The Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Elite Mini Tour played host to the 2011 Thanksgiving Mini Tour Championship this past weekend, November 26-27, 2011. Players and their families stayed at the fabulous TPC San Antonio Resort /JW Marriott resort. It is renowned as the largest Marriott property in the world. Words cannot express the beauty and pageantry of the property. And there is something for everyone to do…kids can enjoy the arcade room and the heated pool, while parents have access to the Velocity Sports Bar and the Lantana Spa. These are just a few of the amenities offered by the resort. Thirty six players from Texas and Arkansas participated in the event over the weekend.
On Saturday, players were greeted with morning rains and slightly cooler temperatures as well as a strong wind. The mini tour played the Canyon Springs Golf Club with the Girls 8-9 division playing 3800 yards, the Boys 12-13 5700 yards, and the Boys 10-11, Girls 10-11 and Girls 12-13 played 5200 yards. Players were greeted at check-in with great gifts from the tour that included either a hoodie from Under Armour or Oakley, two sleeves of Titleist Pro-V1X golf balls, a beanie from Oakley, as well as a T-shirt with the TJGT logo on it. In the Boys 12-13 division, Reid Davenport got the tournament off to a great start with an opening round 78. It was the low score of the day for any division. Reid had no birdies on the day but managed his game very well as he only recorded one double bogey on the day. Staying close to Davenport was Adam Dahlstrom who finished round one two strokes off of the lead with an 80. Adam shot a very consistent 41-39 with two birdies on his round. Fisher Vollendorf managed an 83 in round 1 while Patrick Hervey came in with an 85. In the Boys 10-11 division, tour veteran Jake Wittschiebe got off to a great start with an opening round 79. Jake shot a spectacular one over on the front nine. Also shooting a 79 was a newcomer to the tour William Moll. Like Jake, he also shot a spectacular one over on the front nine. On the difficult par four 4th hole he had an amazing par save. He short sided himself on his approach but hit an incredible chip shot to a foot and tapped in for par. Jackson Davenport got himself into the lead group on Sunday with an opening round 80. This was a highly competitive division with 11 players within five strokes of the lead after the first round. Brian Garrett, playing in the same group as William Moll, also had an incredible on the par four 4th. Like William, he was short sided after his approach, but he calmly hit a remarkable flop shot from a tight lie and got it to stop within a foot and then tapped in for his par. Brian was one of the players within five strokes of the lead as he finished with an 82. In the girls 8-9 year old division, Sky Sudberry played a great opening round firing an 82, while Melena Barrientos shot an 89 in round one. In the girls 10-11 division, Sadie Englemann took the opening round lead with an 85 that included a birdie on her opening hole. Tied for second were Kaylee Vesely and newcomer Julie Lucio. Hailey Jones, who has won multiple times on the tour, opened with an 88 to stay within striking distance.
On day two, all players played the AT&T Oaks course at TPC San Antonio. The Oaks Course is the same course that the PGA tour plays host to the Valero Texas Open. The story on day two was the difficult conditions the players were faced with steady winds of 35-40 mph with gusts up to 50. But the players persevered. Just finishing on a day like that is noteworthy. The 12-13 boys played 5600 yards, the 10-11 boys and girls and the 12-13 girls played 5500 yards, while the 8-9 year girls played 3500 yards. In the girls division, overnight leader Sadie Englemann came in with a 90 in round two to finish in third place. Julie Lucio managed an 86 in the second round to nudge Sadie by two strokes for second place. Hailey Jones had the low round of the day in her division with an 84 to win the division. This event marked her third win in a row on the tour in one of the most competitive divisions on the Elite Mini Tour. Melena Barrientos came back from a tough round one to post an 81 in round two and win the Girls 8-9 year old division. Melena played very steady golf in the conditions with nine hole scores of 40-41. On the front nine, she birdied her first hole and the ninth hole. She had nothing worse than a bogey on the day. It was a great job of course management by Melena. Sky Sudberry finished in second with a two day total of 178. Kennedy Swann won the girls 12-13 division with a two day total of 190. In the boys 10-11 division, Thomas Critch started the four strokes off of the lead after opening with an 83 at Canyon Springs. On Sunday, he managed his game very well making 10 pars and 8 bogeys to finish with a great score of 80. That was enough to earn him a tie for first with Jake Wittschiebe after Jake shot a second round 84. They went to the short par four 10th hole to decide the winner in a sudden death playoff. Thomas won the event by making a routine par on the first playoff hole. Finishing in third place in the division was another tour newcomer, Andy Yang, who shot rounds of 81-84. In the boys 12-13 division, Reid Davenport had a stellar second round score of 80 to win the division by a stunning 15 strokes. Reid had an outstanding back nine, making three birdies to finish the back nine at one over. Finishing tied for second were Adam Dahlstrom and Fisher Vollendorf, each with two day totals of 173. Fisher had and eagle on the par 5 fifteenth hole. Fisher won second place via a scorecard playoff.
It was a great weekend for the mini tour in San Antonio. The field was deep and strong, and the players got to play two great golf courses. The players did a great job of battling the difficult conditions both days. This tournament starts a busy winter season for the mini tour. The tour will be back in action in two weeks in College Station at Pebble Creek CC. This event will be hosted alongside the Traditions championship with the big tour. Players will get to experience Aggieland and all it has to offer. We look forward to seeing you there.
Boys 12-13
1st Reid Davenport The Woodlands 2018 78 80 158
T2 ** Fisher Vollendorf Fayetteville, AR 2017 83 90 173
T2 Adam Dahlstrom The Woodlands 2018 80 93 173
** - Fisher Vollendorf wins second via a scorecard playoff.
Boys 10-11
T1 ** Thomas Critch Cedar Park 2018 83 80 163
T1 Jake Wittschiebe Fair Oaks Ranch 2018 79 84 163
3rd Andy Yang Sugar Land 2018 81 84 165
** - Thomas Critch wins sudden death playoff on first playoff hole with a par.
Girls 12-13
1st Kennedy Swann Austin 2017 98 92 190
Girls 10-11
1st Hailey Jones Dallas 2019 88 84 172
2nd Julie Lucio Brownsville 2017 87 86 173
3rd Sadie Englemann Austin 2020 85 90 175
Girls 8-9
1st Melena Barrientos Plano 2022 89 81 170
2nd Sky Sudberry Spring 2021 83 95 178
