The Baylor Bear Invitational was played September 12th-13th 2009 at Twin Rivers Golf Club and Cottonwood Creek Golf Club in Waco, Texas. The Boys 12-18 played 6,923 yards at Twin Rivers and the Girls 12-18 played 5,716 yards at Cottonwood Creek in very soggy conditions. Round one saw the players playing in nearly non-stop rain that forced play to be halted a couple of times and although the conditions improved on day two the players still had to deal with standing water that forced both courses to play much longer than there yardage. College coaches from both Baylor and former national champion McClennan Community College saw players from Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico tee it up in this 36-hole Golfweek-ranked event. The Mexican Junior Golf Association sent an impressive 10 players (7 boys/3 girls) to this event solely because of the level of competition found only on the TJGT. The event was kicked off on Friday evening with a packed house College Bound Membership Q&A with former OU Assistant golf coach and TJGT Director of Operations Lynn Monzingo. One of the keys things he shared over the weekend was why the TJGT played in less than ideal conditions. Coach Monzingo stated that, “colleges have 24 competition days that once they are set, they are set and players play regardless of the weather. Since our vision is to give every player that tees it up on the TJGT the best chance to play golf on the college level, we will allow players to show their stuff even if it means playing in less than ideal conditions. We were the only major tour in Texas to hold events this weekend because we know what it takes to play golf on the collegiate level.”
Saturday evening all the players on the big tour and the mini tour and their parents were treated to another fantastic TJGT banquet experience at the Waco Convention Center. Food was provided by the “world famous” George’s restaurant and all players received a customized Nike Sports Tote and a copy of “With Winning in Mind” by founder of Mental Management Lanny Bassham, who works with several touring professionals including Fred Funk, Jerry Kelly, and Justin Leonard. The event was capped off with a very informative presentation by CEO of ReMax Long Drive Art Sellinger that was highlighted by the point, play “golf”, not “swing”.
One only had to look at the scoreboard to gauge the quality of the field on both the boys and girls side. Given the extremely tough conditions both days you would not expect to see many if any low scores. When you check the final standings you will agree that wasn’t the case at all and is just another reason why the TJGT is the place to be if you are serious about playing college golf.
Full field final scores can be seen on tjgt.com but here’s a quick peek at the top finishers:
BOYS 12-18
1. Andrew Carreon, San Antonio, 2010, 73-71--144
2. Juan Espiga, Katy, 2011, 73-72--145
3. Max Rosen, Colleyville, 2011, 75-72—147
4. Eduardo Castiello, Zapopan, Mexico, 2009, 76-72—148
5. Will Oliver, Houston, 2011, 78-71—149
Girls 12-18
1st Place: Christina Cantu, Houston, TX; 2010; 73-72-143
2nd Place: Ana Malagon, Tampico, Mexico; 2011; 78-68-146
3rd Place: Grace Choi, Dallas, TX; 2013; 76-74-150
