The TJGT Tour Championship was played February 7th-8th 2009 on the Ram Rock and Apple Rock Golf Courses at the Horseshoe Bay resort located in the Texas hill country. Horseshoe Bay is a beautiful course with many breath-taking views. It also has many breath taking putts, greens, and a lot of golf course to manage. With many false fronts, rolling fairways, dog-legs, and undulating greens, top-notch short games and endurance against Mother Nature became a priority. The weather was definitely a factor as winds blew 35 mph all day with gusts up to 45 mph on Saturday with temperatures in the low 60’s with cloudy skies. Sunday more of the same, but a bit cooler as the temperature stayed in the upper 50’s. An incredible 216 players from 9 states and Mexico teed it up in this 36-hole, Golfweek-ranked event. Just a few of the college coaches in attendance were from places like the University of Texas, University Missouri-Kansas City, University of Arkansas, and North Texas. The highlight of the weekend for many could have very well been the TJGT year-end awards presentation and season recap video which had over 650 people in attendance.
On the course the challenging layout combined with strong winds made this the perfect venue for a tour championship with a field of this caliber. In the end we saw lots of great golf with Anthony Paolucci taking home the top honors in the boys 16-18. Paolucci has won or come close to winning just about everything there is to win in junior golf. He is a former Golfweek player of the week, AJGA Canon cup participant, AJGA All-American, winner of the Junior PGA Championship, and runner-up in the USGA Boys Junior Amateur Championship. Other winners include Andre Garcia, who defeated Eloy Gonzalez of Mexico with a Par on the first playoff hole in the boys 12-15, Talia Campbell who won the girls 16-18, and Alejandra White, winner of the girls 12-15. Katie Cassity of Katy, TX provided tfireworks with an ACE on par-3 number 12 on Apple Rock and in the girls Marijosse Navarro of Mexico defeated Laura Deloenardis of Flower Mound with a birdie on the first play-off hole to capture second place.
Boys 16-18 6,876 yards
• 1st Place Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, TX Graduating Class of 2011 rounds of 72-78=150
• 2nd Place Nick Tremps, San Antonio, TX Graduating Class of 2011 rounds of 76-74=150
• 3rd Place Jesse Droemer, Sealy, TX Graduating Class of 2010 rounds of 74-76=150
• 4th Place Brandon Lau, Sugar Land, TX Graduating Class of 2011 rounds of 77-74=151
• 5th Place Austin Green, Frisco, TX Graduating Class of 2009 rounds of 82-74=156
Boys 12-15 6,536 yards
• 1st Place Andre Garcia, Mansfield, TX Graduating Class of 2013 rounds of 77-76=153
• 2nd Place Eloy Gonzalez, Nueva Laredo, MX Graduating Class of 2012 rounds of 73-80 =163
• 3rd Place Sam Fidone, Lufkin, TX Graduating Class of 2011 rounds of 75-80=155
Girls 16-18 5,536 yards
• 1st Place Talia Campbell, Dallas, TX Graduating Class of 2012 rounds of 82-70=152
• 2nd Place Marijosse Navarro, Mexico Graduating Class of 2015 rounds of 77-76=153
• 3rd Place Laura DeLeonardis, Flower Mound, TX Graduating Class of 2012 rounds of 76-77=153
Girls 12-15 5,536 yards
• 1st Place Alejandra White, Tampico, MX, Graduating Class of 2012 rounds of 77-77=154
• 2nd Place Haley Haught, Austin, TX Graduating Class of 2011 rounds of 83-78=161
• 3rd Place April McCoy, Carrollton, TX Graduating Class of 2011 rounds of 82-86= 168
A very special thank you goes out to all of the players, parents, and high school coaches, along with Morgan Stanley and Nike Golf for making this another season to remember.
