Hill Country Tour Championship - TPC San Antonio

Scott R Chilcutt, San Antonio, TX (August 13, 2017)   

The AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, home to the Valero Texas Open on the PGA Tour, played host to the first round of the 2017 Hill Country Tour Championship.  Unlike most other TPC layouts, this track uses the natural landscape and ultimate trouble that comes along with the trees and native areas.  Add to that the extremely tough green complexes and it makes for a long, hard day in the Summer heat of the Hill Country.

Then the  2017 Hill Country Tour season went out with a "Swat" on Sunday.  Mosquito's, with an incubation period of 5 - 14 days, seemed to take hold of the shorter version after rains the previous Monday left retention ponds filled with water.  That standing water was just the ingredients to get the flying menaces dive-bombing the players at the AT & T Canyon course leaving them swatting for relief between every swing.

Add to a tough golf challenge, the nerves of National and Senior National Championship qualifications, Tour Championship awards and last, but not least year end Flight Champion awards the event was just as special as it was promoted as being. 

The winner of the Feherty's Troops First Foundation 50/50 raffle, took home $540, bringing the Texas Tour local events total to $17,210 in contributions to the Foundation in 2017.

RESULTS:

Championship Flight:  Senior Championship Flight player, Rusty Lippert of Copperas Cove, TX, went out on Saturday with a vengeance.  Arguably the tougher of the two courses, Lippert put together seven birdies on the Oaks course and a -3, 69, to enjoy a nine stroke advantage heading into the final round.  With that lead, Lippert coasted to a final round +6, 78, good for a two day total +1 and a five stroke win, his fourth of the points season and eighteenth on tour.  T-3 after the first round, Charles Lyon, relocated to Boerne, TX, in the spring from Southern California, made his way up the leaderboard with a six birdie -2 in the final round to slam the door shut on the runner-up finish.  Four strokes back of Lyon, Mark Miller of Spring Branch, TX, with three birdies at the event and first year Granbury, TX, player Keith McKelvy, with an eagle and five birdies over the 36 holes shared the third place honors.

Palmer Flight:  Similar in fashion to the Championship Flight, Killeen, TX, member Derrick Matthews, virtually won the Championship on Saturday.  Matthews, with five birdies during his round at the Oaks Course, finished even par, with an eight stroke cushion.  Back to the Canyons on Sunday, Derrick would put together a mediocre round - 85, but finish with a Tour Championship, three strokes clear for his second win of the season and fifteenth over three flights on tour.  Johnny Liguez, of Helotes, TX, carded three birdies over the 36 holes for the runner-up finish, with  Schertz, TX, player Paul Gorman, and three birdies of his own, rounding out the top three.

Senior Palmer Flight:  Houston Tour traveler, Bob Hayward, showed up late for the first round, with a family emergency on his way to the event, took the two stroke penalty for being late, with a waiver of disqualification from the committee under decision 6-3a/1.5 and finished his first day two strokes ahead of the pack.  T2 after the round at the Oaks, Doug Collins of Iraan, TX, with a pair of birdies at the event, stepped it up on the final day, to finish three strokes clear for his fourth win of the season and eleventh on tour.  Hayward would finish in the runner-up spot, with San Angelo, TX, player Chuck Odom, T-2 after the final round, slipping back one place to round out the top three.

Hogan Flight:  Playing in his fourth event of the season, Jesse Guerra, of San Antonio, TX,  led the pack with a two stroke advantage for his second win of the season.  Back, four strokes after the round at the Oaks, John Heintz also from San Antonio, TX, did just what he needed to do to win the Flight Championship, taking low second day honors to finish in the runner-up spot.  Thress strokes back of Heintz, Orange, TX, player Matt Purgahn, rounded out the top three in the largest contest of the weekend.

Senior Hogan Flight:  San Antonio, TX, player Paul Wuerdeman, became another wire to wire winner on Sunday.  Wuerdeman, one stroke clear after his round at the Oaks, carded the low flight round on Sunday and extended the lead to nine strokes after the Championship closed to pick up his second win of the season and fourteenth on tour.  Taking seven strokes off his first day total, Timothy VanLandingham of Portland, TX, took home the runner-up finish, with first-year player Servando Perez of Cedar Park, TX, rounding out the top three.

Sarazen Flight:  Montgomery, TX, member Joe Michetti and first-year member, Casey Reynolds, of Windthorst, TX, shared the lead heading into the final round at the Canyons Course.  Michetti with a birdie on the par 3 - 8th, did just enough to clear, Reynolds for the Championship, his eighth on tour and second of the points season.  For Reynolds, it was his best finish on tour,  four strokes clear of the pair of Joe Luman of Odessa, TX, and Austin, TX, resident Aaron Seafous sharing the third place honors.

Senior Sarazen Flight:  Houston Tour member and traveler, Bruce LeGrand, made his way to the top after the first round at The Oaks course with a four stroke lead.  Out to the Canyons on Sunday,  Bruce would bookend his round with birdies on the par 4 - 1st and par 4 - 18th, but give way to Live Oak, TX, member Richard Huyck, with a series of trouble during the mid way holes.  Huyck, with a birdie on the par 3 - 8th would take seven strokes off his first eighteen to force extra holes.   Back to the par 4 - 17th, the pair would finish it out in one sudden death hole, with LeGrand picking up the Championship with bogey.  Twelve strokes back, Leander, TX, member Steve Hamilton, rounded out the third place honors, staying just ahead of the pack.

Jones Flight:  Bill Speck of Corpus Christi, TX, led the field wire to wire with a pair of 91's.  Speck with two birdies on the weekend, recorded his second win of the season and seventh win on tour.  Kyle, TX, player, Larry Atchley, two back after the first round, carded the same score on Sunday, to pick up the runner-up finish, with Phil Lewis of San Antonio, TX, jumping three spots after eighteen holes to finish in the third place spot.

Snead Flight:  With three birdies on the weekend, Selma, TX, player Mark Colwell, put together two consistent rounds of golf to win wire to wire, by four strokes.  For Colwell, it was his first Championship of the season and fourteenth on tour.  Runner-up finisher after the first round, Mike Murphy of Coirrigan, TX, held his ground, four strokes back, with Mico, TX, player Charles Mielak rounding out the top three. 




SKINS:

DAY 1 - AT & T Oaks:

Giant SKINS:  ($330/each)  1 -- John Kellum, San Antonio, TX; Chad Maytubby, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX.

Championship / Palmer:  ($50/each)  3 -- Rusty Lippert, Copperas Cove, TX. 1 -- Chad Maytubby, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX.

Senior Palmer:  ($16/each)  2 -- Chuck Odom, San Angelo, TX; Doug Collins, Iraan, TX; Bob Hayward, Houston, TX. 1 -- Nathan Douglas, Georgetown, TX; Danna Hoover, Burnet, TX; Terry Jackson, George West, TX; Gary Grizzle, San Antonio, TX

Hogan:  ($35/each)  3 -- Jim Puckett, Leander, TX. 1 -- Matt Purgahn, Orange, TX; JD Schott, Universal City, TX; Marshall Brackin, Norman, OK; Scott Thompson, Helotes, TX; Ivan Alvarado, San Antonio, TX.

Senior Hogan Media:  ($22/each)  2 -- Paul Wuerdeman, San Antonio, TX. 1 -- Bob Starkman, San Antonio, TX; Timothy VanLandingham, Portland, TX; Allan Collier, Austin, TX; Will Whitley, Cypress, TX; Chris Neelley, Spring, TX.

Sarazen:  ($25/each)  3 -- Casey Reynolds, Windthorst, TX. 1 -- Joshua Douglas, Leander, TX; Aaron Seafous, Austin, TX; Douglas Galloway, Austin, TX; George Peddy, San Antonio, TX; Steve Kline, Fremont, CA.

Senior Sarazen:  ($17/each)  3 -- Bruce LeGrand, Houston, TX. 2 -- Steve Hamilton, Leander, TX; James Pace, Burleson, TX. 1 -- L.P. Jones, Houston, TX; Randy Helcel, Barclays, Tx..

Jones:  ($18/each)  3 -- Steve DiPaola, San Antonio, TX. 2 -- Bobby Ashcraft, San Antonio, TX; Christopher Cobb, Austin, TX. 1 -- Jennifer Grothaus, Abilene, TX; Bill Speck, Corpus Christi, TX; Larry Atchley, Kyle, TX; Michael Page, Burnet, TX.

Snead:  ($28/each)  2 -- Mark Colwell, Selma, TX; Mike Murphy, Corrigan, TX. 1 -- Charles Mielak, Mico, TX; Javier Quintero, Houston, TX; Gene Hanley, San Antonio, TX.



DAY 2 - AT & T Canyons:

Giant SKINS:  ($94/each)  2 -- Charles Lyon, Boerne, TX. 1 -- Keith McKelvy, Granbury, TX; Douglas Galloway, Austin, TX; Mackie Crossan, Abilene, TX; Bruce LeGrand, Houston, TX; Servando Perez, Cedar Park, TX.

Championship / Palmer:  ($22/each)  4 -- Charles Lyon, Boerne, TX. 3 -- Keith McKelvy, Granbury, TX. 1 -- Mark Miller, Spring Branch, TX; Johnny Liguez, Helotes, TX.

Senior Palmer:  ($23/each)  2 -- Bob Hayward, Houston, TX. 1 -- Danna Hoover, Burnet, TX; Terry Jackson, George West, TX; Chuck Odom, San Angelo, TX; Doug Collins, Iraan, TX.

Hogan:  ($100/each)  1 -- Jim Puckett, Leander, TX; Marshall Brackin, Norman, OK; Les Costales, Cedar Park, TX.

Senior Hogan:  ($32/each)  2 -- Servando Perez, Cedar Park, TX. 1 -- Allan Collier, Austin, TX; Paul Wuerdeman, San Antonio, TX; Chris Neelley, Spring, TX.

Sarazen:  ($110/each)  1 -- Preston Miller, Fort Worth, TX; Douglas Galloway, Austin, TX.

Senior Sarazen:  ($25/each)  2 -- Bruce LeGrand, Houston, TX; Richard Huyck, Live Oak, TX. 1 -- Steve Hamilton, Leander, TX; John Maywald, Boerne, TX.

Jones:  ($33/each)  2 -- Mackie Crossan, Abilene, TX. 1 -- Bobby Ashcraft, San Antonio, TX; Jennifer Grothaus, Abilene, TX; Bill Speck, Corpus Christi, TX; Steve DiPaola, San Antonio, TX.


Snead:  ($40/each)  2 -- Mark Colwell, Selma, TX. 1 -- Charles Mielak, Mico, TX; Dwain Smith, Georgetown, TX; Ramon Colen, San Antonio, TX.


CLOSEST TO THE HOLE:

$155/each

Day 1 - Oaks  - #3 - Rusty Lippert - 7';  #7 -  Jorge Rodriquez - 4' 6";  #13 - Ron Finnerty - 11' 8";  #16 - Chad Maytubby - 4' 10".

Day 2 - Canyons  - #4 - Mark Colwell - 1' 8";  #8 - Jeff Workman - 2' 2 1/2";  #13 - Matt Purgahn - 10' 5";  #16 - David Ortego - 6' 9".



NEXT UP:

The Houston Tour Championship at Blackhorse Golf Club, in Cypress, TX, on Saturday, August 19th, and Sunday, August 20th.

2017 Tour Championships in the state will culminate in Flower Mound, TX, at Bridlewood Golf Club for the DFW Tour Championship on August 26th and 27th.  Last chance to enter, if not sold out before, will be Friday, August 18th.

National Championship September will take place in Rancho Mirage, CA at the Mission Hill Country Club and Westin Mission Hills Courses.  Open players will compete for the 2017 National Championship from September 10th-13th, with the 2017 Senior National Championship taking to the links from September 16th-19th.

Fall Schedule for all three tours will be announced and posted within the next few weeks, look out for those scheduled events.

For More Information:

Scott R Chilcutt

Director - Texas Tours

Dallas  Tour - Hill Country Tour  - Houston Tour

GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour

405.513.1467

schilcutt@gcamtour.com