a spot becomes available in the championship field, the TGA will fill that spot with the top ranked waitlisted player in the division respective to the withdraw. Once all waitlisted players in a specific division have been exhausted, the TGA will then fill the spot in the field with the highest ranked waitlisted player, regardless of division. For example: If a player from the Senior Division withdraws, the highest ranked Senior Division player on the waitlist will be contacted to fill that spot. If there are no remaining Senior Division players on the waitlist, the highest overall waitlisted player will be contact. This could be a Championship Division or Super Senior Division player.

The TGA reserves the right to select players to be in the field. For exemption request details, please view TGA Policies and Procedures. Exempt players must enter by the published deadline or they will lose their exempt status and spot in the final field.

Championship Information

Format/Field Size and Cut: The championship will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play with three (3) divisions; Championship, Senior, and Super Senior. Each division will play from separate tees/yardages and separate champions will be recognized in each division.

The field is limited to 144, as outlined below:

  • Championship Division – Open (84 players)
  • Senior Division – 55 & older (42 players)
  • Super Senior Division – 65 & older (18 player)

At the conclusion of 36 holes the field will be cut to the low 72 players (and ties) with a pro-rated representation from each division. The pro-rated allocation of players making the cut from each division will be reflective of the number of players in each division, relative to the total field size. The determination of total field size, number of players in each division and pro-rated representation of players making the cut (before ties) will be announced in conjunction with pairings being posted.

What’s Included: The championship entry fee includes greens, cart and range fees for all championship rounds excluding the practice round.

Hotel: There is no host hotel for the West Texas Amateur. TGA Members can take advantage of Affinity Travel Benefits by utilizing their hotel search engine by clicking here.

Practice Round Information: Each player is allowed one (1) practice round at the negotiated rate of $50 (plus applicable taxes) including cart. Please contact the host club golf shop for availability and to schedule a practice round.

Registration Information: There will be no official registration for the West Texas Amateur. Players will receive their championship tee gift at the end of the first round, in the scoring area.

Starting Times/Pairings Information: Starting times/pairings for the first and second rounds will be made available no later than Monday, July 12th online at www.txga.org. Final round starting times/pairings will be available in the evening preceding play (approximately one hour after the completion of play) online at www.txga.org. Final round starting times will be re-drawn based on total score following the previous rounds of play.

The Senior division, Super Senior division, and some overflow Championship division will be in the morning wave of the first round. The Championship division will be in the afternoon wave.

Policies & Procedures

To ensure that competitors have the best possible experience when competing in the championship, it is helpful to be knowledgeable of Texas Golf Association (TGA) Policies and Procedures, Terms of Competition and Local Rules (Hard Card), as established by the association. For more information, please click here. For information specific to the Terms of Competition applicable to this championship, please see below:

TGA Cart Policy: Information regarding the use and availability of transportation varies between TGA Championships – refer to Tournament Information for the championship in question. Please be advised that in championships where carts are provided, players are encouraged to utilize motorized transportation. In doing so, carts will be limited to two (2) carts per group. Beginning in 2020: While a caddie is not prohibited from riding in the cart, the TGA has adopted a ‘one-seat’ policy as explained below.

‘One-Seat’ Policy: The “one-seat” policy allows either the player or the player’s caddie to ride in or move a golf cart, but not at the same time. The player and the player’s caddie are not allowed to ride in the same or separate carts at the same time.

The player can ride in or move a golf cart with another player in it, so long as the player’s caddie is not riding in another cart at that time.

The player can ride in or move a golf cart with another player’s caddie in it, so long as the player whose caddie is in the cart is not riding in another cart at the same time. As a reminder, players are responsible for the actions of their caddie (when applicable).

TGA Medical Cart Request Policy

Spectators carts are prohibited. However, spectators in accordance of ADA compliance may request golf carts. Requests for golf carts must be supported by complete documentation, including the fully-completed Cart Request Form and the required accompanying medical documentation specified in that form for all first-time requests. Any medical cart request that is granted by the TGA will be good for that individual for the remainder of that calendar season. A request will not be deemed complete until all required information and documentation has been provided. For further information and details contact Director of Competitions – South Texas, John Cochran IV, [email protected].

Score Posting: At the conclusion of each round each player’s score will be automatically posted to the World Handicap System. Please do not enter your own scores from the competitive rounds, as this will result in a double post.

Schedule of Events

All events will take place at Abilene Country Club unless otherwise noted. Championship schedule is subject to changes and additions.

Thursday, July 15
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Practice Rounds

Friday, July 16
7:30 AM – Round 1 Wave 1 begins (#1 & #10 tees)
12:30 PM – Round 1 Wave 2 begins (#1 & #10 tees)

Saturday, July 17
7:30 AM – Round 2 Wave 1 begins (#1 & #10 tees)
12:30 PM – Round 2 Wave 2 begins ( #1 & #10 tees)
Following Play – Field cut to low 72 players (and ties)

Sunday, July 18
7:30 AM – Final Round begins (#1 & #10 tees)
Following Play – Awards Presentation