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 15-18 division with a solid 73. Tyler Dunbar and a host of others were left needing great 2nd rounds to mount any comeback.
Kyle Hogan also took a solid lead into the 2nd round of the Boys 12-14 division. Luke Smith, his closest competition was only 3 strokes behind, well within striking distance.
Not to be out-done, Heather Shake, also jumped into a big lead in the girls 12-18 field. Her lead of 8 strokes going into day 2 is the biggest lead in the event.
Entering Day 2, many of the competitors knew it would take solid performances to keep or take the lead in their respective divisions. However, much to the relief of the entire Houston Area, the event was forced to be recorded as an 18-hole event. Heavy rains, severe lightning, flash flooding ruled the day as Mother Nature finally gave relief to the nearly nine months of bone-dry weather.
Mixed feelings of wanting to compete and complete the event, yet understanding the need for the rain, was the topic of conversation as the kids and parents prepared for safe drives back to the safety of their homes.
Boys 15-18
1st place Chandler Phillips Huntsville TX 2015 73
2nd place Tyler Dunbar Lufkin TX 2013 77
3rd place Phillip Stewart Lake Jackson TX 2012 78
Boys 12-14
1st place Kyle Hogan Cypress TX 2016 77
2nd place Luke Smith Montgomery TX 2015 80
3rd place Ryan Peterson Houston TX 2015 84
Girls 15-18
1st place Heather Shake Pearland TX 2013 83
2nd place Katie Kilponen The Woodlands TX 2012 91
Girls 12-14
1st place Susan Haggar Katy TX 2014 94
2nd place Christine Wang Houston TX 2020 102
3rd place Jamie Treece Houston TX 2015 107
Playoff details: Phillip Stewart defeated Kirk Williams on the 2nd hole of a scorecard playoff for 3rd place in the Boys 15-18 division.
Next up the TJGT Grey Rock Junior Championship was played at the Grey Rock Golf Course in Austin, Texas and was our 2nd rain-shortened event of the weekend. Day 1 was cloudy, windy, and rainy. Day 2 washed out with heavy rains overnight and throughout the morning.
The Boys 15-18 played 6,909 yards; the Boys 12-14 played 6,378 yards; and all Girls played 5,732 yards.
Hopefully the coach from St. Edwards brought an umbrella as the second round was a washout.
AJGA PBE Winners:
Boys 15-18 – None
Boys 12-14 – Patrick Rhodes, Cypress TX
Girls 12-18 – Sarah Black, Andrews TX and Maddy Buhler, Victoria TX
Qualifier Series:
Boys 15-18
1st – Adrian Rodriguez, San Antonio, TX
2nd – Nicholas Maynard, Round Rock, TX
3rd – William Wilder, Henderson, TX
3rd – Jun Tao Zhang, Austin, TX
5th – Stephen Walkowski, Leander, TX
Top 3 finishers:
• Boys 15-18
o 1st Place – Adrian Rodriguez, San Antonio, TX Grad Class 2012 Round of 69
o 2nd Place – Nicholas Maynard, Round Rock, TX Class of 2012 Round of 71
o 3rd Place – William Wilder, Henderson, TX Grad Class 2013 Round of 73
o 3rd Place – Jun Tao Zhang, Austin, TX Grad Class 2014 Round of 73
• Boy 12-14
o 1st Place – Patrick Rhodes, Cypress, TX Grad Class 2016 Round of 71
o 2nd Place – Cooper Dossey, Austin, TX Grad Class 2016 Round of 72
o 3rd Place – Tobin Niblett, Austin TX Grad Class 2016 Round of 76
• Girls 15-18
o 1st Place – Sarah Black, Andrews, TX Grad Class 2014 Round of 74
o 1st Place – Maddy Buhler, Victoria, TX Grad Class 2012 Round of 74
o 3rd Place – Alisa Chong, Carrollton, TX Grad Class 2015 Round of 76
• Girls 12-14 –
o 1st Place – Reanna DeLaCruz, Austin, TX Grad Class 2015 Round of 78
o 2nd Place – Annika Clark, Highlands, TX Grad Class 2015 Round of 80
o 3rd Place – Monica Delgado, Monterrey, TX Grad Class 2016 Round of 82
