Seventeen players from Texas and Arkansas participated in the Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Holiday Mini Tour Classic at the beautiful Flintrock Falls Golf Course in Austin on December 28-30, 2011. This was the fourth playing of the event held in conjunction with the Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Holiday Classic for the older contestants which is held at the fabulous Barton Creek Resort. Barton Creek is rated the #1 ranked resort destination in Texas. The mini tour players were treated to the same amenities as the older players. They had the opportunity to meet 2011 NCAA Division I Champion John Peterson. John is a former member of the TJGT and was the top ranked player in Texas during his junior golf career. John was a fabulous high school player as well. John played high school golf for Fort Worth Paschal and Head Coach Trampas Wilson where he was a member of two UIL Texas State Championship squads. John went on to star at LSU as a member of a nationally ranked golf team and in his last collegiate event won the NCAA Individual Championship at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma. John’s current plans involve playing professionally both in Europe and in the United States. Also on hand was another former TJGT player, and perhaps more famous, in Kelly Kraft. Kelly is the reigning US Amateur Champion from Denton, Texas. He took down the top ranked amateur in Patrick Cantlay in the finals match to put his name on the trophy that includes golfing legends Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods. Many, many college coaches were on hand as well to field questions from the players. The tour also opened an Oakley room for the players to shop and see the latest Oakley gear that will soon be available. The mini tour players, like the older players, also received some incredible tee gifts that included two sleeves of Titleist PROV1 golf balls, a golf shirt of their choice from brands such as Oakley, Nike, and Under Armour, an Oakley cap, a backpack, and a golf towel with the TJGT logo on it. It was definitely a special time for the mini tour players.
As for the play, the players found the going a bit rough with tricky greens at Flintrock Falls. The Boys 12-13 division played 5459 yards while the remaining divisions played 5089 yards. On day one, the round began with cool temperatures and overcast skies, but while all the players were on the front nine the skies cleared and the temperatures warmed and it became a great day for golf. In the boys 12-13 division, Lawson Klotz got off to a great start with an opening round 80. He shot a 42 on the front but came back strong on the back nine with a 38 that included a birdie on the closing par 5 final hole. Patrick Hervey shot an opening round 89, while Fisher Vollendorf was one stroke back with a 90. The highlight of the round for all three boys was the par three 12th, with the pin tucked in the far back left position. Fisher was the only person to hit the green, but was on the front facing a treacherous putt, while Lawson was pin high right and Patrick was long. Lawson played first and hit an amazing chip shot to about foot for a tap in par. Patrick played next and hit a fantastic lob shot that almost rolled in and left himself a tap in par as well. Fisher was the final player to play and hit a remarkable putt from with the perfect speed and line that finished within inches of the cup. This hole really showed the talent that these boys possess. In the Boys 10-11 division, Andy Yang found himself the overnight leader after opening with a very steady score of 81. Crsoby Guercio and Thomas Critch battled to an opening round 85, only four strokes off the lead. In the girls 10-11 division, Hailey Jones opened with an 84 to lead her division by nine strokes over Rebecca Reed. Kaylee Vesely played very well on day one with an opening round 96, while Hanna Liu stayed in contention with a 98. The lone player in the Boys 8-9 division decided to play the same yardage as the 10-11 year old boys. Matthew Griggs handled himself very well with an opening round 99. Lauren Bird, the lone girl in the girls 12-13 division, opened with a 104.
Day 2 was moving day for the mini tour, and no one made a bigger move than Fisher Vollendorf. After opening with a 90 in round one, Fisher torched the course with low round of the tournament to this point with a 73. Fisher made a bogey on his first hole but after hole 7 was two under for his round after making birdies on holes 2, 4, and 7. Unfortunately he made a double bogey on the long par five 8th hole, but finished with a par on the difficult 9th hole to finish at even par on the front nine. He managed a one over 37 on the back nine for his 73. At the conclusion of round two, Fisher found himself only one stroke off the lead after Lawson Klotz fired a second round 81. Patrick Hervey shot a second round 86, improving by three strokes from his round one score. All three players got off to fast starts as Fisher was one under through 6 holes, Lawson was even through 6 holes, and Patrick was one over through 6 holes. Getting off to a fast start was the same theme in the girls 10-11 division as well. Hailey Jones was even par through 8 holes with two birdies and two bogeys, but unfortunately made a big number on nine. She managed to finish with an 83, finishing one stroke better than her opening round. Kaylee Vesely also made a move, going from third after the first second after the second round with a great score of 89. In the Boys 10-11 divison, Crosby Guercio surged into the lead with a second round 77. Crosby birdied his first hole and shot 39 on the front, then closed with a 38 on the back nine. Also moving up the ladder board was Thomas Critch. Thomas shot a second round 79 that included birdies on the 15th and 18th holes. Thomas Bird also made a big move up the leader board with a second round 80. Thomas had three birdies on his round on the second, fourth, and 17th holes.
Day three was all about competition, as there was only a one stroke difference in the Boys 12-13 division, and there was only a two stroke difference in the Boys 10-11 division. Fisher Vollendorf again astounded the field with a final round three under par 69. Fisher made three birdies and fifteen pars in his final round. He had a fantastic up and down from the bunker on 17 to keep his card clean. He hit his tee shot in the greenside bunker on the long par three seventeenth. He hit a good bunker shot but still had about 10 feet for his par. He made the putt and let out a yell that was reminiscent of Tiger Woods in the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach in the final round. Lawson Klotz had nothing to hang his head about after closing with a final round 81. Lawson played very consistent golf for three days, never shooting more than 9 over in any of the three rounds. Patrick Hervey finished in third after a final round 86, matching his day two score. In the Boys 10-11 division, Crosby Guercio and Thomas Critch found themselves only two strokes apart after 36 holes of golf. Thomas found himself only one stroke back with nine to go after firing a 40 on the front nine. Thomas took the lead by two on the difficult par three 12th hole after he made birdie and Crosby made a double bogey. After the par 5 13th hole, the lead was three as Thomas made par and Crosby made bogey. Crosby turned it around on the par four 14th with a birdie to Thomas’ bogey. Going to the 15th hole, Thomas still had a one stroke lead. Crosby gave back the momentum he had gained on 14 with a bogey on the par 3 15th hole. Going to the 16th tee, Thomas held a two stroke lead. After the 16th, the lead was down to one after Crosby made a par and Thomas made a bogey. Unfortunately, the par three 17th would be Thomas’ undoing as he made a triple bogey and Crosby managed a bogey to take a one stroke lead to the 18th tee. Crosby made a par on the par 5 18th hole to insure that Thomas would have to make birdie to tie. Thomas unfortunately bogeyed the hole and Crosby’s victory was secure. Andy Yang made a big leap up the leader board on the final day with an 81 to finish third. In the Girls 10-11 division, Hailey Jones won the event after closing with an 85. Kaylee Vesely finished second with a final round 93, while Hanna Liu moved into third place with a final round of 98.
Brian Garrett played three steady rounds of golf in the boys 10-11 division, shooting rounds of 88-83-87. Garrett Martin improved every day and shot a final round 81. Garrett had four birdies in his final round, including making birdies on three of the five par threes at Flintrock. Thomas Bird also played well managing to finish in fifth place. Hogan Jones had a second round 85 that was the highlight of the tournament for him and Joseph Jones shot a final round 91, improving by twelve strokes on his last round. In the boys 8-9 division, Matthew Griggs shot 99-101-98. These were pretty impressive scores for the 8 year old playing from that yardage. Lauren Bird in the Girls 12-13 division improved every day and finished with a 95 in the final round.
The mini tour will be back in action Jan 7-8 for the Q-School Mini Tour Classic at Blackhorse Golf Club in Cypress. The mini tour will play the North course both days. This will be the last mini tour event until the Tour Championship in February at Horseshoe Bay. Happy New Year and we hope to see you at Blackhorse.
BOYS 12-13
Place Name Hometown Grad Yr Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Rd 3 Score Total
1st Fisher Vollendorf Fayetteville, AR 2017 90 73 69 232
2nd Lawson Klotz Austin, TX 2017 80 81 81 242
3rd Patrick Hervey Colleyville, TX 2017 89 86 86 261
BOYS 10-11
Place Name Hometown Grad Yr Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Rd 3 Score Total
1st Crosby Guercio Frisco, TX 2019 85 77 83 245
2nd Thomas Critch Cedar Park, TX 2019 85 79 83 247
3rd Andy Yang Sugar Land, TX 2018 81 89 81 251
GIRLS 10-11
Place Name Hometown Grad Yr Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Rd 3 Score Total
1st Hailey Jones Dallas, TX 2019 84 83 85 252
2nd Kaylee Vesely Austin, TX 2020 96 89 93 278
3rd Hanna Liu Austin, TX 2019 98 103 98 299
GIRLS 12-13
Place Name Hometown Grad Yr Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Rd 3 Score Total
1st Lauren Bird Austin, TX 2017 104 98 95 297
BOYS 8-9
Place Name Hometown Grad Yr Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Rd 3 Score Total
1st Matthew Griggs Prosper, TX 2021 99 101 98 298
