With all the events the TJGT puts on you have to have a big staff. This week the TJGT was at it again with multiple events across the state.
First up the Texas Junior Golf Tour hosted the Oakmont Junior Classic fittingly at Oakmont Country Club in Corinth, TX on June 28-29, 2010. Oakmont was in great condition, and is a great venue for the juniors. The older boys played 6,799 yards, while younger boys played 6,496, while all girls played 5,787 yards. On Monday, the players were treated to a 2 pm shotgun start, which is both good and bad. On the one hand, you get to sleep in, but on the other hand, you have to face the Texas heat! All players were greeted by TJGT staff at registration with two sleeves of premium Nike golf balls. The boys also received a nice workout shirt with the TJGT logo and a mesh cap, while the girls were awarded a workout shirt and shorts, also with the TJGT logo and the color of their choice.
Unfortunately, the weather on day one did not cooperate. Approximately 9 holes into the event, a thunderstorm blew in and dumped a couple of inches of rain. The players marked their location on the course, and the TJGT staff did a remarkable job getting all players off the course and out of harm’s way. After a delay of approximately two hours, it was decided that play would resume on day two with a 7 am shotgun start.
As players arrived on day two, they were met with pouring rains that had lasted through the night. After a four-hour wait, play finally resumed, and the first round was finally concluded at approximately 1:30 pm. The players then continued right on with round two. Amazingly enough, the players were able to get in all 36 holes by playing 27 holes on day two. It made for a LONG day…most players arrived at 6 am, and didn’t finish until 6 pm. The TJGT would like to thank the Oakmont golf staff for all their help in making this possible, as well as the dedicated staff of TJGT workers, all of whom are high school coaches.
With all of that being said, and all the conditions that were going on around them, the players did a super job and persevered through some tough conditions. In the older boys division, there were six scores posted of even par or better. Corey Bounds led the way in the first round with a three under 69. Blake Rhodes opened with a one under 71, and Sam Houston State signee Drue Thompson fired an even par 71. The race in the older boys division was tight as they continued on to round two. After the first round, there were seven players that opened with 75 or better and found themselves in contention. The play in round two was even better than round one. Thompson followed his opening round of even par with a two under par 70 to take the title and the AJGA exemption. Thompson posted three birdies against one birdie in the final round to win the event over Corey Bounds, who shot a very respectable 74. Bounds held a three-stroke lead with seven holes remaining, but unfortunately made a double bogey on the difficult par four tenth hole. The lead remained one until the par five thirteenth, where Thompson birdied to move into a tie. Bounds stubbed his toe again on hole fourteen, the short par four, making bogey. Bounds bounded back on the next hole with birdie to square the match. Thompson took the lead again on the difficult sixteenth hole with birdie, and each player made par on the par three 17th to finish the round. Excellent play by two great junior players. Blake Rhodes recorded four birdies on his way to a final round 74 to claim third place. Junior to be Major Monzingo tied for the low round of the day with a 69 in round two. Monzingo putted brilliantly with 25 putts on the round. Christopher Hopson also recorded an even par round of 72. Hopson had one birdie, one bogey, and sixteen pars on his round.
The younger boys did a super job, both with play and their pace of play. The young boys played 27 holes on day two in about six hours. Southlake Carroll product Corbin Kasten opened with an even par round of 72 to lead by four strokes over William Hodges and Grant Bennett. Kasten’s opening round included a birdie on the par five fifteenth and a bogey on nine to go along with sixteen pars. Hodges came out firing in round two, and shot a second round 73 to move into a tie for first with Kasten. Kasten would need one extra hole to settle the matter. The sudden death playoff began on hole eighteen. Kasten made par on the hole to win the event, and the Nike Junior All-Star exemption that goes with that. Finishing third was Grant Bennett with rounds of 76 and 75. Also playing well in the younger boys division were the Hickman brothers, Clay and Cole. Clay was one stroke better than his brother on this day. Another future Southlake Dragon, Hunter Glenn, shot solid rounds of 79-78 to finish tied for fifth with Cole Hickman and Luke Thomas.
In the younger girls division, Elisabeth Rau jumped out to an early lead with an opening round 72. Rau’s opening round highlight was the three straight birdies she reeled off starting on hole nine. Chaithra Katamneni made things interesting by opening with a 77 to stay within five of Rau. Alisa Chong opened with an 83 put herself in medalist contention. Rau followed up her opening round 72 with a 74 to finish the event at two over and claim the title. Rau also had the lowest score for all the girls, thereby claiming the AJGA exemption. Katamneni followed her opening round with an 83 to finish in second, while Alisa Chong improved on her opening round to stay in third.
In the older girls division, Byron Nelson product Maty Monzingo opened with a one over par 73 to lead Creekview’s Jennifer Park by four after park opened with a 77. There was a three-way tie for third, as Jessica Ritter, Jessica Parks, and Casey Edwards all opened with 81’s. Park came out firing in round two and posted a one under 71 to win the championship over Monzingo. Monzingo posted 82 in round two to finish in second. The race for third went to Jessica Ritter as she posted 77 in round two to edge Jessica Parks by two.
Congratulations to all winners. The tour will be back in action next week at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort, host course for the PGA Tour’s HP Byron Nelson. We would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July and please use caution on the highways if you’re travelling.
AJGA Performance Based Entry Award Winners
Boys 16-18 PBE Award
Drue Thompson, Irving, TX, 2010 1 Tournament Exemption
Girls 12-18
Elisabeth Rau, Irving, TX, 2013 1 Tournament Exemption
Boys 12-15
Corbin Kasten, Southlake, TX, 2013 1 Nike Junior All-Star Exemption
Top 3 finishers in each age group (MUST INCLUDE players name, hometown, grad year, and scores by round):
Boys 16-18 Winners
1 Drue Thompson, Irving, TX, 2010 72 70 142
2 Corey Bounds, Plano TX, 2011 69 74 143
3 Blake Rhodes, lawton, TX, 2012 71 74 145
Boys 12-15 Winners
T1 William Hodges, Argyle, TX, 2013 76 73 149
T1 Corbin Kasten, Southlake, TX, 2013 *** 72 77 149
3 Grant Bennett, Prosper, TX, 2013 76 75 151
*** - Won sudden death playoff for first place with par on first playoff hole, the par four 18th hole.
Girls 16-18 Winners
1 Jennifer Park, Carrollton, TX, 2011 77 71 148
2 Maty Monzingo, Trophy Club, TX, 2013 73 82 155
3 Jessica Ritter, Dallas, TX, 2011 81 77 158
Girls 12-15 Winners
1 Elisabeth Rau, Irving, TX, 2013 72 74 146
2 Chaithra Katamneni, Coppell, TX, 2015 77 83 160
3 Alisa Chong, Carrollton, TX, 2015 83 82 165
Playoff details: Corbin Kasten defeated William Hodges on the first playoff hole with a par.
Next up the TJGT Shark Shootout was played on the Aussie built Meadowbrook Farms Golf Course in blistering heat. Close to 80 players teed it with the Boys 16-18 playing 6,790 yards; the Boys 12-15 playing 6,330 yards; and all Girls playing 5,700 yards in front of college coaches from HBU and Trinity. One slight rain delay on first day cooled us off for a moment then heat came back with a vengeance!
And so did Peter Thorseth, he blistered the boys 16-18 field with a hot 6-under par for the event scorching the field by seven strokes.
Andrew Scamardo finally punched through with a victory by three shots over challenger Andrew Jacobe. Scamardo’s solid 74 ensured success on day two.
Ryanne Haddow survived a slight mental error on the 36th hole of the event to edge Robyn Daniel by one shot in the older girls division.
Maddy Buhler of Victoria TX took care of business in the younger girls division while narrowly missing the girls AJGA exemption by one shot.
Boys 16-18 Name Hometown Graduation year Score
1st place Peter Thorseth Richmond, Tx 2014 68-70-138
2nd place Andrew Rostek Sugarland, Tx 2011 71-74-145
3rd place Zach Baldwin Houston, Tx 2011 73-72-145
Boys 12-15 Name Hometown Graduation year Score
1st place Andrew Scamardo College Station, Tx 2014 76-74-150
2nd place Andrew Jacobe Houston, Tx 2015 72-81-153
3rd place Jared Jeter College Station, Tx 2013 80-74-154
Girls 16-18 Name Hometown Graduation year Score
1st place Ryanne Haddow Richmond, Tx 2010 77-79-156
2nd place Robyn Daniel Katy, Tx 2010 78-79-157
3rd place Abbie Driggers The Woodlands, Tx 2012 79-79-158
Girls 12-15 Name Hometown Graduation year Score
1st place Maddy Buhler Victoria, Tx 2012 80-77-157
2nd place Kelly McGrovern Houston, Tx 2013 84-83-167
3rd place Jackie Geaccone Houston, Tx 2015 87-91-178
Playoff details: Andrew Rostek beat Zach Baldwin on the 4th playoff hole for 2nd place in the boys 16-18 division. Girls 16-18 Division for 3rd place between Abbie Driggers and Meaghan Coleman with Abbie winning on the 3rd playoff hole with a nice birdie over Meaghan.
And last but certainly not least the TJGT Longhorn Jr. Shootout was played at the Grey Rock Golf Course in Austin, Texas. Over 80 more players from five states (TX, LA, KS, HI, AK) and Washington DC teed it up in sunny and hot weather.
The Boys 16-18 played 6,855 yards; the Boys 12-15 played 6,313 yards; and all Girls 5,678 yards in this Golfweek-ranked event. With three big tour events and one mini-tour event the TJGT had close to 250 of the best junior golfer in the region teeing it up.
Here are the top finishers after 36-holes at Grey Rock:
• Boys 16-18
o 1st Place – Tyler Elbrecht, Austin, TX Grad Class 2012 Rounds of 73-74- 147
o 2nd Place – Christian De La Cruz, San Antonio, TX Grad Class 2014 Rounds of 76-73-149
o 3rd Place – Matthew Barth, The Woodlands, TX, Class of 2011, Rounds of 74-76-150
• Boy 12-15
o 1st Place – Alex Levy, Austin, TX Grad Class 2013 Rounds of 74-71-145
o 2nd Place – Andrew Lui, Austin, TX Grad Class 2014 Rounds of 72-78-150
o 3rd Place – John Sams, Coushatta, LA Grad Class 2013 Rounds of 72-78-150
• Girls 16-18
o 1st Place – Ainslie Ellis, San Antonio, TX Grad Class 2011 Rounds of 77-76-153
o 2nd Place – Carly Morris, San Antonio, TX Grad Class 2011 Rounds of 83-82-165
o 3rd Place – Madison Murphy, Wichita, KS Grad Class 2011 Rounds of 83-85-168
• Girls 12-15
o 1st Place – Taylor Coleman, San Antonio, TX, Class of 2015, Rounds of 81-75-156
o 2nd Place – Christine Campbell, Austin, TX, Class of 2013, Rounds of 76-80-156
o 3rd Place – Libby Thomas, Midland, TX, Class of 2013, Rounds of 79-80-159
Playoff details: Girls 12-15 – Taylor Coleman won on the 1st playoff hole with a Par. Boys 12-15 – Andrew Lui won 2nd place with a par on the 1st playoff hole. Boys 16-18 – Matthew Barth won 3rd place with a birdie on the 2nd playoff hole.
