Welcome to the Texas Junior Golf Tour - "The Road to College Golf"

The 7th Annual Red River Challenge was played at the historic Dornick Hills CC in Ardmore, Oklahoma in beautiful, but windy Fall weather October 29th-30th, 2011. As always several college coaches were in attendance watching the best players from the TJGT and Mexico fight it out with the best players from the OJGT in this special team format. To be precise 21 coaches attended from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, and the NJCAA. Dornick Hills was designed by the late Perry Maxwell and has been host to several professional and amateur events over the years including The Maxwell, one of the top collegiate events in the country. Once again his venue proved to be extremely difficult and has always had one of the strongest fields of the season.

Current US Amateur Champion Kelly Kraft, US Junior Champion Jordan Spieth, and current NCAA Champion John Peterson are just a few…

Continue Reading

First up the TJGT Houston National Junior Championship was played at the Houston National Golf Club in Cypress, Texas October 29th-30th, 2011.

Almost 80 players from Texas and Arkansas teed it up with the Boys 16-18 played 6,793 yards; the Boys 12-15 played 6,263 yards; and the Girls 12-18 played 5,563 yards

Saturday’s weather was sunny, nice with a hint of a breeze. Sunday, was a bit colder with a slightly more discernable breeze.

Once again, Cypress Texas’ Houston National Golf Club played host to the TJGT Houston National Junior Championship, and holy cow did it show it’s teeth on Saturday. Tricky pin placements paved the way for a whole mess of three and four putts. Many of the players were left wondering how a great ball striking round could slip away so easily. Easy, as most of the TJGT High School coaching staff would respond….short game, short game, short game.

Although many of the players felt a bit battered by the greens, several were able to overcome the difficulty and show their talent.

Kelly McGovern was able to outshine the field in the girls 15-18 division. Her solid play over the two round event continues her streak of quality TJGT starts. Kennedy Ishee continued her rise to the top of the golfing world with her strong 2nd place finish while Emily Gilbreth rounded out the top three.

Madison Kidd did not allow a few stumbles to derail her trek to the girls 12-14 championship. Youngster Christine Wang (3rd place) and sophomore Susan Haggar (2nd Place) just could not keep the contest within striking distance.

Mario Carmona fired one of the best rounds of the tournament, a day one 71, to lead the way to the boys 15-18 crown. Wes Artec (73) and Lonnie Smith (72) were close on his heels going into the 2nd round as the contest would not be decided until the final holes of play. Carmona was able to hold off late charges By Smith (2nd place) as well as Matt Sullivan who finished in 3rd. In the end Artec was unable to hold on to a spot on the trophy stand.

Cole Hammer put the hammer down on his competition as he jumped…

Continue Reading

The Red River Challenge is an annual stroke play tournament that encompasses an inner team competition between the Texas Jr. Golf Tour (TJGT) vs Oklahoma Jr Golf Tour (OJGT) The tournament brings together the best players of both tours and features a multi-state as well as international ranked field.  Furthermore, the tournament is played on a collegiate & historic venue @ Dornick Hills, CC.  Dornick Hills has hosted the Maxwell Collegiate Tournament for years and is the final resting place of the famous course designer Mr. Perry Maxwell.
The Red River Challenge has been ranked as one the highest Golfweek Ranked tournaments each year outside the AJGA.  Dozens of players the past five years who have participated in the event have gone onto successful college golf careers.
The event field has seen a 95% collegiate scholarship success rate for seniors moving on the college. The event provides…

Continue Reading

Former OU coach and Executive Director of the Golf Coaches Association of America Gregg Grost will be the featured speaker this weekend at the TJGT’s Red River Shootout. Only on the TJGT do you have access to 100’s of years of college coaching experience through events like this and the TJGT’s College Bound Membership.

If you are serious about playing college golf at any level, then the TJGT is the place to be.

Grost, who coached at OU from 1986 to 2000, led the Sooners to a school-record seven tournament victories in 1989, including the NCAA Championship, and was named the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year.

He also led Oklahoma to the 1992 Big Eight Championship and was named conference coach of the year.

Grost began his coaching career in 1981 at Lamar University.  He was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1985 while leading the Cardinals to league titles in 1982, 1983 and 1985.  He was also named the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year in his final full season at Lamar.

Grost’s teams earned NCAA berths in 17 of his 20 seasons as a head coach.  He coached 19 players who earned All-America honors a total of 33 times, as well as 2000 Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson Award winner Chris James.

Grost currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Golf Coaches Association of America. 

Continue Reading

The Texas Junior Golf Tour played host to the DFW Mini Tour Championship at Bear Creek Golf Club in Dallas on October 22-23, 2011.  Eighteen players from Texas and Arkansas representing six divisions of play teed it up in some great fall weather.  The Boys 12-13 division played 5,815 yards, the Boys 10-11 division, the Girls 10-11 division, and the Girls 12-13 division played 5,570 yards, while the Boys 8-9 division played 3,750 yards.  All players played the West Course at Bear Creek.

On day one players were greeted at check in with two sleeves of Titleist ProV1 golf balls, a shirt of their choice, a lanyard, a beanie with TJGT logo, and a wristband.  The mini tour played alongside the Junior Tour with a 1:30 shotgun start.  The weather was Fall type weather with temperatures in the mid 80’s and slightly breezy.  Bear Creek definitely showed its teeth in round one as most of the field struggled with the length, tight fairways, elevation changes, and hard greens.  Noah Goodwin in the Boys 12-13 division was the lone player to break 80 on the first day with an opening round 77.  This was a tightly tested division as Patrick Hervey and Fisher Vollendorf both shot opening round 83’s while Connor Caldwell was just one stroke back of those guys at 84.  Goodwin shot a very steady 39-38, which included two birdies on the back nine.  Hervey got off to a quick start with his starting assignment on hole 14.  He was even par coming off of 18 with a birdie on…

Continue Reading

The TJGT Bear Creek Junior Shootout was played at the Bear Creek Golf Course on the West course October 22nd-23rd, 2011. Players from Texas, Mexico, Louisiana teed it up beautiful weather as the Boys 15-18 played 6,690 yards; the Boys 12-14 played 6,264 yards; and all Girls 12-18 played 5,620 yards in this 36-hole nationally-ranked event.

Event recap:
Boys 15-18-Day 1 was a perfect fall afternoon with temperatures in the high 70’s.  Austin King from Tyler, TX took advantage of the day and took the lead with an even par 72.  Only two shots off the lead was Levi Pettit with a 74 and two players, Jun Tao Zhang and Adrian Rodriguez, came in with a 75.  Day 2- After an overnight rain Bear Creek GC was soggy but that did not slow down Austin King. King came out in round 2 with a 1-under 71, clinching 1st place in the boys 15-18 division.  Jun Tau Zhang showed consistency putting up another 75 and holding on to 2nd place.  Levi Pettit from Dallas put up a 78 giving him 3rd place.
Boys 12-14- Travis McInroe claimed 1st place in the Boys 12-14 division.  In round 1 Travis fired a…

Continue Reading

This Tuesday October 11th at 7:30pm, CBM Director Lynn Monzingo will host a TJGT College Bound Membership (CBM) webinar that is open to ALL TJGT members, not just CBM members that you will not want to miss! The guest presenter for this webinar is Dean W. Frischknecht Creator of the Ping College Golf Guide and the he will share with all TJGT members how to “Get the most out of the Ping College Golf Guide”. This will be an extremely informative webinar that you will not want to miss. This webinar is 100% FREE to all TJGT members. To access the webinar simply click here Tuesday night at 7:30pm. After connecting to the webinar a login box will appear, simply put in your name only and click “ok”.  Providing value like this is just another thing that sets the TJGT apart from other junior golf tours.

Continue Reading

The TJGT Sooner Major Championship event was played at Jimmie Austin Golf Club on the campus of The University of Oklahoma and was the lone TJGT event of the weekend that was able to get in a full 36-holes. This golf course has hosted the 2009 USGA Public Links Amateur Championship and will do so again in 2013. 
Players from TX, LA, OK, AR, and Mexico battled it out in extremely tough conditions with the Boys 12-18 playing 6,876 yards and Boys 12-18 playing 5,815 yards in this 36-hole, nationally-ranked event. The OU Women’s coach and the coach from Oklahoma Christian were there scouting the competition.

Day 1 was challenging for all players due to 40+mph wind gusts which caused the course to play extremely long.  The fast, firm, undulating greens…

Continue Reading

Mother Nature did her best to wreak havoc on a great TJGT weekend of tournament golf with a triple-header weekend scheduled. Only one of the three events scheduled (The OU Sooner Invitational-see separate story) played a full 36-holes with the other two be shortened to 18-holes because of rain.

First up the TJGT Kingwood Lake Junior Championship was played at Kingwood Country Club on the Lake Course. Players from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas teed it up for competition with the Boys 16-18 playing 6,930 yards; the Boys 12-15 playing 6,320 yards; and the Girls 12-18 playing 5,750 yards.

The Kingwood Country Club Lake Course looked more like a desert course during Saturday’s action as the Houston Area continued its drought conditions. Many of the beautiful courses trademark lakes were nearly completely dry. High winds and difficult pins on Saturday helped the Lake course keep most of the field at arms length. However, several players were able to break thru the wind and fire solid opening round scores.

Chandler Phillips raced out to a commanding lead in the boys…

Continue Reading

Let’s face it. The collegiate golf recruiting process can be a daunting and confusing task to navigate alone. Anyone can find the answers to generic questions such as,“When can a college coach contact me in person off- campus?”* However, many of the questions that junior golfers ask don’t have generic answers. For example,the answer to the BIG question,“How do I get a golf scholarship?,” differs greatly from individual to individual. As parents and former coaches of collegiate golfers, the Texas Junior Golf Tour understands the roller coaster ride involved in the recruiting process and has a proven record of success in obtaining scholarships for their senior class - boys (85%) and girls (92%). Our College Bound Membership program is the best way to find YOUR answers.
To download the new CBM brochure click here.

Also to help give you a taste of what the CBM program has to offer we are inviting EVERYONE including non-CBM members to participate next Tuesday in our next CBM webinar. Our special guest will be Dean W. Frischknecht creator of…

Continue Reading