Thursday, March 29, 2012

Valero Texas Open - Unapologetically Texan


Interact and Win!

Scott R Chilcutt, San Antonio, TX (March 29, 2012)  We have daily passes available for the Valero Texas Open from April 16th-22nd, 2012 at PGA San Antonio and will be holding drawings for those passes.

Come out and see how the Tour Players will traverse PGA San Antonio on the Oaks Course, site of the Hill Country - Tour Championship on August, 11, 2012.

If you are a member of the Dallas, Hill Country or Oklahoma Tours simply post your full name in the comment section.  If you're not a member of those tours, post your full name and email your contact information to:  schilcutt@gcamtour.com.  Drawing will be held, Monday, April 9, 2012.




Next Up - Dallas Tour is at The Golf Club at Frisco Lakes for the Frisco Lakes Challenge on April 7th.  Hill Country is back in action after The Nelson open (registration closed) for The Legends of Golf Classic at Onion Creek Golf Club on April 1th.   Oklahoma Tour visits the Cherokee Hills Golf Club for the Hard Rock Open on April 28th.

For more information:

Scott R Chilcutt
Tour Director

Dallas / Fort Worth - Hill Country - Oklahoma
Golf Channel Amateur Tour

405.513.1467 - 972.201.9478
schilcutt@gcamtour.com
www.gcamtour.com

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Ladies of South Texas - Teravista Open Recap

Scott R Chilcutt, Round Rock, TX (March 25, 2012)  Teravista Golf Club meanders through the Teravista community located just west of I-35 on top of a hill with views of up to 35 miles to the west over the Hill Country.  Just across the street you'll find Texas State University, Round Rock Campus.  Round Rock, is the World Headquarters of Dell Computer and just down from Teravista you'll find a bustling Premium Outlet Mall.

While many south Texas ladies were shopping on this beautiful, calm and sunny Sunday, the ladies of the Golf Channel Am Tour were making their presence known with three wins out of eleven flights along with a second place finish.  Additionally, the Tournament Champion Trophy, presented by Labor Finders went home with Memphis, TN native and Austin, TX resident Aaron Seafous.

RESULTS:

Championship Flight:  First time Am Tour player Chad Sullivan from neighboring Georgetown, TX birdied five holes in route to a +2 - 74 and the win by two strokes over Houston Tour traveler Lynn Cormier from Missouri City, TX and Bradley Davis from Ft. Sam Houston.

Palmer Flight:  39 year old Houston Tour member and resident Travis Nichols shot a tournament low, one under par 71 on five birdies to command his first win on tour.  Five strokes back, Craig Hart from Killeen, TX and Cuero, TX player Derek Loebbecke finished tied for the second spot.

Senior Palmer Flight: Frank Davis from San Antonio, TX shot an eight over par 80 to take home his second trophy of the year.  Mark Greene from Austin and Deer Park, TX member Dusty Rhodes finished tied for the second spot after Greene was penalized for playing from the wrong teeing ground.  Greene and his pairing were apparent victims of the confusing BLACK/BLUE modified yardages.

Hogan Flight:  Round Rock, TX local Jorge Rodriguez made the best of the home field advantage for his first win since the 2011 May Day Challenge.  Just one stroke back, the trio of Brack Blackwood, Grandbury, TX, Killeen, TX rookie Demetrio Young and another first time player from Round Rock, TX Jim Morgan shared the second place honors.

Senior Hogan Flight:  Larry Wilburn from Austin, TX picked up his first win on tour with a +6 - 78 two strokes ahead of another trio tied for second.  Traveling partners from the Houston tour,  Kevin Nelson and Bob Miller knotted it up with Bastrop, TX member Gene Rampy for the second place honors.

Sarazen Flight:  Four year tour member Derrick Matthews from Killeen, TX snatched his first win on tour, but not without extra holes.  After a double bogey on the 12th hole, Matthews bounced back to birdie the 13th and play the last six holes in one under par to force a playoff with William Dunem from New Braunfels, TX.  Matthews made par on the first hole for the championship with Dunem in the second spot and San Antonio, TX resident Rene Realme finished third.

Senior Sarazen Flight:  Out of action for over a year, welcome back Mike Allman from New Braunfels directly to the winner circle.  Allman birdied the par 5 tenth hole to shoot a +7 - 79 with a two stroke advantage over San Felipe, TX, Houston Tour member Jim Craig and Gregg Smith from Austin, TX.  Craig made a three on the tricky par 4 eighteenth hole to tie up the 2nd spot with Smith.

Jones Flight: Helotes, TX first year member Scott Thompson made it two for four by a single stroke over Brazilian native Jardel De Andrade from Round Rock, TX.  Monte Loose from Morgans Point Resort, TX and Killeen, TX player Josue Duprey tied it up for the third spot.

Senior Jones Flight:  The first in the last three flights of women domination, Lu Cormier from Missouri City, TX played smart golf with a layup on the 18th hole to avert any water problems.  Cormier captured her first win of the year by one stroke over John Merritt from Kerrville, TX.  Haslet, TX traveler Burnie Rodgers rounded out the top three two strokes back.

Snead Flight:  Aaron Seafous from Austin, TX used local course knowledge to command her first career win on tour by eight strokes.  The San Antonio, TX pair of Charles Mielak and Carlos Cruz tied up the second place spot.

Senior Snead Flight:  Marcy Glidden of Brookshire, TX and Houston Tour member played the back nine in four over par to command her first win on tour.  Six strokes back four players tied for the second spot with Cathay McGee and Timothy Thayer from the Houston Tour and Hill Country members, Thomas Kerwin from Pflugerville, TX and Copperas Cove, TX player Dan OShea.


SKINS:

Championship: 3 -- Lynn Cormier, Missouri City, TX.  1 -- Bradley Davis, Ft. Sam Houston, TX.

Palmer/Senior Palmer: 3 -- Travis Nichols, Houston, TX. 2 -- Bryan Wood, Leander, TX. 1 -- Craig Hart, Killeen, TX; Derek Loebbecke, Cuero, TX; Mark Ratliff, Bulverde, TX; Robert Sykes, Levelland, TX, ; Dusty Rhodes, Deer Park, TX; Sean Fenton, Fort Worth, TX.

Hogan/Senior Hogan: 1 -- Jorge Rodriguez, Round Rock, TX; Brian Cox, Killeen, TX; BeeJay Johnson, Austin, TX; Maurice Mintken, Round Rock, TX; Kevin Nelson, Cypress, TX, Longwood GC; Gene Rampy, Bastrop, TX; Bill Clark, Helotes, TX; Edward Villasana, Del Valle, TX.

Sarazen/Senior Sarazen:  1 -- Daniel Mcgrath, Austin ,Tx; John Heintz, San Antonio, TX; Rene Realme, San Antonio, TX, ; William Dunem, New Braunfels, TX; Mike Allman, New Braunfels, TX; Jim Craig, San Felipe, TX.

Jones/Senior Jones: 2 -- John Merritt, Kerrville, TX.  1 -- Scott Thompson, Helotes, TX; Jardel De Andrade, Round Rock, ; Monte Loose, Morgans Point Resort, TX; Lu Cormier, Missouri City, TX; Burnie Rodgers, Haslet, TX.

Snead/Senior Snead:  1 -- Charles Mielak, San Antonio, TX, ; Thomas Kerwin, Pflugerville, TX; Dan OShea, Copperas Cove, TX.

Next Up - Dallas Tour is at The Golf Club at Frisco Lakes for the Frisco Lakes Challenge on April 7th.  Hill Country is back in action after The Nelson open (registration closed) for The Legends of Golf Classic at Onion Creek Golf Club on April 1th.   Oklahoma Tour visits the Cherokee Hills Golf Club for the Hard Rock Open on April 28th.

For more information:

Scott R Chilcutt
Tour Director

Dallas / Fort Worth - Hill Country - Oklahoma
Golf Channel Amateur Tour

405.513.1467 - 972.201.9478
schilcutt@gcamtour.com
www.gcamtour.com

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Hill Country - Blackwood brings Home the Win Texas Open

Scott R Chilcutt, Horseshoe Bay, TX (March 4, 2012)  Horseshoe Bay Resort, situated just west of Historic Marble Falls, TX  in the highland lakes region of the Texas Hill Country, hosted the 2012 Texas Open Major Championship for the second year.

Apple Rock and Ram Rock, two of the three Robert Trent Jones, Sr. courses on the property overlooking Lake LBJ, would not disappoint the traveling competitors in search of prizes and National Championship qualification.  Just like 2011, beautiful skies and warm south winds were on hand for the practice rounds on Friday only to change direction from the north on opening day, cooling off the players and changing strategies.  As quickly as the winds and temperatures changed for Saturday, light SW breezes and sunshine welcomed the final round.


Championship Flight:  Starting the round on Sunday two strokes behind overnight leader, Al Smith from Cabot, AR, defending Texas Open Champion Marshall Morgan knew he needed a strong start.  Morgan from Odessa, TX would need to make up ground on Smith, but also stay ahead of Jeff Boyer  from Oklahoma City starting the day just one stroke back.  Coming off the 14th green, Morgan looked to have it locked up going +1 against Al's +5 but the remaining four holes would set the stage for the first playoff of the afternoon when they both finished with 155 two day totals.  On the first playoff hole, the 58 year old Morgan successfully defended his title with the long hitting Smith picking up his best Major Championship finish while Boyer picked up the final National Championship qualification finishing third.

Palmer Flight: Consistency would prove to be the key to the championship for Keller, TX player Guy Nickels.   Nickels, the 2010 Texas Masters at TPC San Antonio Champion has now won his last four outings with the Am Tour.  Starting the final round 8 strokes back of overnight leader Ivan Zweig from Dallas, Guy followed up his first day 81 with an 82 on the arguably tougher Ram Rock course to snatch the championship by three strokes over Zweig.  Ivan would hole out from the fairway on the 10th hole for an eagle two but couldn't control any momentum.  2012 Duel in the Desert Flight Champion, Ron Finnerty from Laredo, TX would start and finish the final round in the third spot punching his ticket for the second time this year to the Nationals.

Senior Palmer Flight:  It was traveling Phoenix, AZ player Richard Hunt's tournament to lose after firing an eight over par 79 Saturday at the tough and windblown Ram Rock course.  In the final pairing, Sean Fenton from Fort Worth along with Garland, TX player Kem Albritton were six strokes back to start the day and both mounted a charge. but in the end couldn't make up the deficit.  Albritton and Fenton finished tied for the second spot two strokes back. Hunt, the 2010 WESTERN OPEN  champion made it his second Major championship and thirteenth win on the tour.

Hogan Flight:  Brack Blackwood from Grandbury, TX completed the first half of the events "father / son" tandem championship.  Blackwood, the overnight leader, got into trouble in the middle of his round but finished the last five holes in one over par to grab the championship by 6 strokes over Roger Masek of Sugerland, TX.  Masek took seven strokes off his first round finish ahead of consistent scores from Auburn, WA player Barry Lauderbaugh.  Lauderbaugh's best finish in a major championship punched his ticket to the National Championships by two strokes over fourth spot.
Senior Hogan Flight:  Out of State travelers take the top two spots in the Senior Hogan Flight with William Wirtz from Maryland Heights, MO claiming the trophy and his best finish in a Major.  Two strokes back, overnight leader Gary Spears from Brighton, CO, had enough of a lead going into the final round to stay ahead of Maurice Mintken from Round Rock, TX and Cypress, TX player Bob Miller bettering his score from Saturday to tie for the final National Championship qualification spots.  

Sarazen  Flight:  Oklahoma Tour player Jeffrey Banner from Lawton went wire to wire for his second win on tour.  Starting on the eleventh hole at Ram Rock, Banner played steady through the early going but would run into big trouble towards the late portion of his round.  Playing along side Banner in the final pairing Derrick Matthews from Kileen, TX bounced back after a first hole disaster to put pressure on Banner, but just fell short taking the second spot over Westfield, IN traveler Jon Wendt by three strokes.

Senior Sarazen Flight:  Battling back and forth the entire round, overnight leader Jamie Sansom from Frisco, TX looked to have it locked up coming to the final hole over Mark Kirby of Bridge City, TX.  A two shot swing on the last would put the pair in a playoff where Kirby maintained the momentum and captured the championship.  San Felipe, TX member Jim Craig took twelve strokes of his first day total with three birdies and landed the final National Championship qualification by a couple of strokes over the fourth spot.

Jones Flight:  Katy, TX ace Richard Kelley captured his first win on tour by a whopping 16 strokes over two players knotted in the second spot.  Scott Thompson from Helotes, TX playing in his third event on tour birdied the par four ninth hole to tie up the second spot with Keller, TX player Nick Easen.

Senior Jones Flight:  Randy Adcock from Vidor, TX knows how to win the Texas Open making it a three-peat.  Adcock the 2010 National Champion won the first major at the 2010 Texas Open MAJOR at Barton Creek  and successfully defended his championship last year at Horsehoe Bay.  Ron Hardy took thirteen strokes off his day one total with birdies on the third and seventh holes to finish in a tie for second with Bob Eustice from Garland, TX playing in his first Major Championship.

Snead Flight:  The back half of the father / son Championship, David Blackwood playing out of the Hill Country Tour finished the final round strokes ahead of Jason Crawford from Round Rock. Crawford, playing a limited schedule recorded his best finish on tour bested a pair from San Antonio, overnight leader Xavier Bardy and Carlos Cruz who shared the third and final qualification spot for the Nationals.

Senior Snead Flight:   Timothy Thayer from  Cypress, TX and Pflugerville, TX member Thomas Kerwin took it to extra holes.  Thayer finished off his Championship run picking up the trophy and first win since 2010.   It was Kerwin's best finish in a Major in six attempts.  Rounding out the top three, The Woodlands, TX player Jim Lamberth grabbed his National Championship invitation in his first major event.


Texas Open players put the "Troops First" this weekend raising over $1,600 for the Troops First Foundation.




Next Up - Hill Country Tour back in action at the End of Winter Open at the River Crossing Club on March 10, 2012.  Dallas Tour resumes play at the Classic at The Creek on March 24, 2012.   Oklahoma Tour starts off 2012 at the ST. Patty's Day @ KickingBird event. 

For more information:

Scott R Chilcutt
Tour Director

Dallas / Fort Worth - Hill Country - Oklahoma
Golf Channel Amateur Tour

405.513.1467 - 972.201.9478
schilcutt@gcamtour.com
www.gcamtour.com